Future FT Best way to handle mail

[Red man]

I am going full time next year and one of the many things that I have not figured out yet is the best way to recieve mail.I have to continue working and do not not know if I will be in one spot or many . I hope to boondock as much as possible. I hope to have internet via a smart phone to go some things on line.I Thank you for any help

[Gary RVRoamer]

There are many mail forwarding services available - the FMCA and the Escapees have excellent ones for their members, but there are private ones too. I think Mainboxes Etc does it as well. Basically they assign you a PMB (Private Mail Box0 at their location and you use that as your mail address. Then you call them when you will be in one place for several days and have them send your mail to you in a package via US mail. You pay for the postage and a typically a small monthly fee for the service. Some offer extra services, like scanning the mail and emailing it to you, or opening and reading to you over the phone (handy for an unexpected bill).

You can do so much online these days that we no longer receive very much mail at all. Mostly ads, and those can be tossed out.

[jzick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red man I am going full time next year and one of the many things that I have not figured out yet is the best way to recieve mail.I have to continue working and do not not know if I will be in one spot or many . I hope to boondock as much as possible. I hope to have internet via a smart phone to go some things on line.I Thank you for any help

Your choice for a mail forwarder may be driven also by where you set your domicile when fulltiming. Choosing a domicile state may affect driver's license, registrations, health insurance, voting registration and what taxes you pay. The most popular states for domiciles seem to be Texas (Escapees Mail Forwarding), South Dakota, and Florida. You can use a commercial mail forwarder, a UPS store, or perhaps a relative for forwarding mail.

[Happy Prospector]

I use Americas Mailbox out of South Dakota, I have not had any problems and can have my mail sent to Post Office, Fed Ex or UPS. They are pretty flexible and you can change schedule on phone or computer.

Kevin

[KU9L]

I agree, Americas Mailbox has been great to work with direct or remotely. When I buy a new vehicle I usually have my license plates within a week & never lost any mail in the two years we've used them. They also renew your tags for you, if you stay in their campground for 30 days the state will issue you a concealed carry permit ion application & proof of where you stayed.

[Vicap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red man I am going full time next year and one of the many things that I have not figured out yet is the best way to recieve mail.I have to continue working and do not not know if I will be in one spot or many . I hope to boondock as much as possible. I hope to have internet via a smart phone to go some things on line.I Thank you for any help

I have been on the road for about 5 years...as an over-the-road truck driver and now as a full timer. I bought a trusted friend a scanner. He scans my mail and e-mails it to me. A few times a year he packages the hard copies and mails them to a snail mail address where I will be for a week or so. Works great! BTW - last year I was able to do all of my tax needs using on-line resources without needing a hardcopy of my records. We live in wonderful times!

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

We use Escapees mail forwarding service.

http://www.escapees.com

"Happy Trails"
chiefneon

[Wayneey]

For the past several years, I have used both the Escapees and FMCA mail forwarding services. My mail has always been delivered when and where I have specified without fail.

That said, I find the Escapees offers a more flexible service for full timers.

Wayne

[ralper]

Pick a state for your residence.
Get a mail forwarding service in that state.

Get your mail forwarding service about three months ahead of time and get your address changes done before you hit the road.

Pay your bills online via internet through your present bank. Make deposits by mail and you can still write checks as needed. Cash comes from an ATM.

Then it is just a matter of calling your mail forwarding service to tell them where you want them to send your mail. While traveling and about each two weeks I get my mail sent to a small town about 6 days ahead of my present location. When I get there my mail is there in my name and general delivery. ( J.J. Jones General Delivery Anytown, ZZ 2XXXX ). If you do not use Priority Mail then have it sent about 10 days ahead. The post office has to hold all general delivery mail for 30 days and then it will be returned to sender. Give the PO clerk your name and ID then ask for your general delivery mail. Do not have your mail sent to any place like Dallas. You will spend two days finding where your mail is. Use a small town with one PO. Check population numbers in the road atlas. Find the zip codes on Weather Underground.com along with altitudes and the weather and the history of the weather of any given place.

[paz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red man I am going full time next year and one of the many things that I have not figured out yet is the best way to recieve mail.I have to continue working and do not not know if I will be in one spot or many . I hope to boondock as much as possible. I hope to have internet via a smart phone to go some things on line.I Thank you for any help

Once we established our mail forwarding service, we sent out change of address cards to everyone we could think of that we got mail from. We also left a forwarding request with our old post office to have all mail sent to the address of mail forwarding service. That is our "official" address where we have our vehicles registered, where we vote (by absentee ballot), and that is the address on our drivers licenses.

We usually like to have mail forwarded about every 2 weeks. We contact our forwarding service to let them know when we want mail sent. We usually have it sent to General Delivery in a town where we know we will be about the time we expect the mail to arrive. It's best to pick a spot where you will be for a couple of days in case the mail gets delayed. You have to check to make sure a post office accepts General Delivery. It's also best to have mail forwarded to a small town because larger towns and cities may have more than one branch, and it can sometimes be difficult to find out which branch has your mail. We have driven all over town on a couple of occasions. Some campgrounds will also accept mail. We call or email ahead to be sure.

As Gary says, so much can be done on line we don't get much mail. We bank on line, we pay bills on line, we order products on line, etc. Our forwarding service automatically discards all junk mail for us so we don't have to pay to have stuff sent that we will probably throw away.

[Davdeb1]

I am really wondering why you would need mail if you have a computer? Credit card bills, insurance bills, cell phone, and other communications can all be handled online. Is there really a need for any mail?

[jzick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davdeb1 I am really wondering why you would need mail if you have a computer? Credit card bills, insurance bills, cell phone, and other communications can all be handled online. Is there really a need for any mail?

There are still some papers that cannot be handled electronically. Some states do not recognize electronic signatures for certain documents, there can be certain tax paperwork that is not available electronically, and lawyer type stuff. We have found the medical professionals to be among the most reluctant to use electronics. In our case, we get some checks monthly from sources that will not/cannot direct deposit them. You're right, the day to day stuff can be eliminated from mail, but once or twice a month we have something. A delivery service could be used, but right now post office is more convenient.

[Davdeb1]

I guess we are just lucky, because everything we do financially is already done electronically, we already have copies of wills and medical poa. I've been using computers since 1983, and I can't remember the last time I wrote a check for anything. Seven years ago, I converted all bills to electronic so they come to my bank. The biggest pain in the rear I have is emptying the stupid mailbox in front of my house of junk mail 3 or 4 times a week. That is something I am looking froward to not doing.

But, you never know, never say never about anything.

[Red man]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice!