Unexpected Costs Of Moving
Posted on: December 9, 2008 by Matt
Originally uploaded by Dizzy AtmosphereWhile we were planning our move to a new, bigger, more comfortable apartment we looked at our budget and now all the costs should play out. I managed to get us a trailer for free that I could hook up to the back of my Jeep for the larger items and it looked as though we would be able to move all of our belongings pretty inexpensively.
All looked pretty good and our move looked promising. Overall we should save roughly $100 each (my girlfriend and I) in our new place and we should have a better living situation. However – we did not remember to account for feeding the family during the transition process.
We normally cook at home and make meals that are somewhat healthy and not too expensive to put together (that the kids will eat). When we started the move process we forgot to take into account that we would have both kitchens in a state of disarray until we could start settling into our new place. We had the ability to start moving over time so our entire move process lasted the better part of two weeks. During this time we ended up dining out or grabbing take out most nights to feed everyone; net result – increased spending on dining out.
I think that the total increase in spending on food items was probably around $300 – $400 more than usual (a bit high but we also took the kids out for a fancy Thanksgiving dinner since they would not be home the holiday weekend) for the four of us to eat for two weeks. We did manage to settle the kitchen first and start getting back into a normal routine as soon as we started staying at our new home so that helped. I just can not help thinking that there was probably a better, healthier and less costly way. Sure we saved money on movers and getting our stuff here but spent the cost of having movers on dining out over the course of two weeks.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so how would you combat the situation next time it comes up?
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TagsBudget, Expenses Filed Under: Budget, Expenses, Relationships
Just found your site. While you planned financially for the move you failed to plan on how to move. 1. Plan clothing for the time frame and put into suitcase (same as going on vacation or camping) 2. Box up everything else. 3. Plan meals that require only one pot or skillet. Kitchen gets boxed last and unpacked first. Crockpots work well for this phase, as do paperplates and plasticware to minimize cleanup time. Hope you are really enjoing the new place.
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