10 valuable tips before you leave for your vacation.

1. Confirm your vacation reservation, including accomodation, air, car, train, dining and activity reservations. A few phone calls before you leave can save you from vacation stress later on.

2. Remember to cancel your home newspaper delivery since newspaper companies usually require you to cancel several business days ahead of time.

3. Organize the credit cards that you are planning to bring with you and order travelers cheques from your bank. Make a list of emergency numbers to call if your credit cards or travelers cheques get stolen.

4. If you are visiting a foreign country, order a small amount of that country's currency from your bank to take with you.
  
5. Pack as light as possible or consider shipping large bags, golf and ski equipment to your destination. There are services that will pick up bags at your home or at the office and deliver them to your destination by the required date. For example, see www.sportsexpress.com for more information.

6. Before you leave, check the weather at your destination (www.weather.com) for last-minute wardrobe adjustments.

7. If you are flying, call the airline and confirm that your flight is departing on time.

8. Pack your camera and video equipment at least 24 hours before leaving your house. This way you can make sure that all the necessary batteries have been charged.

9. If you are flying, pack a small carry-on bag of essentials you can't be without in case your bags get delayed.

10. If you are driving, make sure that you have a road atlas handy. You can also look up driving directions online before you go (www.mapblast.com) and find out approximate driving times.