Are You Really Ready To Upsize Your Home?

June 05, 2017

Real estate season is in full swing — everywhere I look in my area there are homes with “For Sale” signs. There are some larger homes for sale in my neighborhood, and the families who buy those neighbors’ homes have multiple children and want room to grow and an excellent public school system. Have you been wondering whether it’s time to make a move to go bigger? How do you know if you should stay where you are for the time being instead? Here are the factors to consider:

What can you afford?

You’ll have the most financial freedom in your life if you keep total housing costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance) to 25 to 35 percent of your after-tax income. For example, if your family take home is $4,500 per month, your monthly housing costs would range from $1,125 to $1,575. With a 20 percent down payment and a 30 year mortgage at 4 percent, that’s a purchase range of approximately $212,000 to $300,000 (see calculation here). I realize the 35 percent ratio could be a challenge in an insanely expensive city like Los Angeles or New York, where housing costs can eat up to half or more of a family’s income, but it’s a helpful guideline for maximum financial ease.

Why upsize to a bigger home?

When we moved back to the United States after an overseas assignment in Bermuda, a country with a very high cost of living, it was the bottom of the U.S. housing recession. Great deals on large homes in good school districts were available, so we upsized our living space to have room for three kids and lots of visitors, and still spent less than our previous location’s housing costs. This house will be too large for us once all the kids are grown up, but for now, we’re happy with the decision. Upsizing may be right for you if you can afford it and:

You would like the space for all your kids;
Grown children or grandchildren are moving in with you;
One or more parent(s) are moving in with you;
You’re moving to a less expensive state and you can afford more house for the same cost;
You need more space for a home office/business; or
You’ve always wanted to have a big house – it’s a serious bucket list item.

You’ll upsize a lot more than your mortgage

Caution: with a bigger house or bigger acreage, you’re upsizing more than your mortgage. Everything costs more: property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, home maintenance, furniture, painting, landscape, etc. Make sure you take those increased costs into account when figuring out how much you can afford.

If your mortgage is 30% bigger, your other bills will be as well. For example, if you upsize from a $200,000 mortgage to a $300,000 mortgage you should expect your related costs to go up by a third as well. Upsizing can also prompt “keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome, where you feel like you must compete with neighbors who have a more lavish lifestyle. Finally, if you frequently have visitors, do you really need or want to accommodate them in your home, or would it be better and cheaper to put them up in a nearby hotel over time than to pay the costs of upsizing?

Or should you stay put?

A bigger house is a bigger financial commitment. If you can’t afford the total costs, you’ll be “house poor.” If you just can’t decide what your next home purchase should be and at what price it makes sense, there are plenty of reasons to stay put instead of upsizing to a larger home:

You like your current home and its size fits your family;
You enjoy your neighborhood and your neighbors;
You and your spouse don’t agree on what to do next;
You don’t want your kids to have to change schools;
The costs of selling a home and buying a new one may not make it worth it to move right now; or
You believe real estate prices will rise on your street over the next few years, so you are willing to wait to sell.

Moving is a big decision. Our sense of community is often connected to a physical location. You may find that going bigger gives you a more spacious and satisfied feeling, assuming you can swing the additional expense. On the other hand, if you’re not sure if it’s the right time to move on, it may make sense to stay put until you have a clearer idea of where you want to go and what makes sense for your goals going forward. There’s always next spring to revisit the question.

Do you have a question you’d like answered on the blog? Please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on the blog by signing up here and on Twitter @cynthiameyer_FF.

Are Your Job Relocation Expenses Tax Deductible?

January 27, 2017

Editor’s note: The moving expense deduction was eliminated with the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018, but would still apply for tax year 2017 and prior.

Many of our client companies have a national presence and it isn’t unusual for employees to have to relocate halfway across the country for a new role. Since moving is expensive (even my local move last year when I bought a little townhouse a few miles away), accounting for those expenses becomes not just a “to do” item that is time consuming and frustrating – but possibly also rewarding! You can potentially get reimbursed for moving expenses, get paid a relocation expense and/or get to deduct some of your moving expenses on your tax return. There are a lot of “moving parts” in this situation.

