My family is getting ready for our last vacation of the year. Every September we take one last trip – for the last several years it has been going to Ocean City, New Jersey.
A week or two before we go, my wife pulls out the vacation list. Yes, we are “listers”. We have found that keeping a list really helps us to not forget to do things, or pack things! A few of the things on our list:
- Stop the mail. It is really easy to do this, and yet it is really easy to forget. And it is a financially important thing to do – no need to entice thieves to break into your house or steal your identity through your mail.
- Use up the perishable food. The week or two leading up to a trip, my wife will begin using up the things that will spoil if we left them while we were gone. We eat a lot of left overs! But it saves us money in not having to throw things away.
- Turn off and unplug. Right before we leave, and after I send the kids into the car, I go around the house and unplug or turn off things. It’s amazing how many lights I catch that are still on! I also unplug a few items that don’t need to be on while we are gone – toasters (ours has a light in it), computers, etc. At this time I also turn off our heat pump and our hot water heater – no use heating up water that no one is using.
Now these are a few simple things, and our list has a lot of other items on it that pertain to the vacation we are taking (don’t forget the sand toys!). As vacation gets closer, you will begin to see a pile of stuff growing in a corner as we begin to round up the things we want to take.
Anyway, having a list is helpful, and it can save you money! What would you put on your list to remember or to save money?
