The Young Lawyer Moving Checklist
Executive Summary
Young lawyers can expect to move multiple times over their lives. These moves can be a result of an upgrade in lifestyle, a lateral transfer, or the purchase of a home. Moving is a time of transition and this includes your personal finances. This checklist lists the important costs and insurance considerations to keep track of. It also mentions other considerations like updating your address across various platforms. No checklist can guarantee a move going smoothly, but it certainly helps to have a plan in advance.
Are you planning to move soon? It is more common than you may expect. According to the Census Bureau, after 18, the average person will move 9 times. Moving costs money, time, and effort. Young lawyers are smart enough to know that there are right and wrong ways to move.
This checklist will give you all the information you need to master your next move.
Why Do Lawyers Move?
If you are happy with your current living situation, you may not be planning to move for a long time, but life rarely goes according to plan for young lawyers. Many lawyers will move firms at least once between their first 3-5 years in practice. When moving, it can be to a new place in their current area or a brand new city.
But moving jobs is only one reason why lawyers move. When you are in the early stages of your career as a lawyer, you will slowly be upgrading your lifestyle. As you earn more over your career and pay off debt, you may have additional income to spend on the things you find valuable. Most of us spend considerable time at home. So it is common for lawyers to want to upgrade their living situation. Even if you are only moving to a better unit in your apartment complex, you still have to deal with the entire moving process.
Another way that lawyers upgrade their lifestyle is that they go from being a renter to a homeowner. Buying a home is a significant milestone in the financial timeline of a lawyer. Buying a home usually means you intend to live there for at least 5+ years. Most lawyers hope moving into a new home is the last move for a while.
Moving Checklist
Moving is not one event. It is a collection of different aspects of your home life that you need to consider. To help you stay on top of your move, here are the various parts of moving that you should consider:
Set Up Utilities Beforehand
This first step can lead to frustration if not addressed. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that it is not fun to move into a new place without electricity and internet. Call your providers at least a week before your move-in date to have the following utilities set up:
Electricity
Gas
Water
Sewage
Trash
Internet
Depending on where you move, utilities may come through the same provider (electricity/gas or water/sewage). Other lawyers may find that their new home has some or all utilities included in the rent. No matter your situation, you should still confirm that all of these utilities are in place before you move in because no one likes to move in the dark.
Adjust Insurance Coverage
Whether you are moving from a rental to another rental, rental to a new home, or your current home to a new home, you will need to adjust your insurance coverage. Insurance companies base your premiums on many factors. Where you live is one of many factors. You may need to add or update these insurances prior to a move:
Renters insurance
Homeowners insurance
Auto insurance
First, lawyers should apply for renters/homeowners quotes from other insurance providers before moving. Obtaining these can be helpful when updating your coverage with your current provider to ensure you are getting the best coverage at the lowest price.
Once you have obtained your quotes and selected which insurance option is best for you, you should update your other insurance information. If you are moving into a better place, you may need to increase your coverage to account for adding more personal property to make your new residence feel like home. Another thing to consider is the cost of living in your new area. If it is higher than your previous home, you should ensure that your insurance coverage aligns with the expected costs of an insurable event.
Change Your Mailing Address
Your address is a part of many things you use in your daily life. Many providers who you use will have your old address on file. Without changing this, you may run into future problems. Some address updates you may need to make include:
Drivers License
Credit Cards
Bank Accounts/Investment Accounts
Insurance
Doctors
Amazon
Voter Registration
Address with your employer/HR
Streaming Services
Memberships
In addition to individually changing the addresses for the above items, lawyers should also report an address change on the United States Postal Service website. You can set up mail forwarding, which costs around $1. Mail forwarding will forward all mail with your name to your new address for the following year. It is a practical catch-all for any services or providers that you forget to update during the move.
Calculate the Costs of Moving
Budgeting your move can be helpful, but it is best to assume your budget is underestimating how much it will cost. That does not make the budgeting process unhelpful. Instead, it highlights the unpredictability of a move. Things will break, you will want to add things to your new place, and you will always need more time to move in than you think.