With all of these potential situations in play, what do you need to know? The first thing you should know is if your move is local, like mine was, and isn’t required for work (mine wasn’t) then there is no benefit to you financially. That’s just the cost of making a transition.

Does your move have deduction potential?

If your move is for business purposes, and this would include a new job, your current job or even your first job (note to recent or upcoming grads…..this means YOU!) – your move has to pass two “tests” in order to be tax deductible:

Test #1 = the distance test. The job must be 50 miles further away than your current home. If you live 15 miles away from work now, the new role would have to be 65 miles away (and on a reasonable route, not a zigzag route through the scenic back roads).

Test #2 = the time test. Once you’ve moved, you have to spend at least 39 weeks working in the first 12 months. If you’re self employed, that bumps up to 78 weeks in the first 24 months.

If you don’t receive money from your employer

If you don’t get reimbursed, keep your receipts and track your mileage. You can use the IRS Form 3903 to track your expenses. You don’t need the Schedule A since it’s not subject to a percentage of income test and it isn’t impacted by income phase-outs.

It’s a pretty straightforward process. Things you can deduct are: the cost of moving, 30 days of storage expenses, insurance for the move, the cost of disconnecting/connecting utilities, lodging expenses during the move, the cost of transporting pets, and the cost of shipping your car (or mileage if you drive). Things you can NOT deduct are: the cost of meals and house hunting. (Boo!)

If you do receive money from your employer

Where it gets a bit tricky is if you get post-move reimbursements or a relocation allowance paid prior to your move. If you get reimbursed and it is a non-taxable reimbursement (like an expense check), you can’t double dip and then deduct the expenses. If you get reimbursed and it IS taxable (you can see if it’s on your W-2 form, box 12, Code P), you then are allowed to deduct the expenses. If you get a relocation allowance in December 2016 and incur expenses in January or February 2017, you can deduct the moving expenses as if you moved in 2016 – so you’d fill out the 3903 for the 2016 tax year, which means you’ll probably be bumping up against the April tax filing deadline.

Having just completed a move recently, I can tell you that moving is no fun. But looking for a new place can be a blast and it’s pretty cool once you’ve settled in to the new place. Remember, if you’re moving for work, it can also be something that can help you around tax filing season.

Should You Move For a Job?

January 23, 2017

Have you received an interesting offer to live and work somewhere else? Moving to a new city can be very stressful, especially if it involves changing jobs or re-locating with an existing employer. While this stress can be heavy on the person dealing with the job change or transfer, it can also affect others.

Before you accept the move and start plotting your appearance on HGTV’s House Hunters, you and your family will have to work through some tricky decisions. That’s the scenario my fellow planner Brian Kelly, CFP® was discussing with an employee on our Financial Helpline recently. Here’s what he had to say:

1. Don’t base your decision solely on the new salary. Think about how far your income will go in the new city. If you are moving to a place where the cost of living is much higher, you might have to eventually answer this question: “Is the location worth it?” The answer to this question might just be “yes, it is worth it to live in a smaller house near the ocean or have to spend more in a town that has more amenities,” but this is a trade-off that you should be aware of. You will also want to consider new expenses you are not currently budgeting for such as traveling to visit family and babysitters.

2. Calculate your net pay after benefits. Employee benefits are now a large part of a person’s compensation. Taking a new job with a salary increase but weaker benefits can actually decrease your total compensation so factor these in. See this guide for calculating the value of your benefits.

3. Consider your spouse’s career too. Think about this in a longer term perspective. In 5 years, is our “team” going to be better off?

4. How does the move affect your children? Moving children can have effects on their education, their relationships and possibly their well being. Do some research on school systems and after-school care. This might impact your decision on where to buy or rent.

5. How does it affect your parents? Some grandparents’ retirement plans center around time with their children and grandchildren. Others will need elderly care. You might need an extra bedroom in your new home.

