I absolutely HATE moving! I would rather have my wisdom teeth pulled without anesthesia while lying on a bed of nails. I really hate it that much. It’s stressful, I hate packing, and I especially hate unpacking. I’m terrible about it, too. I’ll be living in a place six months or more before I finally get all of the boxes unpacked. As a matter of fact, I moved into my new place in October and I still have boxes that I need to go through…eight months later.

But aside from the aggravation of the move itself, I worry over finances and it seems that I’m in good company. A recent study by Forrester Research found that moving was also a time where people relied on their credit more. It’s expensive to move. Deposits, movers – or beer and pizza for friends which is just as expensive and takes three times as long! – new things for the new place. Everything comes at once and sometimes it’s very overwhelming. The study also suggested that during a move, people tended to forget things like credit card payments, which can drop your score and cause any new credit to be at higher rates.

Moving your financial life from one household to another should be given the same amount of time and attention as anything else, and I would argue it deserves quite a bit more. Here are some suggestions on how you can make the move easier.

• Be proactive. Several weeks prior to your move, make a master list of phone numbers and account numbers to have on hand should anything be lost in the shuffle. Also call your credit card companies and change the address as opposed to just filing the change of address with the post office. This will help ensure that you get your mail promptly.

• Automatic payments. Because you’re likely to forget payments when moving, the best way to avoid any issues with your credit is to set up automatic payments for at least the minimum payments. You can always go back later when things have settled down to pay off the rest; however, setting up auto payments alleviates one less thing for you to worry about while you’re moving.

• To pack or not to pack. What I’ve always done is kept my financial life in an accordion file and I carry it with me when I move. However, if you pack your financial information, just make sure you don’t write “Financial Records” on the box. I don’t recommend spreading your financial records out amongst several boxes, either. It’s an easy way to loose something that you need…and have you ever noticed how hard it is to find stuff in a box? Or is that just me? But, I have a friend that spreads his records between boxes and he’s constantly losing stuff. I bought him an accordion file for his birthday.

• Cancel or add credit cards with caution. Many times places like Home Depot, Lowes, and other retailers offer special discounts for those movers who open a new line of credit with them. Just be careful. If you take out too much credit all at once, then it could hurt your credit. Similarly, if you close out too much credit – particularly your longest standing accounts – you can hurt your credit.

• Don’t be tempted! When we move this sense of newness takes over us and for some that can be very dangerous. If you’re starting over after some major life change, then it may be reasonable that you’re buying new furniture and televisions – although I’d argue you’re old ones are probably just fine. However, just because you’ve moved doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go shopping for new things right away. This is especially true for first-time homebuyers. A friend of mine had this problem where they bought all new furniture, appliances, and furnishings at one time. Now they’re trying to get out of debt. If new things must be bought, prioritize and buy the things you need (or want) one at a time, if possible.

While moving can be stressful, managing your finances and credit cards while you move doesn’t have to be.

Does anyone else tend to worry about their financial information and credit cards when they move? What kinds of things have you done to protect your information in a move?

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