Let’s Think Twice About Your 12 Month Lease

Let me just start by saying, moving around every 12 months is not a good financial move. Yes, I said it. In addition, although I earn money every time I help you move, financially it is a big fail if you are trying to build your wealth in today’s economic landscape. You may want to move because the rent increased by $30, or management is seemingly not as responsive to your request as you would like. Important reasons to move would be that your family expanded so you need an additional bedroom or you do not feel secure in your current home, otherwise moving too often can really affect your family financially for years to come. 

​Your earnings every paycheck should not only be for your living expenses today, but also for your future life. At some point, you are going to look at your life and say….something needs to change in order for me to get ahead. Your pay increases from your job will not keep up with inflation, which is the cold hard truth; check the news tonight for further confirmation. Doing better financially, year over year will come from your “money moves”, not from a job.

When moving into a new rental these days, you’ll need to pay for;
 - an application fee (or several)
 - security deposit (or several depending on your credit) and the first month’s rent renter’s insurance
 - costs associated with setting up/transfer of utilities like internet, cable, home security systems, etc. Some property owners are requesting a pet deposit for each pet, along with a month fee of $25 or so 
 - moving materials, or movers
 - those hidden expense of cleaning materials (or service) for the move-out and move-in to a new space, gas, eating out while your household is in transition, childcare
​ - potential car insurance increase when you change zip codes. Yes. Whether you are moving out of state or in state, your car insurance policy may see changes because the location of your vehicle is one of the most important factors for rates and coverage options. Have you considered that?

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​On average, a local move can range from $300 to $1,500 depending on the move's size. Long-distance moves can cost on average $2,500 to $5,000 depending on the move's size and the distance, and that is likely a conservative estimate because of the labor shortage's effect on the moving industry in the last few years. - Forbes

Think twice about your next move. Do you really need to move because that drawer in the kitchen is wonky and management hasn’t repaired it yet? Grab a screwdriver, go to YouTube and handle it. Maybe you need to spend $75 annually of your own money for a pest control treatment, use the Thumbtack App to comparison shop for a pest control company. Do you see where I’m going with this? Those little annoyances should not propel you to uproot your household financially every 12 months. AND…we didn’t even cover the stress involved with moving. Whew!
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I hope that changing your perspective slightly about your largest monthly expense can start you on your way to changing some of your other “money moves” in the upcoming new year.
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All the best to you,
Diana

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