6. Should you purchase a home right away or is it wise to rent for a certain time period? Purchasing a home is a major financial decision. The closing costs alone can make a short-term home buying decision a bad one if you have to sell before the house appreciates in value.

7. Lastly, you have to consider the real possibility that it doesn’t work out, for whatever reason, and have a plan B. Companies fail, managers can be impossible to work with, the job doesn’t turn out how you thought it would, parents get sick, or you just miss home. In that case, have a backup plan.

Checklist of things to do:

Create a side-by-side budget with current and new income and expenses. Factor in cost-of-living and benefit changes.
Have a family meeting with spouse, children and/or parents to discuss how the potential move will affect them.
Visit before you make the final decision. See the new work facility, meet and interview people you will work with and check out schools and areas where you might want to live.
Research school districts and after-care if necessary.
Compare the costs of renting and buying a home. Consider renting, even if it’s temporary, until you are sure of where you want to live.
Articulate a plan B just in case.

Once you’ve worked through the action steps, the wisdom of one path vs. another should be more clear. What does your head tell you? Your heart? The balance of both will help you make the best decision for you and your family.

Do you have a question you’d like answered on the blog? Please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on the blog by signing up here, and on Twitter @cynthiameyer_FF.

How to Deduct Your Moving Expenses

October 12, 2016

Editor’s note: The moving expense deduction was eliminated with the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018, but would still apply for tax year 2017 and prior.

I know several people who have embarked upon long distance moves recently, which also means that they were often changing jobs. My first question when I learned of the moves was, “You know you can deduct your moving expenses, right?” First, here’s what the IRS has to say about it:

If you moved due to a change in your job or business location or because you started a new job or business, you may be able to deduct your reasonable moving expenses but not any expenses for meals [emphasis added]. You can deduct your moving expenses if you meet all three of the following requirements:

Your move closely relates to the start of work
You meet the distance test
You meet the time test

Here’s what that means:

Related to the start of work: Your move doesn’t have to be because you got a new job, but the two events do need to be closely related. Specifically, you can deduct moving expenses incurred within one year from the date you first started your new job.

Distance test: Your new job must be at least 50 miles further from your old home than your old job was from your old home. If you weren’t working before you moved, then your new job must be at least 50 miles from your old home.

For example, when I graduated college in Michigan and moved to Cincinnati to start my new job, I was able to deduct my moving expenses. But when I moved to a new house in Cincinnati about the same time I started a different job, my new commute was only 5 miles longer than my old commute, so those expenses were not deductible. If you had a 5 mile commute that turned into a 55 mile commute and you switched jobs to work closer to home, you could deduct.

Time test: You have to work full-time at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months immediately after you arrive in your new location. If you’re self-employed, that time requirement increases to require full-time work for at least 39 weeks out of 12 months and for a total of at least 78 weeks during the first 24 months. So a self-employed person who works full-time for a year and 26 weeks from the day they arrive would qualify. There are exceptions to this rule for death, disability, involuntary separation, and a few other things. Publication 521 lists them all.

If you pass all of those tests, then you can deduct your moving expenses. It’s what we CPA geeks call an “above the line” deduction, which has a more favorable effect on your taxes than “below the line” deductions like mortgage interest, taxes and charitable giving. Moving expenses actually decrease your adjusted gross income, a number upon which other tax calculations are determined, including eligibility to deduct medical expenses and even your state taxable income.

What You Can Deduct

Generally speaking, you can deduct any expenses that were incurred to move your stuff, including travel. That includes the cost of storage up to 30 consecutive days, supplies such as tape, boxes, moving blankets, etc., any costs to move pets (I once had a client pay FedEx to move his horse from Florida to California) and your mileage for making the drive there. If your move involves an overnight in a hotel, you can also deduct that along with the cost of renting a moving truck. You’ll have to complete Form 3903 and file it with that year’s return and make sure you keep receipts for everything in case the IRS wants proof.

