Moving can be expensive, whether you’re headed a few miles away or across the country.

There are the costs to rent a truck, purchase packing supplies and possibly hire professional movers — all of which may be more expensive now because of inflation.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce your costs if you plan ahead. Do you want to save money on your next move? Just follow these tips:

  • Declutter and donate before packing up. There’s no sense in paying to move items you no longer want or use. Before you start packing or getting moving quotes, declutter your home. You can donate or sell anything you don’t actively use if it’s still in good shape. You might be surprised how much time and money it can save you later.

  • Get creative…

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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been bouncing between 6% and 7% this year. If you’ve been on the fence about whether to buy a home or not, it’s helpful to know exactly how a 1%, or even a 0.5%, mortgage rate shift affects your purchasing power.

The chart below helps show the general relationship between mortgage rates and a typical monthly mortgage payment:

Even a 0.5% change can have a big impact on your monthly payment. And since rates have been moving between 6% and 7% for a while now, you can see how it impacts your purchasing power as rates go down.

What This Means for You

You may be tempted to put your homebuying plans on hold in hopes that rates will fall. But that can be risky. No one knows for sure where rates will go from…

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