Cutting My Biggest Expense

In a few weeks, I'll be moving into a new apartment. This current apartment was the first apartment I've lived in since my divorce. It carries quite a bit of meaning for me.

It was the first time after 15 years that I had my own space: I could decorate it however I wanted, put up pictures, buy

new furniture that I liked. Now, after nearly three years, a job loss and a major re-commitment to my financial goals, I'm moving into a much smaller apartment at half my current rent (and square meterage).

Rationally, I know cutting my rent expense as low as possible is the right thing to do for me, considering I have some big financial goals.

However, in the short term, the expenses of moving will set me back about three months before I can take advantage of the savings.

For these moving expenses, I calculated CHF7980 as my total costs. A big portion of this calculation is going to the rental deposit, which is 3x my actual rent and held in escrow for the duration of the rental agreement. I’m expecting a partial refund of my old apartment’s deposit to be refunded in about three actual moving van and workers as well as the cleaners (both expense already accounted for in this figure). Here in Switzerland, it’s expected to have the old apartment professionally cleaned by the old tenant for the incoming new tenant (which I find absolutely crazy).

Emotionally, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride to look for new apartments and facing the reality of leaving this old apartment. When I signed the rental contract for this current apartment, I honestly believed that I’d live here with my new love and we’d use this apartment until we’d buy our own house or apartment. Of course, this dream hasn’t yet quite materialized. However, I’ve re-affirmed my goal to own an apartment(s) someday and this new move will help me get there eventually. Besides reducing my rental expense, I am also trading my spacious apartment for a much smaller one, further away from the city. At first I was quite upset about this, but continually reminding myself that this is a temporary situation that will help me get to my financial goals faster, has been very helpful. With the prospect of a higher-paying job and reduced rental expense, this also means I can increase my savings rate and thus increase my net worth. And that’s a major upside.

How about you? Have you had you move out of a beloved apartment? How was it for you?