Remember, the purpose of the move doesn’t have to be because you found a new job. You can move to a new place because you want to move and as long as you switch jobs and meet the three tests, you also get a little tax boost to offset the costs. Moving is expensive. Take advantage of all the breaks you can get!

If you have questions that we can answer on the blog, please send me an email, and I’ll do my best to help. Did you know you can also sign up to receive my blog posts every week, delivered straight to your inbox? Just head over to our blog main page, enter your email address and select which topics or bloggers’ posts you’d like to receive. You may also follow me on Twitter and Facebook as well.

What Financial Security Really Means

July 13, 2016

When my colleague Matthew recently announced that his family had made the decision to move to Maui this summer, I was immediately intrigued. I’m a big believer in gathering wisdom from the experiences of others, so I asked Matthew to share the process that he and his family went through in making this life-altering decision. Here’s what he had to say, from an edited interview:

Q: You and your family have decided to move to Maui this summer. Was this something you always planned to do?

Matthew: This wasn’t something we always wanted to do. I was pretty content living in Southern California, due to our strong relationships here, up until recently. My wife’s family is from Maui, and she was born and raised there. Moving to Maui is something we only began to seriously consider end of December, last year.

Q: Was there a specific event that triggered you to start thinking about this?

Matthew: A number of happenings triggered us thinking about moving to Maui. For 14+ years, we had been part of a tight knit community through our church. Recently, some of the key leaders in that community passed away. Our families were really close so it was a big hit. It really hasn’t been the same since.

We started re-thinking why we were in Los Angeles. It’s a busy place, and in many ways, not our ideal place to live, although we have really enjoyed the work and relationship opportunities we’ve had. We began to consider other places to live, Hawaii being the chief place, due to my wife being from there.

Q: What was your timeline for making this decision and what things did you consider?

Matthew: It took about 6 months to determine if the move was viable, and after we determined it was viable, we went with it. We considered a number of different factors:

Cost of living: Hawaii is a pretty expensive place to live, but so is where we currently live (the South Bay of Los Angeles). We performed a cost of living analysis and determined that besides food and gas, it’s pretty much a wash.
Housing costs: Rental rates are about the same between Maui and LA. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that housing prices are a bit more affordable than the South Bay, especially if you stay away from the beach.
Potential job salary (if we were unable to keep our jobs): We weren’t sure if we’d be able to keep our jobs or have to find new ones, so this was a bit of a gamble. After doing research on IT jobs for me and biology jobs for my wife, we found that we could possibly take a 50% pay cut if we moved. So we did some soul searching and felt ok with this decision – a more restful, peaceful way of life was more important to us than making more money and having a more expanded lifestyle.
Our current savings: We have been aggressively lowering debt and saving money for the last few years, which was a huge factor in our decision to move. Having a financial cushion to fall back on helped ease concerns over the cost of moving, initial rent payments, and possibly being without a job for a few months.
Relationships: Friends we’d be leaving behind as well as the benefit of being closer to my in-laws were important considerations. My son has a lot of close friendships with kids his age through school, so that was a big one to work through.

Q: Anything that would have caused you NOT to make the move?

Matthew: A number of things had to line up for this to work, and if any one of them had not, we probably wouldn’t have considered moving. First, and most important, we needed the existing relationships in Maui (my wife’s family and friends), which leads to potential connections between us and the community. Second, we had to have a viable financial plan to move. Third, the hope of a better lifestyle is what pushed us over the edge.

Q: If you had one piece of advice for people thinking about making a life change like this, what would it be?

Matthew: There’s a lot that goes into a decision like this, and obviously it’s not something to take lightly. I think understanding yourself, as well as understanding your immediate family is super important. What type of environment will make you and your family most effective and happy should be your starting place.

Some of us are lucky, and we understand ourselves from the get-go pretty well. Others may need to spend some time soul searching and looking for answers as to who we are and where we should go in life before decisions like this. This process takes time, but if you want to be effective and happy as a person, you’ll want to undergo this process and continue to re-evaluate and develop over time.

