Saving Up Before Moving: Vital Tips and Tactics
The difficulty in learning how to save money or being frugal is that it is a massive change in our lives. What can we do when we are trying to save money and be more frugal when we are aiming to make massive changes in our lives? Moving away is something we've all got to save up for, whether it's moving house or moving to another country. But this is why having a number of tools, as well as some better understanding, can make a massive difference in the wider picture. What are the things we all need to understand so we can save money effectively before we move away?
Breaking Down Your Budget Into “Before” and “After” Moving
The many components of moving can be broken down into before and after. Therefore, having two separate budgets can give you a far better understanding of what you physically need to save. When you are prepping for the before phase, you could start listing the things that will need to be paid for, such as:
- The packing materials.
- The red tape, like the cost of applications for moving to another country.
- The top rated international moving companies or local moving companies.
- The costs of moving day, including keeping yourself fed.
These are just a few of the basics, and each one can be broken down into a number of different components. When it comes to after moving, this is when you start to think about some of the following:
- The cost of rent or mortgage.
- Utilities.
- Food.
- Travel or commuting costs.
- Lifestyle.
- And so much more.
In order to bring all of this together, you've got to know the full costs of moving and living. It's a lesson that we don't always learn, but when it comes to the overall costs of moving, we are far better at breaking it down into each individual component and the estimated costs, plus 30% on top to account for any inflation or human error can make a big difference. When you start to understand each little component and its costs, you are going to fare better and be more pragmatic in your approach to spending money.
Some people don't have an understanding of the overall financial picture, but when it comes to budgeting, learning the cost of each little thing and how it all adds up can be far better to help us prepare.
Tracking Your Expenditure in the Run-Up to Moving
One of the most difficult things is keeping track of every single penny that comes in and goes out of our accounts. If you are living with someone else and you have individual bank accounts, as well as a joint account, it's important to get a better picture of the overall house finances.
So many people don't take into account the little expenditures, such as streaming services or morning coffee. Therefore, we need to be far more accurate in our calculations. There are fantastic website calculators available to deal with household spending, but it's also important to get into the habit of looking at your bank account on a regular basis.
When you start to see more money coming out of your account than there is going in, this should be a warning sign that you need to tighten your belt. When you are preparing to move, you've got to start becoming more frugal in how you live, which is not an easy thing for many people.
A lot of people worry about making ends meet, but the lesson in being more effective with your expenditure is simply about spending less than you earn. There are a number of saving methods that can help you, such as the 50/30/20 approach, where you put 50% of your after-tax income into your needs (such as utilities and rent), 30% for the things you want, and 20% for paying off debt or putting into savings. So many people don't track their expenditures and this is a very dangerous thing, because they get into the mindset that they have more money than their bank accounts actually convey.
The Importance of Removing Debt
For many people, the advice is always to cut your debt down as much as possible. Before you move, getting rid of debt serves a number of important purposes:
- If you are moving to a new home or in the process of applying for a mortgage, showing the lenders you have very little debt highlights your responsibility with money.
- It allows you the opportunity to wipe the slate clean, as removing debt means you are in a far better financial position to make changes to your new home.
- There is less stress on you and your family.
Debt is something that we don't like to be saddled with, but unfortunately, we can all feel like we've got to make specific purchases in our lives. Therefore, we can easily get into the spiral of debt, but there are a number of debt payment methods out there, such as the debt snowball approach.
Saving money before we move away should involve getting rid of debt, especially when there is so much interest applied to something like a credit card. Moving your credit cards to 0% ones is one of the best approaches because you are going to be saving that much more. You can then spend more money on either getting rid of the debt or funneling your finances into far better and more productive approaches.
How Can We Live Frugally Before We Move?
The hardest thing about moving away is that it can be a very stressful period of time. Saving money before we move away can seem almost impossible when we've got to pay for moving companies and deal with a lot of life admin. Therefore, we all believe that we are entitled to a treat here and there. Living frugally in the run-up to moving is incredibly important, but it is vital to remember that before moving, you can benefit from doing some of the following:
- Not wasting food. So many people get into the mindset of keeping their cupboards full. If you are moving in 6 weeks' time, the best thing you can do is to start using all of your cans and everything that's in the fridge and freezer before you head off. There are an amazing variety of recipes out there that involves using up old cans as well as fridge staples. You can make amazing curries with a variety of frozen vegetables and meat. Rather than getting into the habit of wasting food, this is the perfect opportunity for you to become more resourceful, which is a great mindset you can take to your new home.
- Bulk cooking. When the temptation to eat fast food arises, bulk or batch cooking is an amazing way for you to save a lot of money. A month before you leave, you can use up all of your ingredients and batch cook a lot of meals. You can then freeze them and take them out of the freezer to defrost overnight and just put them in the microwave to reheat. This is an approach that makes a lot of sense because if you find yourself in the few weeks before moving, trying to get everything together in a hurry can be stressful. Rather than having to cook a massive meal, putting something in the microwave is quick and effective.
- Decluttering and returning things you don't need. Part of the moving process means having to declutter. Therefore, when you are removing things from your home that you don't need, it's going to make the moving day far easier. Likewise, returning things you don't need anymore to the store is going to bulk up your budget more. Any spoiled groceries or non-perishables can easily be returned to the store, and any clothes that don't serve a purpose that you have bought in the last 30 days can easily get your money back.
Moving During Off-Peak Season
Where possible, you should try and book your removal company way in advance. Removal companies offer deals, but if you are trying to save money in the run-up to moving, choosing off-peak can help to save you some money.
Moving home during the fall months can make it a bit cheaper. It also can benefit you to find the best day to move house. Sometimes, we try to move around our working schedule. Friday is the most popular day to move home because people want the weekend to settle in, however, this can mean more expensive moving companies. Instead, opt for Sunday where possible.
Moving is an incredibly expensive practice. Therefore, learning to save money in the run-up to moving, as well as trying out some of these practices, can make a massive difference in the overall cost of moving away. This is the perfect opportunity for you to draw a line in the sand before starting all over again. Having a few of these habits can do a lot to ensure that you can save money in the run-up to moving, while also getting you into a far more frugal mindset.
