The Foreign Service Journal, November 2007

Consider renting a mail distri- bution box from a private com- pany like Mailboxes R Us in your hometown. Most of these com- panies have a mail forwarding system: you always keep the same address and, at predetermined intervals, they will mail your accumulated mail to your new location in one package. Such services are particularly useful if you are stationed in Africa, where diplomatic pouch service can be extremely slow and there are few if any alternatives. You will never have to change your address again! Ensure your banks, mortgage companies and financial consult- ants have your current e-mail address. Because you can access your e-mail just about anywhere in the world, you can monitor your financial transactions and take care of problems much more rapidly. Set up automatic online pay- ments for vital bills (credit cards, mortgage, car payments, etc.) through your financial institutions. I have basically stopped writing checks over the past 10 years; in fact, I still have some from my initial order with the credit union. With online payment programs, I don’t worry about my bills any more. Before you depart post, please give the mailroom personnel your forwarding address labels. (Usual- ly 50 is enough; they will do the rest.) With a little planning, address changes don’t have to cause upheavals and delays, either for you, those trying to reach you by mail, or the post you are departing. And that is in every- one’s interest. Lee Ackermann is the information programs officer in Damascus. 18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 F S K N O W - H O W Each post has to pay to handle all the mail it receives after you are gone, even the “junk mail.”