Month long trip bring the laptop or not?

[Flyfish1]

Headed to Australia and New Zealand for a month long journey. Debating to bring my laptop or not. Everything financial is on the laptop/in the cloud. Feel like I am increasing a security risk if I use it. I did download NordVPN for my phone and I will use that all the time and I could hot spot the laptop to the phone.

I spend a lot of time browsing on the laptop which is not the point of the trip of course. Thoughts?

 

[RetiredHappy]

I always bring my laptop, even on 4-day long trips. You are not increasing security risk simply when travelling. I cannot live without my laptop as like you, I do all my banking stuff on it. I fly with my laptop all over the world as well as domestically. One of my professional background and working knowledge was in info security (CISSP). Continue to run your VPN.

 

[Flyfish1]

I always bring my laptop, even on 4-day long trips. You are not increasing security risk simply when travelling. I cannot live without my laptop as like you, I do all my banking stuff on it. I fly with my laptop all over the world as well as domestically. One of my professional background and working knowledge was in info security (CISSP). Continue to run your VPN.

Awesome - that's comforting. Thank you.

 

[sengsational]

Because my phone can do (less conveniently) everything I need, I don't lug the laptop. Most things are on autopilot anyway. I brought the laptop once recently because I had a lot of hours to waste, and I had a hobby programming project to work on. But normally, it stays home.

When I get home, I have to catch-up my personal finance software, but realize getting any financial transactions done is separate from tracking them.

 

[braumeister]

Because my phone can do (less conveniently) everything I need, I don't lug the laptop. Most things are on autopilot anyway. I brought the laptop once recently because I had a lot of hours to waste, and I had a hobby programming project to work on. But normally, it stays home.

Same here. I used to bring the laptop routinely, but left it home on my last month-long trip and it was fine. iPad, Kindle, and iPhone were plenty.
Switching to the largest iPhone screen size made a real difference.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I’d bring it. Not just for convenience but to deal with trip issues. You can do it on your phone but personally I find doing anything complicated is easier on a bigger screen.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Ronstar]

I wouldn’t bring it. I can get everything I need on my phone.

But I used to bring my laptop for 3 months of snowbirding

 

[Yipper]

I've done both on long trips and the last time I brought the laptop I never used it. Being that we travel light (carry-on bags only even for 4 week trips) it's space I hate to use up even thought it's a small 13" Macbook. I typically worry about it being stolen or damaged when traveling and if it's not along for the trip it's just one less thing to be worried about.

These days there's not much I can't do on my phone and in a real pinch I'm sure I could find a computer to use somewhere if needed in a library, hotel, etc.

 

[athena53]

My last two long trips I was forced to improvise. I had an older, smaller laptop I was taking on the first trip and it failed the night before when I was at the airport hotel for an early AM flight the next day- needed a new Windows display driver but I couldn't download the version of Windows needed because the laptop was so old. I managed with my phone and my Samsung tablet, which I'd bought so I could read books. The only real "gap" was the finance apps, which had been set up on the computer but not the phone or the tablet. I couldn't recover passwords because the two-factor identification required calls to my phone number, which had changed since I'd swapped out SIM cards.

So... I bought a slightly larger tablet with more memory for my next trip. Got it all set up with the banking apps and other necessary software. Partway through the trip, it got fried at the Tesla Museum in Belgrade during a demo of a high-voltage generator. (It was in my backpack on the floor.) I ended up doing the church newsletter on my phone That was a bit of a learning curve.

So, the tablet will be with me again on my next major trip in May. It doesn't have Excel and I like to keep track of my spending but I'm just fine with pencil and paper for that.

I like the tablet rather than the phone for the bigger screen- I do a LOT of research on the places I visit and the things I'm seeing while I'm there and occasionally upload restaurant and hotel reviews.

 

[donheff]

I rarely use a laptop anymore. I converted it to Linux and let my grandson use it when he comes over. I use a desktop with a 27" screen at home and I take an iPad mini on trips for ebooks and any Internet stuff I would use a laptop for. I have taken the laptop to two week trips to the beach by car, but I am not packing it on a plane.

 

[sparky08]

I used to bring the laptop. But I 'forced' myself to just bring phone and tableton a long vacation and was fine.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I stopped carrying my laptop on long, international trips. However, I bring my iPad. I can do everything on it that I can on my laptop, if I want too. I can do most things using my iPhone, if I need to.

 

[5Miler]

I would say it all depends on how you typically use your laptop. I no longer take my laptop on short 1 or 2 week cruises but will definitely take it on my 5 week dive vacation in April/May. I will have a lot of downtime there that I don't have during a cruise so it will be used frequently for entertainment.

