Nice open floor plan and tastefully decorated.

We submitted an application, scrambling to pull together additional documents at 10p, only to find out the two days later that another applicant had been approved and came by with earnest money.

Houses 3 and 4 were drive by’s. Poked around the house and looked in the windows, comparing with the half a dozen grainy cell phone pictures from weird angles on Zillow.

With houses being snatched before even getting a glimpse inside, we spent our Friday night applying, knowing we wouldn’t hear anything until middle of the week.

Then Sunday around 9pm a notification slid down my phone. New 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that matches your saved search.

$250-300 cheaper rent than the other houses and from what we could see with the five pictures, front of the house, two directions of the living room and two shots of the kitchen.

I sent a message through the app.

Called the next morning and spoke to the agent. Somehow we were able to get a showing for 5:30pm Monday night.

The biggest 10 minute decision

I sat in the car for 30 minutes watching cars pull up, people get out, walk through the house, and leave, waiting for my husband to arrive.

We sped through the house, lots of natural light, vaulted ceilings, two car garage and a mesquite tree in the backyard.

“I gave up calling people back after filling up an 8x11 sheet of paper,“ he mentioned, standing in the kitchen, with the view of the mountains from the window. “I have applications in the car and will be here until 6p if you’re interested.”

“Give us a minute,” I said, sharing a knowing look with my hubs. Inside his white car with the sun in our face, the next interested couple walking up to the house, “It’s cheaper.”

“Area’s nice, not a lot of crime. Did you like it?” he asked me.

“Yes, it has a pretty much everything we wanted.”

He nodded in agreement, “Let’s go to Walmart and get a money order for the application fee.”

The next day at 8:15pm, Rich called me, “You got the house. And the 15th will work for you to move in.”

God provided a house with ALL the items we’d wanted and $250-400 cheaper than the other houses we’d looked at… it all happened in less than 48 hours.

We didn’t even think of the possibility we’d have to submit several applications before finding a home, that competition would be that stiff, and hadn’t budgeted for so many application fees.

Moving on a budget: Expenses to know 

2. Supplies to help you pack and be organized

With a move-in date of 2.5 weeks away, ordering packing supplies was first and they arrived in two days thanks to Amazon Prime.

• Packing tape, 6 of them. How many times have I helped friends move and had to make a quick run to Walmart to buy more tape. Not going to happen here. When we unpacked, there was one roll left over.
• A sturdy tape gun so you don’t have to waste time scratching a corner up with your fingernail and biting a piece off with your teeth.
• Colored masking tape, 6 pack, to code the boxes from each room so they can be unloaded from the rental truck and placed in the correct place, to make unpacking easier. And fun for my nieces.
• Boxes. Thankfully my sister had just moved and gave me a bunch of sturdy boxes. And friends from Bible study packed my car full with free boxes their neighbor was getting rid of. Including 3 wardrobe boxes. These made it super easy to transport all our clothes without having to put trash bags over 8 hangers, hoping nothing would fall off inside the truck.

If you can’t get boxes for free from neighbors or liquor stores, you can order them here.

Comparing prices on truck rentals, and trying coupon codes found on retailmenot.com.

Some companies charged for mileage, dropping off the truck at a different location, or dropping it off after hours so check the policy thoroughly before reserving the truck online.

Budget truck rentals had the best price - no charge for mileage, a coupon code t​​o save 15%, and no charge to drop it off at a different location.

3. Security deposit, first month’s rent and admin fees

Everyone wanted a security deposit of 1-1.5 times the amount of rent, the first month’s rent, and a couple hundred dollar administration fee.

Some property management companies tacked on a $30/month online portal fee, just for the privilege to pay your rent online and submit a maintenance request.

We had 24 hours after getting approved for the house to drop off the earnest money deposit, $750, to hold the property for us and applied to the total move in fees.

Moving in on the 15th, the property manager prorated the first month’s rent, which was a blessing.

Having the security deposit, first month’s rent and a few extra hundred dollars saved up before you find yourself in a mad rush to get the perfect house before someone else does will eliminate the stress of coming up with earnest money overnight and the rest of the move in fees in a couple weeks.

4. Feed your people well

Hiring movers isn’t a budget friendly option. And now’s the time to cash in on all the times you helped your family and friends move, so they can return the favor.

Since since everyone is moving all of your 137 boxes for free, feeding your moving crew is a must.  

This part was easy. I had a 10lb pork shoulder, on sale for $0.99/lb, in my chest freezer that sat inside the spare bedroom closet.  

Added adobo seasoning and cooked it overnight in my crockpot.

2 lbs of pinto beans for 45 minutes in my instant pot, the w​​orkhorse of my kitchen, with some garlic and onion, and made into refried beans.

Some cheese, tortillas, chips and salsa, rounded out dinner, served on paper plates, for my incredible Bible study group who came over and packed up 90% of the apartment in 1 hour and 45 minutes.  

There was plenty leftover for the family turned moving crew three days later.

A case of bottled water, box of nut bars, and bag of Nearly Naked popcorn from Costco.

All less than $45 to feed 30 hard-working, incredibly strong, people over two days. And I had lots of leftover shredded pork which made easy meals for the first few days at the new place.  

Subs from Walmart $80. Subs from Subway $110. Uhh… no thanks. My shredded pork burritos take the prize every time.

5. Fees/ insurance so they don’t destroy your budget

Welcome home and here’s a couple of fees.

$100 deposit and $37 start up fees for the city services of sewer, water, and trash..

$35 service fee for gas and a $30 activation for the electric company.  

I emailed my insurance broker’s assistant, Kim, to get a quote on renters insurance for a house, only $2 more per month for double coverage.

And by the way, your car insurance will be $50 more/month, thanks to the new zip code.

Really? On our two cars, the 19 year old Honda with no AC and my 16 year old Mazda that has 318k miles??

Related: How I saved $205 on car insurance with 2 emails

When you turn in your notice at your apartment, get in writing all the final cleaning and repair requirements. I went off a verbal description and got hit with several unexpected fees when the manager did the walk through.

Surprise fees that threw my budget off track.

Definitely going to add in $500 to moving costs next time we move, when we’ve saved up enough money to buy a home. Better not be 11 more years.

If you want a simple budget method to set up and one that’s easy to stick to each month, check out my class 7 Simple Steps to Make an Easy Monthly Budget.

I walk you through all the steps to make a prioritized budget, great for a first time budget or if you need to redo your budget after a big life change like moving.

You’ll be able to stay on track with your budget, get rid of money surprises, and decrease your stress.

Slow down and take a long runway to stay on track with your money goals

Moving from an apartment to a rental house is expensive with fees at every turn.

I spent $2,673 to move. If you’re thinking about moving into a rental house, slow down.

Take a few months to save up an extra $2,500-3,000 so you have it stocked away in your account before even you start looking for a new place to live.

Because finding a new place to live when the time’s counting down and you’re packing boxes in every spare moment is stressful enough. You shouldn’t have to deal with the added stress of not having enough money on top of moving.

Related: How you CAN save money on a low income

TIp: Break down the $3,000 by how many months you have to save, say 4 months, so all you need to do is put $750 aside each month.

And if you don’t use all the money saved for moving expenses, look at you, just turn around and apply the extra towards your current money goals after you’ve settled in.

Or on patio furniture now that you have a backyard.  Full of weeds. But there’s a tree!

Now it’s your turn. Tell me below how you’ve saved and budgeted money for moving?

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