When it comes to planning a move, your budget can make or break the experience. Budgeting before a move can smooth the tracks for a seamless transition, giving you and your family the peace of mind needed to enter a new city or home. Without a proper budget, however, you may find the transition painful, long, and difficult. From the addition of house tree plants or succulents to improve the energy and air quality within your home to repair work on the air conditioner or roof, moving requires a strong commitment to budgeting that many movers overlook.
Instead, taking the time ahead of your move to game out all the things you will necessarily have to splash out on as you enter this new phase of your life will help you manage your money, and the stress that naturally comes with this task, far more effectively.
Begin to save more in the year before your move.
Relocating is capital intensive; it’s as simple as that. Whether you are moving to Fort Lauderdale, in South Florida, or away from the Sunshine State to a colder clime, movers all face the challenges of hidden costs and additional time and financial requirements that seemingly come out of the left field. To field these issues efficiently, you need to begin saving specifically for the move in a year or so before taking the plunge. This means setting cash aside every month to cover the cost of hiring movers, car repairs, and home upgrades that may be necessary for the new home – as well as in your old home so that you can take advantage of the highest sale price possible. Buyers have to strike a unique balance between saving and debt reduction in these months, so budgeting for your move a long way out from the actual event is the best way to set yourself up for success in your new home.
Another way to lock in additional capital ahead of a move is to trade in your vehicle for another model. Wrecked cars for sale often offer a dramatic price reduction while giving the buyer a rebuilt vehicle that is reliable and complete with new parts. Finding an older car with a bit of repaired damage can help you soak cash back out of the vehicles sitting on your driveway while giving you a new set of wheels that you can rely on to perform just as well as any new car from a dealership, at a fraction of the cost.
Saving each month is a great way to create additional capital that you will need during this time of heavy spending. It’s simply impossible to fund a move with a month’s salary behind you. Instead, it would help if you were aiming to put away a healthy percentage for twelve or more months ahead of the move – even a modest savings goal of 3-5% of each paycheck will go a long way to helping defray the costs of moving. In addition to this new savings objective, paying down your revolving credit card debt before taking on a new mortgage loan is a great way to improve your long term cash flow. Paying off credit cards is an important step for anyone holding a pile of debt, but it’s essential for those looking for new lines of credit.
With a high debt to limit ratio, you present yourself as a borrower that can’t balance income against spending effectively and pose a greater risk to the financial institution as a result. By paying off your debts before seeking new funding streams, you show the opposite: You immediately become a responsible and trustworthy borrower with the bank’s cash. Indeed a strong credit score and a long history of regular savings can reduce your interest rate and mortgage repayment burden each month, potentially saving you tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.
Cut down on spending.
Like your saving needs, cutting down on your spending in the months before a move is a great way to improve your cash flow and take on the increased expenses of the move itself. Budgeting for a move requires you to shop around for the best deals on everything from movers (See Solomon & Sons at ssrelocation.com for more on the most affordable movers in the U.S. and your area in particular) to new furniture. This commitment to reducing your spending needs to extend out into your other purchasing habits as well. Grocery shopping is one area where severe reductions can be made in the blink of an eye. Grocery stores play psychological tricks on their customers, and each time you enter your preferred store, you are being lured into overspending on the items you need – as well as the things you don’t.
Shoppers benefit the most when they bundle up, bring an organized list, and wear headphones while browsing. This is because the grocery stores all around the United States and abroad enlist the same subtle tricks to get you to spend more time within their walls. Items staples among shopping baskets are separated along with the four corners of the facility (meats, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables), and the store is typically kept at a bristling cold temperature. Along with key product placement of items that provide the highest markups and the slow music, stores aim to get you walking through the aisles as slowly as possible to wear down your inhibitory response to impulse spending. At about the 20-minute mark, shoppers become the most vulnerable to simply picking up items appealing to their impulse rather than their shopping list. Get in, fly through the aisles to complete your list, and then get out; this is the best way to save while doing your weekly shop.
Each of these tips will combine to help you prepare for your move. Alone, they act as high-quality, saving advice to get your cash flow and emergency savings account off the ground. Still, together, a series of powerful budgeting measures can really make a difference as you prepare for this exciting new chapter for your family.
