Are you considering packing up and moving to another state?
It’s an exciting time. Sounds like the start of a fairytale, right? I mean, who hasn’t daydreamed about it at least once in life? What can be better than leaving everything behind and starting over from square one?!
The first thing that comes to mind when you start considering moving away from home is how much it’s going to cost you. This financial handbook will give you an overview of the costs of moving, expected expenses, and ways to save money along the way.
Savings – How Much Money Will You Need To Save Up Before Moving to a New State?
When moving to a new state, you will definitely need to have a decent amount of money saved up. In order to start a long distance moving, you’ll be needing a car and an apartment or home. The costs of both vary from place to place, but we’re going to use Los Angeles prices as an example for this handbook.
Los Angeles recently ranked as the number one city for having the highest rent prices in the United States, beating out San Francisco. Renting a one-bedroom apartment starts at around $1,400 per month, which is about $16,800 annually.
What this means is that you’ll have to pay an initial deposit of around 1-3 months’ rent, and the rest will be split up into monthly payments.
So, let’s recap: your monthly expenses for your apartment and car will be at least $17,000. In one year alone, this cost can go up to around $30,000.
In order to save up for your big move, do a little research on the places that you’re going to be moving into and find out what their average rates are.
This way you will have a good idea of exactly how much money you will need to have saved up before moving to another state. There are much more details to consider especially if you are moving cross country.
Moving expenses – Typical Costs Associated With Moving, and How Can You Reduce Them?
Moving expenses can vary greatly depending on where you are moving, how big your load is, and who is helping to move your things.
Moving costs can be broken down into three categories:
– Transportation expenses: Getting your things from point A to B
– Storage expenses: Putting all of your boxes and belongings in a storage unit until you have time to unpack them
– Packing supplies: Things such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap, etc.
Moving companies are a great way for saving money on your move. The main advantage is that movers will take care of all of the heavy liftings for you. This means that you won’t have to lift a finger and will be able to enjoy your day as they unload all of your boxes and belongings into the respective rooms.
Using moving companies also means that you won’t have to worry about renting a van or truck big enough to haul your stuff in. Movers offer full-service packing and unpacking, so you won’t have to spend extra money on boxes and supplies.
Moving companies will calculate all of the costs associated with your move before you agree to anything, which means that there won’t be any surprises once it’s time to pay. This brings us to our next section…
Planning your move – timeline, steps to take, things to remember
Now that everything’s been said and done, let’s talk about what you should be doing in advance.
3 to 4 months before the big day: Start looking into moving companies and putting together a list of quotes from different places.
1 month before: Start planning out a budget. Figure out the costs of everything associated with moving and plan accordingly. Decide on a moving date.
30 days before: Get rid of all unnecessary things from your home!
Throw away broken appliances, old electronics, etc. This will help with not only reducing your moving costs but will also make way for new things that you’ll be bringing into your home.
10 days before: Begin packing and sorting out all of the belongings in your house. Start printing out your labels for boxes and other items, rearranging furniture in the new space, etc. Make sure to group like with like so when it comes time to unpack everything will be nicely organized and easy to access when you need it.
Saving Money – How to Stay Within Budget When Moving!
One of the best ways to save money while moving is to do all of your prep work before you arrive. If you are able to find out what needs to be done entirely beforehand, you can get everything ready and save yourself a lot of money.
For example, you can take care of your utility transfers before you arrive. All it will cost is a service fee and a few stamps to mail in the paperwork.
You can also find out if there are any mandatory county or city charges that need to be paid for on arrival at your new home. Some of these fees are around $30, but they are well worth it to avoid incurring fines.
You can also save yourself quite a bit of money by packing your own day-to-day essentials in advance for the first couple of months that you are there.
For example, if you start making a list of all the grocery store essentials (milk, eggs, vegetables etc.) that you will need during the first several weeks after arriving at your new home, you can purchase them all at once and transfer them into your new home (so that they are not in transit for too long). This will help you save money on eating out at restaurants during this time, which can be quite costly in a new place.
Don’t forget about taxes – If you are moving to another state, there may be different tax rules in place once you arrive. It is important that you consult with a CPA or tax professional before arriving at your new home so that they can help you transition into your new life without any problems down the road.
Things like income taxes might be higher in some states than in others. Make sure you are aware of this before moving or even consider relocating to a state that has lower taxes, depending on your current financial situation.
Moving Day!
Finally, the time has come to say goodbye to your old home and hello again to a new living situation.
Moving is a very stressful process but it doesn’t have to be if you plan ahead and follow the steps outlined in this article.
Remember, one day you will look back on this with fond memories of all the hard work you put in to be where you are today.
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