WSVN — Moving is a very busy time whether you’re headed across town or across the country. One forgotten bill can have a major impact on your credit. In tonight’s Money Monday, Lynn Martinez shares some tips to help protect your credit before, during and after that move.
While packing all of your stuff, finalizing your new home and dealing with movers, it’s important not to overlook simple details that can impact your finances.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “People are just thinking about how they’re going to get everything into a place as quickly as possible. There’s a lot of detail involved in moving.”
First of all, have a list of all your payments that you need to take care of.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “The first thing you could really do is pull your credit report to remember which creditors you’re paying every single month.”
Once you have that list, contact your creditors and have them update your address.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “I would also reach out to the post office and do a forward so that all of your incoming mail comes to your new address.”
Contact your insurance company to see if your rates will change with the move.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “Depending on what state or where you’re moving, your insurance rates can go up or down.”
Set up automatic payments to help keep your finances organized.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “It’s just a great way of tracking if your payments where sent, where they were sent and when they were sent.”
Make sure you have all of your utilities like water and power shut off or transferred to your new location.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “The new renters would actually utilize their service and what would happen is that they were then held responsible for the cost of that service.”
Once your move is complete, do another check of your credit cards, bank accounts and credit report to make sure you don’t see any strange charges.
Elizabeth Karwowski: “Especially during a move, it is extremely important to make sure you’re protecting your personal information.”
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