After you do some soul searching within yourself and with your family, then you can start evaluating where you might want to move. Is the place you’re thinking of a place to visit or is it a place to live? Could you really be happy there long term?

Do I, as a person, make sense within that community or region? Will I fit in well there? Do I have something to offer that community? Do I have the potential to care about the people that live there or will all of my relationships likely be superficial?

Lastly, have an exit plan in case you miscalculated. If it doesn’t work out or if the place doesn’t line up, what’s the worst that can happen? Can you and your family leave relatively unscathed?

The CFP® viewpoint: I was very happy to see that the long and short-term effects on family finances played a central role in the decision but that this wasn’t the primary factor. I’ve seen so many instances where families are dragged around the country as one parent climbs the ladder in a corporate job only to find that the financial success wasn’t worth the strain on their marriage, kids and overall life. I also love the fact that before they had this idea, they had already begun laying the financial foundation, and to me, that’s actually the key takeaway for all of us.

Even if you’re not sure what your “Moving to Maui” event will be, being financially prepared will make the decision much simpler. It’s a real shame to say no to the things you really want to do because you’re too burdened by debt or don’t have any savings in the bank to allow for leaps of faith. To me, that’s the true definition of financial security – making choices for every reason besides money because you’ve already got that one taken care of.

How to Survive and Thrive in a Pricey City

July 12, 2016

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY – before it was trendy. When I was growing up Red Hook, the underpass of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges were places you did not want to go to at night. It seemed like overnight the worse and somewhat cheaper parts of town became the most sought after and expensive places to live.

These changes are what attracted my cousin to move to Brooklyn later this year. As I was talking to her, I realized that she was excited about the idea of living in New York, but the reality of the financial change from her move had not quite sunken in yet. I told my cousin about financial changes she had not fully factored into her move such as:

Paycheck Sticker Shock: My cousin was moving from Florida to Brooklyn. She knew that she was going to experience a major shock in expenses, but she had not factored in the change in her take home income due to taxes. Unlike Florida, New York City and some other major cities have state and city income taxes. She was shocked to see about a $600 a month estimated decrease in her paycheck once she moved there. For anyone moving to a new state, using calculators like the one from Smart Asset to gauge what your new income will be can help you better manage your finances.

Caviar Tastes on a Tuna Fish Budget: My cousin grew up watching The Cosby Show and fell in love with the brownstones featured on it. She knew the rent would be high but she almost passed out when I told her that a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights could easily run over $2,500. I told her to first do a budget to see how much she can afford. Her budget did not support $2,000 in rent so we researched apartments on websites like Apartments.com, which helped her set realistic expectations of where she could afford to live.

We brainstormed ideas like renting a room, living in a basement apartment, taking in roommates or living on the outer edges of Brooklyn. We also searched apartments that were in rent controlled/stabilized buildings to protect her from crazy rent increases. I encouraged her as well as anyone moving to a new city to research the cost of housing and realize that it may be a choice between a longer commute or more expensive rent.

Ditch the Car: My cousin grew up in a place that required her to have a vehicle. It never occurred to her that she may not need a car. She was shocked when I told her that my mother, a typical New Yorker, does not have a driver’s license, and I was 24 before I got mine.

I encouraged her to get to know the mass transit system in her area and estimate the cost of maintaining her vehicle in Brooklyn. Between the extra cost of car insurance, gas, parking and the hassle of alternate side of the street parking, she decided it was not worth it and ditched her car. The extra savings helped her to afford an apartment closer to where she worked. Call your insurance company to find out the cost of insurance in your new location, look up the average gas price, the average cost of parking and the hassle of finding parking to see if it is worth keeping your car.

Finally, I encouraged my cousin to do a comprehensive budget, not only factoring in the cost of living but also vacations, since she will either have to rent a car or fly home. She created a budget that helped her get her apartment and even have a little fun. Because of all the preparation she did, she was able to enjoy her new location without going broke in the process.

