Vacation Tips for Your Home

Vacations are what we work for. We go to work for 40 hours a week for the money to take care of our families in the future but for immediate satisfaction, we like to use some of that hard earned cash on vacations. As a recent college graduate I've learned that the vacations are what make my full time job worth having. I'll sweat and sacrifice my time and energy to get those weekend trips and look forward to taking three week long vacations in the next nine months.

Speaking as someone who just rents an apartment and not an owner of a house and as someone with not a lot of disposable income I like to keep my unnecessary expenses as far down as possible and I also like to feel secure when I go on vacation that my valuable property is taken care of and safe. Here are a few tips I have picked up over the years from friends, parents, and everyone in between for what to do when you go on an extended vacation.

Your mail: Have your mail held for you at your local post office. You don't want your mail piling up in your mailbox for some criminal to take or get the hint that you're not coming home anytime soon to get it. It's the smart responsible move.

Lights: A lot of people tend to leave one light on in their house when they leave for a vacation maybe to either give the illusion that someone is home or maybe it is a subconscious way of feeling at ease. But the smart thing to do is put these lights on timers. This way you don't run up your electric bill and still have that safe state of mind.

Food: Get rid of all perishable food that will expire while you're away. You don't want your fridge to stink up your place while you're gone.

Windows: Lock them.

Travel information: In a lot of cases, such as mine, you may be blessed with really great neighbors. In this situation you'll want to give them your travel information in case anything dramatic happens to you or to someone who needs you at home and doesn't know where you took off to.

Saving some money: There are little things you can do to save some money around the house before you head on vacation. Any leaks or drips in your sink should be stopped to calm the water bill. You should also adjust the thermostat to the most energy efficient status for that time of year. You also want to unplug any and all appliances to reduce your energy bill and decrease the chance of an electrical fire. Saving both money and your home are priceless.