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Taking Care of the Household while on a World Cruise


artbcpa
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Because the day you come home you may need it. And when you turn it back on you may find that your router does not work.

 

Keith

 

I was thinking about having the internet and cable TV turned off from a few days after I leave until a few days before I return home. Knowing Comcast, however, it will probably be more trouble than it is worth but I sure hate paying all that money for nothing.

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Scrapanana, it can be a problem.

 

We've done several World Cruises and I will tell you that when you return home there often is a lot to do. About 30 days before the end of the cruise people start thinking of the items that they need to take care of.

 

We now keep the internet on and that includes the router. One year I shut the router off and it did not come up easy and I ended up spending a couple of hours on the phone with the internet provider something I didn't want to do.

 

As to cars, we have a neighbor run them every one to two weeks and sometimes drive them around the neighborhood. Some people disconnect their batteries and others put a device on them.

 

Keith

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In the end the cost of some of these items is a nit compared to the cost of the trip.

 

We will not turn off our satellite. We might take off the premium channels.

 

We will not turn off our internet either completely (turn off the service) or turn the modem off. We've run into problems just turning the modem off.

 

For those who want savings unplug most of your items from the outlets as items such as televisions draw quite a bit of power although turned off.

 

We set our thermostat with outside temperatures in mind.

 

We leave auto and homeowner's insurance as they are. I do know some who reduce their auto insurance but we just don't take a chance with that.

 

Keith

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This is the best... I am planning a WC in January 2015 and have been concerned about so many of these things... gives me a lot of answers and a lot of time to check out so many of the suggestions.

 

My main concern has been my house as I do still have a home -- not in a gated community or with close neighbors, so I'm looking for ideas that will work for this. I do have automated sprinklers, so the garden will be OK and I use timers for most of my lights -- both inside and out. I do have a daughter who lives close by and can come and check on the house and run the car every week.. but I do have 3 cats that will need regular attention and TLC and I hate to leave them for 4 months, but...

 

Keith, you are a wealth of information and I appreciate your taking the time to respond on so many of these threads... thank you.

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saturngazer you are very kind and I appreciate your thoughtful comments.

 

The key is to plan as much as you can and the good news is you have plenty of time to plan for the World Cruise.

 

It is good that your daughter can check on the house weekly for you. That is good to know.

 

Be sure to give your daughter a list of any contractors you use from the plumber to the electrician to the landscaper. This will come in handy if there are any issue that need attending to. I would also give her contacts for your insurance company for both the car and the house.

 

Be sure that you take the list of contacts with you as well so you will have this available as well.

 

Keith

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just spoke with our cable company. They have a program called "Seasonal Billings". Instead of turning the cable/internet/telephones off, they charge a reduced rate and just reduce your service to the lowest (basic) rates for the three. The savings for us for all three services is over $150 per month. They ask for three days notice for initiating the program and two days notice for reinstating the services to their previous level of service.

 

That sounds pretty cool to me.

 

Has anyone ever tried something like that?

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  • 1 month later...

An important to do item is to shut off water hoses to laundry washer and ice maker on fridge, and to toilet. I work for an insurance company. Those nasty lines seem to bust when one is away for a period of time. Trust me, it happens all the time.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I just spoke with our cable company. They have a program called "Seasonal Billings". Instead of turning the cable/internet/telephones off, they charge a reduced rate and just reduce your service to the lowest (basic) rates for the three. The savings for us for all three services is over $150 per month. They ask for three days notice for initiating the program and two days notice for reinstating the services to their previous level of service.

 

That sounds pretty cool to me.

 

Has anyone ever tried something like that?

 

First thank you everybody for all the information. Priceless for WC newbies:)

As for turning off cable/inetrnet/telephones off...

 

Call me paranoid but wouldn't this give out the fact that your house will be empty for months?

 

You never know how this information can be used and by whom.

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Maybe I should become a professional house sitter. Stay at someone's home for 3 or 4 months at a time. I could stay in different parts of the country or even different countries.

 

This would help pay for my own world cruises.

 

Don

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First thank you everybody for all the information. Priceless for WC newbies:)

As for turning off cable/inetrnet/telephones off...

 

Call me paranoid but wouldn't this give out the fact that your house will be empty for months?

 

You never know how this information can be used and by whom.

 

I agree. That is why I like the "Seasonal Billing" They are still up and running for our "house sitter", but we are saving quite a bit of money.

Edited by artbcpa
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I just spoke with our cable company. They have a program called "Seasonal Billings". Instead of turning the cable/internet/telephones off, they charge a reduced rate and just reduce your service to the lowest (basic) rates for the three. The savings for us for all three services is over $150 per month. They ask for three days notice for initiating the program and two days notice for reinstating the services to their previous level of service.

 

That sounds pretty cool to me.

 

Has anyone ever tried something like that?

 

Unfortunately, Comcast does not have this plan. I was told to cancel cable TV and internet but leave my phone (I don't want to lose the phone number I have had since 1976).

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I really try to avoid turning anything off in the way of cable or satellite or internet or telephone. I find that too many things seem to go wrong when things are off.

 

But, like most things this is a personal choice.

 

What I recommend to any of you going away for the first time for such an extended time is to make a comprehensive list of all you need to do. As you think of something add it to the list. Hopefully, this way you will not forget anything.

 

Keith

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  • 4 weeks later...

We retired this past year and are trying to leave home for extended periods of time to explore the world. Spent 3 months in Paris this past spring and will be on 2 cruise ships for 3 months this winter. We are lucky to live the the San Francisco area where housing is scarce and there are lots of responsible young people who are eager to have a house to sit instead of being jammed with roommates in a tiny apartment. We are lucky to have a dear young friend who is our house sitter, but if she were not available, I would scour the area to find another, even pay someone. We rely heavily on the internet to stay in touch with friends, do banking, pay bills. Skype, Facetime, and the like allow for visual keeping in touch. For some bills (house insurance, real estate taxes), I pay in advance of departure. I have found that some magazines allow subscriptions to be suspended and then extended for the period we are gone. Our house sitter opens mail and scans important stuff, sends the scanned material attached to email. I tell myself that nothing will be perfect and we can get clever and work through whatever goes wrong. I refuse to allow my adult responsibilities get in the way of my adventures.

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I just spoke with our cable company. They have a program called "Seasonal Billings". Instead of turning the cable/internet/telephones off, they charge a reduced rate and just reduce your service to the lowest (basic) rates for the three. The savings for us for all three services is over $150 per month. They ask for three days notice for initiating the program and two days notice for reinstating the services to their previous level of service.

 

That sounds pretty cool to me.

 

Has anyone ever tried something like that?

 

We have used that with beach property we have owned. It worked fine for us.

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  • 3 months later...

We are planning to rent a post office box and have our mail temporarily forwarded to it. The cost of the post office box for three months is under $25 and the forwarding is free. We plan to have the person who will be checking on our home pickup the mail at his convienence.

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We are planning to rent a post office box and have our mail temporarily forwarded to it. The cost of the post office box for three months is under $25 and the forwarding is free. We plan to have the person who will be checking on our home pickup the mail at his convienence.

Sounds like a good idea..

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