A TO-DO LIST BEFORE YOU LEAVE ON YOUR SUMMER VACATION

2022 is drawing to an end. Make sure you tick all the boxes on your to-do list for the summer holidays - including your Last Will and Testament. 

To-do list: 

1. Finalise travel plans: If your holiday destination is in South Africa, and you travel by car, make sure that the road you planned to take is still there or accessible. On our highways and byways things like sinkholes, floods and roadblocks by trucks are becoming the norm rather than the exception.
2. To service your car is a given. But make sure that your vehicle’s windscreen wipers and your tyres are up to scratch. It is a nightmare to drive in pounding rain with only one working wiper, or even worse, none. And importantly, make sure that your spare tyre is in a good condition.
3. Check your suitcases. It is such a pain if the zipper on one of your suitcases has stripped and you can’t open it. It is even worse if it has broken, and you swing your suitcase full of confidence into or from your car and your clothes fly all over the place. (This absolutely also holds true if you travel by aeroplane.)
4. Switch off your geyser. It will save you a lot on electricity and will protect it against sudden surges when Eskom puts the electricity back on after a blackout.
5. Your pets.  Make sure that they are taken care of. Have a discussion with your pet sitter beforehand and leave a detailed list of how to take care of the pets and also what the pet sitter is allowed to do and use in the house.
6. Security. Double-check that your security company knows it has to do more patrols. Make sure that your friends/neighbours remember they have to keep an eye on the house.
7. Clear your fridge and pantry. Food that has gone off makes for a very unappetising homecoming.
8. Unplug your appliances unless somebody will live in your house to take care of the pets and to look after the garden.
9. Leave your house key with somebody you trust and also your mobile number.
10. South Africa is the land of sunshine . . . and mosquitos and fleas. Remember your sunblock and the necessary to keep the bugs away. And boring but also necessary, the hats and caps. Bear in mind that one can get quite severe sunburn when it is cloudy.
11. Ensure that everything is charged that should be charged. A recipe for hysterics (you) and non-stop arguments (the kids) in the car is when their applications go flat within the first hour on a long journey. And remember the chargers, power banks and plugs.
12. Make sure that none of your cards or licences are due to expire when you are on vacation.
13. Check your prescriptions. If some of your medicines are due to run out, make an emergency dash to your pharmacy.
14. Make sure that you have travel insurance. If you haven’t, get some. It doesn’t take long.
15. Put all the documents you need to take with and your travel documents in one place. Secure all the others in your safe.
16. Withdraw some cash. Coins and smaller denominations in notes come in very handy as tips or when you have to pay for parking.
17. Scan or photograph your ID, passport, credit cards and drivers licence. You might also want to print it together with your travel documents. It may help you to get replacements quicker should you lose the originals, or it gets stolen.
18. When holidaying at the coast or in the bush, remember to close the windows when you leave the house or flat. Monkeys love open windows. They love the lovely goodies you leave to eat even more. They are somewhat lacking in table manners though. A terrible mess might just await you when you arrive back from your day at the beach/in the bush.
19. Take your flashlight. Loadshedding is a reality, and you need a backup plan for light when playing board games in the evening with your family (or need to find the bathroom!)
20. Remember to check your Last Will and Testament. Make sure that it is up to date and in safe custody. One tends to enjoy your holiday more if you have the peace of mind knowing your Will has been drafted and secured.

All of the above items are important, but if you do none of this, please make sure you check your Will! If you haven’t had one drafted yet, give Capital Legacy a call. We will sort you out within an hour. Feel free to contact us at: https://www.capitallegacy.co.za/your-will

From all of us at Capital Legacy, enjoy your vacation and remember the sunglasses. If you stay at home, enjoy the rest, you deserve it!