“Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” If you are somewhat adventurous and curious to visit places you have never seen before and meet new people, chances are you enjoy taking trips, at least once in a while.
Once you decide to hit the road, there are many things you should take care of before you jump in the vehicle and drive off chasing sunsets. Besides checking on your travel route, stopping points, and the weather forecast, the crucial thing to focus on is protecting your valuables while traveling.
Visiting new places often comes with numerous distractions, as there are many things to visit, try out, and taste. But also, it comes with a lack of proper sleep and often with some unplanned issues that may occur on your way to making new exciting memories. One of the most common issues is losing your valuables, so here are the top three pieces of advice for protecting them.
1. Prepare well!
Uncertainty is one of the road trip blessings – the good experiences add to the excitement of the journey and the bad ones become valuable lessons for life. However, it’s smart to at least try to prevent the latter and start your trip with peace of mind.
Here are a few reminders to cross off your list. Don’t take non-essential valuables for your trip. Invest in some theft-preventing accessories. Secure your phone in case it gets lost or stolen. Write down the bank phone numbers for fast canceling your credit cards. Get a professional automotive locksmith in Fayetteville to check and secure your car locks. And of course, secure your home before leaving it unattended.
2. Keep the most valuable items on you
Another useful tip for protecting your valuables while traveling is to keep them on you at all times. This refers to your passport, cash, and travel documents. As some valuables are not to be carried everywhere, such as your camera, laptop, music players, or handheld video games, it is always good to have them hidden, somewhere out of sight of random passers-by.
For valuables you want to have with you wherever you go such as money, it is clever to have them in two separate wallets in two different spots. For example: have a wallet with some change or a small amount of cash in your purse or a money belt, and keep your large bills in a neck wallet, under your shirt.
To keep shady robbers away from your valuables while traveling, avoid (or at least minimize) exposing your expensive watch, designer jewelry pieces (including designer bags) high-priced phone or laptop, etc. This can help minimize the risk of attracting robbers and increase the opportunity for a pleasant, joyful traveling experience.
3. Always lock your vehicle
Whether you decide to take a break and refresh in a nearby hotel, motel, gas station, or supermarket, pay attention to a few important things.
Always lock your vehicle when stepping out of it, even when it is “just for a minute”. This is not only to ensure that you will still have it after your quick break but to be certain that all of your stuff in the car, including your valuables, will still be there.
However, before you lock the car, always check if you have the car key with you. You would be surprised to know that locking keys inside the car happens very often, even to the most experienced drivers when driving long distances, due to tiredness, poor concentration or simply being in a hurry to get to their final destination as soon as possible.
It’s also always good to have a spare key that will not be in your car. If you travel with a friend or a family member, you can give them the other key to keep it, just in case any of you forgets theirs locked in the car, at one point.
But what happens if the car key gets damaged, or your car lock gets stuck or broken while traveling? Well, the best thing is not to try to fix it by yourself, and immediately start Google searching “locksmith near me”.
