PACKING UP YOUR HOME TO TRAVEL CHECKLIST

So you have decided to quit your job, sell up your things and live abroad. You want to experience living in another country for an extended period of time. We were thankful enough to experience living in Canada for 3 months last year and then countries scattered across North & Central America, Europe and Africa.

It's a very rewarding experience, one that I would recommend to anyone. However, if you don't plan ahead you can get caught up in some tricky situations.

Here's our things you cannot miss when packing up your home to travel abroad.

Sell Your Leftover Currency

If like us you have been travelling for a few years now you might have collected quite the amount of leftover currency. Yes it would look great in your apartment in a glass jar that can be topped up, but now that you are leaving home, that money can be used elsewhere.

Most banks and currency converters will take all your money away in fees or just flat out won't accept your small change. Luckily there is Leftover Currency who buy your old notes and coins and then transfer it into which ever currency you need with no hidden fees.

Car Registration

In Australia if you fail to pay your car registration within a certain period without handing back in your plates, a hefty fine will be waiting for you. Just make sure you are up to date with no bills heading your way before your return date. Ideally, sell your car and use the extra cash for your trip abroad.

Re-direct Your Post

You should 100% organise a re-direct of post to a family member or close friend. Luckily we had my parents to look after us, we bought two filing boxes - one with important documents written on it and one with junk. We told them to open anything that looked important so if there was a bill we missed it could be paid straight away.

Organise Your Tax Return

We left home about half way through the financial year which meant we still needed to file a tax return 6 months into our travels. We simply took pictures of our required documents like last years tax return and because of the previous step, my parents simply took a picture of my employers tax payslip when it came in the post.

Power of Attorney

This is simply a form that can be organised so that if any major affairs need to be taken care of whilst you are away, a friend or family member can do these on your behalf.

Let Your Banks Know Where You Will Be

That way they don't assume a scam artist is stealing your money when you decide to do a cash withdrawal in the middle of Japan. On top of this, organise online banking and email contact if you need any updates on your accounts.

Cancel Your Contracts

Ideally if you could time your trip abroad so you have your credit card paid off, any loans and also your phone contracts. Switch to pre-paid before you leave and top up with an extended phone credit option so you don't lose your number from inactivity. Psst also cancel that gym, but lets be honest that gym membership hasn't been used in months and also that Barkbox subscription.

Pack Up Your Must Have Things

We were lucky enough to still have my bedroom which we converted into a storage locker. In here we had items we couldn't sell like our degrees. If you don't have a place head to your local self storage locker - just remember to pay in time or your stuff will end up on storage wars.

READ NEXT: HOW TO MEET TRAVELLERS ABROAD

Thanks to Leftover Currency for supporting Flying the Nest. As always, all opinions are our own.