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Why email certain things to yourself when you travel? More on that in a moment.

You may already use email when you travel. With an email account, wherever you are in the world, your friends and family have a way to contact you and you have a way to contact them. Interestingly, even though the internet largely operates by way of the same phone lines, it's more reliable than the phone service in many countries. In other words, even if the phone connection is bad, you may be able to send an email.

If it's a matter of expense that is stopping you, check around. Hotmail, Yahoo and others still offer free e-mail accounts. Why not sign up now, if you haven't already.

How will you access your email? Virtually every public library in the United States now has internet access, and it is almost always free to use. When traveling the country, we often stop in small towns at libraries. We not only check our e-mail, but our bank accounts as well.

When you are in other countries, finding internet access is even easier. Anywhere that computers are too expensive for most people to buy, there's demand for cheap public internet access. The result is that, in many cities of the world, there are internet cafes on almost every corner. How much will it cost? A dollar per hour is not uncommon.

What To Email To Yourself When You Travel

Savvy travelers have been using this trick for a decade now.

Before you travel, email yourself a list of important information and numbers. This should include the number to call if your credit card is stolen, and the number of the U.S. Embassy where you'll be. Just stop and think about what information you would need or want if you lost your luggage and wallet and everything else. This will give you an idea of what to send to yourself.

Email yourself a copy of your passport, for example, and other important documents. You might even want to email yourself a photocopy of your drivers license. I send myself work that I can do, in case I have nothing better to do than sit in front of a computer for hours (Fortunately this hasn't happened yet). Whenever you need these things, they'll be available in any internet cafe in the world.