I do use Yubikey security keys which helps secure my laptop and all of my financial accounts. I make it a point to never have my laptop "remembered' during any sign on process so the Yubikey is required for access. I also use 1password for password management and 2FA where the Yubikey isn't recognized.

 

[RetireAge50]

Nah. Just keep an eye on things occasionally with phone and go look at the kangaroos.

 

[Lakedog]

I would take the laptop. If gone for more than a couple of days, my MacBook Air goes along. I do not use a cell phone for anything financial and really dislike doing much else (internet-related) via cell with such a tiny screen. I suppose I'm in the minority using my cell primarily for calls/texts.

 

[OldShooter]

... Everything financial is on the laptop/in the cloud. Feel like I am increasing a security risk if I use it. I ... I spend a lot of time browsing on the laptop which is not the point of the trip of course. Thoughts?

I would not even consider bringing that laptop. I would not consider bringing any device that has any financial information or has even been used to access financial resources.

I deal with this by making sure I never use my phone for financial activities of any kind and by carrying a small tablet computer loaded as necessary with things I want when traveling. Mail client, browser, DropBox and/or Evernote for access to cloud travel info that was created on my laptop, etc. The contact lists on the phone and tablet are abbreviated, listing no banks, brokerage firms, or other contacts that might be useful to a thief.

"security risk" ?!!? Of course. Your tablet could be lost, stolen, or physically damaged when traveling. All are much higher probability than if it is warm and comfortable waiting for you at home.

I may be genetically defective somehow but it is a mystery to me why people need access to financial activities when traveling. We couldn't even do these things twenty years ago and life was fine, so why do them now just because we can? I carry the phone numbers of my credit card issuers (2) and the direct phone number of my Schwab guy (with no indication of the firm name or the title of my guy).

 

[Chuckanut]

I’ve found an iPad with a small Bluetooth keyboard works well. My understanding of the iPad is that is that security was designed into it from day 1. Laptops, even Apples, are not as secure. The all purpose browser on a laptop is very hard to secure. Apps are designed for use with one organization and one limited purpose so can be more secure. I have no financial apps on my phone. It’s too easy to lose or misplace compared to the more bulky tablet.

Of course, one must Still be careful with WiFi connections and a good VPN is cheap insurance.

 

[brett]

We both switched to ipad and ipad mini when we retired 13 years ago. No regrets.

 

[TheWizard]

Similar to several others, I've not taken a laptop with me for years. I do almost everything on my smartphone nowadays.

I'm in Panama now for a few more days. Today is one of my monthly paydays, so I paid off the balances on my two CCs earlier and then moved a few thousand of excess cash to my Vanguard settlement fund.

Then I set up a limit order to buy more VOO but markets are higher right now, so who knows when that will execute?

Point being, where I am in the world hardly matters anymore with my smartphone...

 

[folivier]

I concur with Lakedog. I always take my macbook on trips of any duration. All of our financial doings are on our macbooks and not on our phones. My thoughts are it will be easier to lose our phones than our laptops. Also I use my laptop to process pictures while on trips. And all of my research on trips are on my laptop.

 

[Montecfo]

On a trip that long I bring laptop as it is more convenient to use. Especially for access to travel planning docs and to make changes on the fly.

No financial info kept on that laptop however as I do not like to risk that info. All bills paid or on autopilot.

 

[skyking1]

For $159 you can get a simple chromebook for travel. No actual files on it beyond the photos that you sync over and then edit and save.
It makes for a great little travel companion with a real keyboard and decent screen.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-14-chromebook-laptop-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-64gb-emmc-modern-gray/6513217.p?skuId=6513217&extStoreId=366&utm_source=feed&ref=212&loc=17931407033&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA84CvBhCaARIsAMkAvkK5DBu0IzYrklmZxS9uBcTFieds9SmEP9MGYovK3rV3JsX0k1f7WHwaAsugEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

If it gets lost or damaged, there you go. Cost of doing business.
You can't say the same for a fancy mac or windows all in wonder with all your apps and stuff on it.

 

[Gotadimple]

Take a tablet, if you have one. I use a tablet and do not load any financial info on it. But I do use it for searching for things to do while on the trip, email, and general entertainment. A tablet is much lighter, and if you like to read books, you can do that on your tablet as well.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Take a tablet, if you have one. I use a tablet and do not load any financial info on it. But I do use it for searching for things to do while on the trip, email, and general entertainment. A tablet is much lighter, and if you like to read books, you can do that on your tablet as well.

I take all 3, laptop, tablet and cell phone. My husband does the same. When we are in our villa, we use the laptops. When we are out and about, typically the tablets for reading or quick replies.

 

[bltkmt]

I’d bring it. Not just for convenience but to deal with trip issues. You can do it on your phone but personally I find doing anything complicated is easier on a bigger screen.

Enjoy the trip!

This is why I always bring it.