Don’t Make My Moving Mistakes

April 08, 2016

After a long process (it started with my first offer in August) of looking for, making offers for and securing financing for a new place to live, I just finished moving. Whew, that was a process…While I’ve done it many times in my life, I always forget how tough it is and how many things come up and how they can be budget busters. I re-learned a few things and maybe you can learn from my mistakes and not commit similar ones.

Always expect things to cost more than estimated! When you pay for a home inspection, your inspector will find issues that need to be fixed – either by the seller or by you as the new buyer. In my recent experience, the issues that I needed to fix always cost just a bit more than anticipated.

For instance, there was some very worn and stained carpeting on the stairs that I wanted to replace. I looked under one area during the inspection that was a bit easy to peek under and I saw a nice wooden step. My plan was to simply pull up the carpet, have nice wood steps and remember NOT to wear slippery socks when going up and down the stairs.

Well, when the carpeting was removed, there were only two or three steps (out of 10-12) that looked decent. The rest were marked, scarred, virtually non-existent (a simple plywood plank, not a finished wood step) and my “nice wood stairs” idea went up in smoke. I called a friend who is in the carpet business and had him come out to salvage the situation with a newly carpeted staircase. It ended well, but that was a check I hadn’t anticipated writing.

What you can learn from my mistake: On your next move, either do some research into the pricing of each product/service that you will need or add in a “fluff factor” of 10-20% for the unexpected. It’s a bit cliché to say “expect the unexpected”…but, expect it! And do a room by room walk through with a notepad and build a list of projects that need to be done so that you have as much information as you can get to make your ballpark costs as accurate as possible.

You will pay for things you didn’t think you’d need! When I moved, I thought I did a pretty thorough job of listing everything that I needed to pay for. I had movers, boxes, packing supplies, home inspection, appraisal, etc.

But there were two things that completely escaped my list. I forgot all about “service change” costs with my gas/electric provider and my phone/cable/Internet service provider. Because my new place had never been serviced by these providers before, there were some installation charges added to the service change fees. In all, there were a few hundred dollars that I had no idea I’d have to spend.

Plus, my move was in April – which last time I checked was in the spring – but in Baltimore, the spring can have some cold days (as evidenced by the snow flurries I saw this morning). I completely forgot that my oil tank would need to be filled and it took about 250 gallons to fill. That was another big unexpected charge. Adding in a few other things that I hadn’t added to my list (shower rod and shower curtain, bath mats, outdoor deck chairs) – there was over $1,000 that I didn’t expect to pay but ended up paying.

What you can learn from my mistake: When you are calling your service providers, do it well in advance and ask about waiving the change fees in exchange for you being a loyal long term customer. Ask for discounts. Ask if there is any way to lower your bill so that after you move, you have an embedded savings. I was able to do that with Verizon Fios and added a couple movie channels for less than my prior package price.

Finally, walk through with someone who has complementary skill sets. I understand the structural and mechanical pieces so I would have been better served to walk through (with my notepad) with someone who has more of a decorative slant than I do! (I’ll never be considered to have fashion/style sense.)

Moving is expensive…and exhausting….and frustrating. My budget was a bit busted and I am going to have to cut back in some other areas (dining out, coffee shops) over the next year or so in order to recover from the damage that the move did to my finances. But after spending a few nights in my new place and adjusting to the new sounds, I have to say it was very much worth the headaches! It’s a small price to pay for all of the reasons I chose to move and take on the financial trauma that a move can do to my regular budget.

5 Lessons I Learned When I Downsized My Home

April 17, 2015

I am especially thankful this past Easter because I moved into my new house. The kids are away at college so I decided to downsize and move to the city. After almost a year of living in temporary housing, my newly renovated, 19^th century row house was ready. Yeah! I was like a kid on Christmas morning as I watched the moving truck arrive and the movers bring in my belongings that were in storage for the past year.

