Whether it is your first or fourth apartment, budgeting for a new apartment and a move is a critical first step. Before you go online and send a message of interest in for the apartment of your dreams, make sure you are financially and mentally prepared for what it means to move into a new apartment. Consider a few factors as you budget for your new apartment and get ready for a move.

Create a list of expenses and costs that come along with physically moving into a new apartment. Start with moving costs: do you need a moving truck or movers? For a short move, you may have a friend who has a truck you can borrow to cut down your moving expenses by thousands. However, if you are moving across the state or country, look into hiring a moving company. Depending on your area and when you’ll be moving, it can cost up to $2,000 to retain these professionals. 

Furniture and decor is another first-time cost to consider when you are moving into a new apartment. It’s likely that you are moving with all the decor and furniture from your previous home, but you may need extra pieces or something new. Typically, when people need to purchase furniture while budgeting for a new apartment, they purchase beds, couches, dressers, kitchen tables, side tables, extra seating, i.e. chairs, and even a desk and other furniture to build a new home office. Consider second-hand items from friends, thrift stores, yard sales, and online marketplaces.

Furniture is just the fun part of budgeting. You also need to consider how rent will fit into your monthly budget, the cost of utilities, especially if you are moving to a  new area, and transportation costs. If you are fortunate enough to have your utilities included in your rent, you can leave that out of your budget. Get the basic numbers for the local area and place these in your budget, considering whether you’ll use more gas in winter, etc. 

When searching for two bedroom apartments for rent in downtown Los Angeles, start by creating a budget. It will not only prepare you for the future, but it can also help you get a more realistic view of what you can look for as far as target rent, utility costs, and, ideally, the cost of hiring a mover. It’s a boring and daunting task, but budgeting for a move will help you in the long-term.