Some costs you will need to consider are:
Your Time
As a lawyer, your time is valuable. When you bill your time to clients, you count your time in 6 minute increments. In theory, every 6 minutes you spend moving could also be billing a client. I do not say this to sound like a partner. I say this to highlight the concept of opportunity cost. The time you spend moving can always be spent doing something else. Moving takes a lot of time. Moving includes the time to pack everything in your current place, the time to move it into your new home, and the time to then unpack it all.
It is hard to quantify the value of your time in a budget, but it is a critical part of the equation.
DIY Move or Pay Someone To Move
Depending on your financial situation, you have different choices when determining how to move. You can choose between:
Packing and moving everything by yourself
Packing everything and hiring someone to move it
Hiring someone to pack and move everything for you.
The cost of packing and moving everything by yourself is cheaper, but at what cost? You will spend more time packing, loading, traveling, unloading, and unpacking. What is the value of your time?
If your time is very valuable, you can pay someone to do the whole moving process for you, but it will cost a lot more. Determine how valuable your time is and how much help you can find to move on your own. Every lawyer has a different preference.
Lawyers should also review their renters/homeowners insurance to see if the move is covered. Some insurances will not cover damages from a move, especially if you hire movers.
If you decide to move by yourself, you should consider these DIY moving costs:
Rental Truck
Dollies
Furniture pads/moving blankets
Lifting straps
Cargo straps
These costs will depend on how much you need to move.
Upfront Housing Costs
As a renter, you may have to pay the first and last months' rent plus a security deposit. These costs can add up quickly. You need to correctly account for the upfront payments before moving into your new place.
Renters expect to receive a part of their prior home’s security deposit, but it is not guaranteed. Always ask your former landlord when you should expect the return of your security deposit. It is also good practice to request an itemized list of the costs taken out of your security deposit. It does not happen often, but sometimes a landlord will act in bad faith. Lawyers should also not expect the incoming security deposit to cover the new security deposit. The timing rarely matches up, and you will likely be waiting a few weeks before receiving your prior security deposit.
When moving to a new home, you will also have upfront costs. These include a down payment, escrow fees, and insurance costs. You can call an escrow agent to get an estimate of these costs before closing.
Boxes and Moving Supplies
My rule of thumb for moving is that you can expect to pay 2X as much on moving supplies as you anticipate. It is hard to guess the total size of items to move. It is always best to buy more boxes than you expect to use.
In addition to boxes, you should consider buying:
Bubble Wrap
Packing tape
Packing paper
Plastic Baggies
Labels and markers
TVs and other high-value items may also require special boxes and moving supplies to ensure their protection.
Moving supplies always seem like a small expense, but people underestimate how many things they have to move.
BONUS: Make Money to Move
Rarely do lawyers need to move at a moment's notice. Often a move is planned well in advance. Lawyers who want to reduce how much they will move and make some money to help offset the cost of moving should consider selling things beforehand.
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are great resources for lawyers to sell things before moving. It is beneficial to understand beforehand if you need to sell your items quickly or for a high price. You can often sell things quickly on these marketplaces at a low price. If you want to make more money and have the time, you can post your items at a higher price and wait for the right buyer. Rarely can you sell things quickly and for the highest fair price.
Selling your items may not fully pay for the move, but every little bit helps!
Final Takeaways
Most lawyers will move multiple times over their lives. Moving represents a new opportunity, and you want to start that opportunity on the right foot. So take time to plan for your move with your finances in mind. Some planning areas to remember include:
Insurance
Costs
Change of Addresses
Utilities
Planning will not guarantee a smooth move, but it certainly helps.
Moving is typically a time of transition. Lawyers will experience many of these throughout their lives. If you are going through a life transition, now is a great time to establish new behaviors. New behaviors can include taking your finances more seriously. Developing Financial is here if you are interested. Financial planning consists of creating a plan for your financial life and following it through until your life inevitably changes again. Over time we iterate your financial plan, so you are always prepared for the unexpected. If you are interested in learning more about financial planning for young lawyers, schedule a Meet & Confer. This 30min free meeting is a great time to ask questions about financial planning. The Meet & Confer is also one of two free meetings, so there is no sales pitch at the end. Just a genuine conversation about personal finances.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this blog should be considered financial advice or recommendations. Your questions are unique to you and your own personal financial circumstances. You should consult with a financial professional before making a financial decision. See full blog disclaimer.