Moving to NY from AZ – how to prepare your finances?

Moving to NY from AZ probably represents both an exciting and frightening event in your life. Exciting because you are moving to The Big Apple, turning a new leaf and starting fresh. But, it is also frightening as you have a lot to finish before the moving day comes, and most importantly because you have to prepare your finances. Yes, New York City is definitely one of the most expensive places you can call home. So, how does one prepare finances when moving? Well, first, you must save enough money and set your budget. Then you also have to deal with moving costs, housing costs, bills, credit scores, etc. But, do not worry. It is not as scary as it sounds. And, we are here to help you as well. Thus, if you are interested in how to prepare your finances for moving to NY from AZ, keep on reading.

Make a Plan First!

If you plan on moving to NY from AZ, the first thing you will need to do is save enough money for it. Let us be honest, moving will not come cheap. Whether you plan on hiring a moving agency like Heart Moving Manhattan NYC or doing everything by yourself, the process of relocation will cost you a lot. Then, as mentioned earlier, if you set your mind on moving to New York, you must also save even more money than you planned. Everything in New York City is expensive – housing, bills, transportation, groceries, etc. As you can see, you must do a lot of thinking and researching. Then, create a budget. If your budget can not cover all of your costs, then you must postpone your move until you have enough money saved. Think about all these things and how much they will cost you, then, make a plan on how to prepare your finances!

Create Your Budget When Moving to NY from AZ

Hopefully, by now you have done a lot of researching and thinking about the upcoming move and all the costs that come with it. The next step is to create a budget. That is, you will need to create two of them in order to better organize and prepare your finances. So, create the following:

• A moving budget that will cover all the moving-related costs. 
• A budget that will cover all the expenses of your current and future home. 

So, the moving budget, as previously mentioned, should cover all the possible moving expenses. That is, you must research the prices of moving agencies. Or, if you want to save money and do everything by yourself, you will need you should research the prices of buying packing supplies, hiring a moving truck, shipping costs, etc. Then, you must create a housing budget. That is, try to figure out how much money you will need for prepping and selling your current home, and how much will you spend on your new home in NY. Take everything into account, and plan and create your budget accordingly.

Research the Cost of Living in New York

In order to know how much money you will need and how to prepare your finances when moving to NY, you must also research the cost of living there. This is an absolute must, especially if you not want to end up dealing with moving stress! Of course, the cost of living will largely depend on where exactly you plan on settling. New York has five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, The Bronx, and Queens), and more than 250 neighborhoods.

If your budget is tight, you should maybe consider settling down in some more budget-friendly neighborhoods in the Bronx or Brooklyn. However, if you are moving to New York to be in the center of happenings, and Manhattan is the only way to go, you better have a lot of savings. Yes, Manhattan is probably the most expensive place to live not only in NY but in the entire world. Thus research the cost of living and see whether you can afford to live in NY, before you start packing your bags, looking for an apartment and a way to find affordable storage solution in NYC. 

Start Saving on Time

By now, if you followed all the steps, you should know how much money you will need for your upcoming move. Be sure that you have considered everything – moving costs, housing costs and the cost of living in New York. Do you have enough money for this move? If the answer is yes, then great! Start packing your bags. However, if your budget can not cover your expenses, you know what to do – save, save, save! Yes, saving money is not easy nor a quick thing you can do. You will need months, or even a whole year in order to prepare our finances for moving to New York. But, hey, what can be better than living in the Big Apple? So, work on your dreams. Say goodbye to shopping and partying. Try to get a second job or to ask for an extra shift.

Use Your Emergency Fund or Get a Loan

In case you do not have a year nor even a couple of months to save your money and you must move from NY to AZ on short notice, you must turn to some other, quicker solutions. For instance, if you have your emergency fund, use money from there. However, if you do not, then try to get a loan. You can ask a friend or a family member to help you out. Or, you can go to the bank, check your credit score and try to get a loan. This too can be a complicated process. Thus, got to the bank and talk to an expert as soon as you decide to move to new you and prepare your finances for it.