How to budget for your Move
A budget is crucial in every cost or finance function in your life. When moving you must plan or you will mess your finances and put yourself and family in unexpected financial turmoil.
The thought of budgeting should not put you off, follow the next steps and you’ll get to your new home solvent and beaming.
Create a Moving Checklist
You can use free online moving checklists or develop yours. List down all your moving requirements in order of priority and tabulate the information in excel or a bookkeeper’s record book. Ensure you recheck to establish if there is anything skipped.
Seek moving estimates from Moving Companies
Enquire from more than one moving company and jot down all their moving costs. Make a breakdown of the moving costs from each company. Remember to include insurance fees, commissions, claims and damage costs, professional packing and unpacking fees, and any additional charges. Compare the costs and include the costs of your preferred moving company in your tabulations.
Analyze Personal Moving Costs
You can opt to move on your own. If so, analyze the costs of truck hire, fuel costs, insurance, labor costs, and any uncertainties.
You can further compare the professional moving costs with the cost you’re likely to incur if you move on your own.
Take into Account Your Own and Family Transport Costs
Moving your home items is your priority, but you should not overlook budgeting for the personal and family moving costs. You will need to fuel your car, take meals along the way, book lodgings in case you’re moving far, and perhaps seek pet moving services. Include all the applicable personal costs in your moving budget.
Don’t Forget to Include Packaging Costs
To ensure safe movement of your items, budget for adequate and strong moving boxes, wrapping materials, paddings and moving insurance fees. You can check with your moving company to establish what packaging services they provide to avoid redundant budgeting.
Include Home Selling and Rental Vacation Costs
You’ll likely sell your old house through an agent. Remember to budget for agent’s commission, selling, advertising and repair costs. If you lived in a rental ensure no hiccups when clearing with your landlord. You could lose your deposit by not giving adequate notice.
New Home Costs
Include the costs of buying the new homelike. Agents’ commissions, taxes, insurance, interior decor and cleaning fees. If you’re renting the new home include all rental costs. To avoid cash shortfalls, budget for miscellaneous costs.
Analyze the costs, tabulate and add a considerable percentage to cater for uncertainties.