Seven hours and a gazillion boxes later, I was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Was this all mine? Gosh, I didn’t remember having so much STUFF. I’ve spent the past three days unpacking and working very hard to turn what looks like a hoarder’s paradise into my home. Here are some lessons that I’ve learned as the boxes get unpacked:

Stuff multiplies in the dark. I decluttered my previous house before listing it for sale. Then before the moving truck arrived, I donated countless bags of clothes, sold furniture on Craigslist, and then filled a dumpster with all the other things that I knew I couldn’t or wouldn’t use anymore. Still, I am overwhelmed with all the stuff that arrived this weekend and am convinced that it multiplied while in storage! How else can I explain the four identical cookie sheets, six baking dishes, and five black sweaters?

This house just can’t hold as much stuff so I’m re-packing boxes of gently used cookware, clothes and furniture for Goodwill. It’s a shame that I paid the moving company to pack, store for a year, haul 600 miles to my new house, then unpack a lot of things…all to give it away. That’s a lot of money spent on things that I didn’t need.

Protect the priceless. I spent 24 years collecting things to provide a warm and inviting home for my family. We had countless sleepovers, family gatherings, and home cooked meals throughout the years and I loved those times. However, looking back, I know that I could have provided the same great times without all the household stuff that I acquired.

As I unpack, the things that moved my heart the most were the pictures. They triggered the memories that are truly priceless. However, they were just placed in regular boxes and the elements destroyed some of them. I will go through the stacks of pictures, throw away those that were bad shots, and make digital copies of the keepers. I will store the digital copies on free online sites like Google Drive or Dropbox or store them on an external hard drive.

When moving, pay for full value protection. I chose a national moving company because my move was across a few states and I wanted the convenience of having one contact during the entire process. This company came highly recommended by people that I trusted but I had a fair amount of damaged items. In particular, my buffet server and my grandmother’s cedar chest were badly broken.

I don’t have receipts for either. However, because I purchased full value protection insurance, I should be able to replace the buffet with something comparable. My grandmother’s cedar chest was nothing fancy, but it was priceless to me, and my claims agent has already reached out to see how it can possibly be repaired. Only time will tell, but this was insurance that I’m glad I bought.

Think very hard before buying anything else. Before the move, I’d been pretty good about staying out of the stores. I struggle with being inside Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond and making impulse purchases, but I need bath rugs, window coverings, and other miscellaneous (but expensive) things for the new house.

I will be very deliberate on what I buy this time around. I have a list and a budget in hand before I go. I also do my best to speed through the aisles and not linger. This way, I don’t happen to see some new, fancy thing-a-mo-bob and convince myself that I need it.

Keep the ibuprofen handy. I absolutely love my row house except for the stairs. I have easily climbed 100 flights over the past few days and my legs are in serious pain.

Add the fact that I’ve carried boxes up and down those said flights, and it’s easy to understand why my back, shoulders and arms all feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. I think I’ll cancel my gym membership. Thankfully, I remembered to pull out the pain meds as well as other important items like my passport, prescription medications, bank account statements, jewelry, will and living will documents. Now if I can only find the box with the wine glasses….

Which States Are Really Tax-Friendly?

August 30, 2013

One of the more interesting conversations I get to have with people who are close to retirement is about where they plan to live. Often, inertia (or a paid off mortgage) leads people to stay exactly where they are today. People are often attached to their homes and moving is rarely if ever a smooth and easy process. Continue reading “Which States Are Really Tax-Friendly?”

The Joys of Moving

September 05, 2011

When was the last time you moved? Were you amazed at the amount of “stuff” you have? I am moving this weekend (from a five bedroom three bath home to a condo about half the size) and I am shocked at how much stuff is coming out of my house. I found that I have not one, not two, but seven cameras! There is an old Minolta manual 35mm film camera with a bunch of lenses (I’ll keep that one), a Canon 35mm film camera, and a bunch of point and shoot digital cameras (which we don’t really use anymore since we use the cameras on our phones every day). Continue reading “The Joys of Moving”