1. real estate
2. apartments

BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
LESSON 3 -- A MOVING EXPERIENCE:
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
LESSON DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND
This lesson uses the Better Money Habits video The True Cost of Moving to a New Place
(www.bettermoneyhabits.com) to help students better understand the process of finding a
place to live. It is intended to generate a discussion about the up-front moving costs as well as
the decision of whether someone should buy or rent. The lesson is designed to be used in
conjunction with Lesson 8: Managing Your Money in Financial Fitness for Life, Grades 9-12.
The video is 4 minutes, and the estimated time for the activity is 20 minutes. This lesson
serves as an introduction to Exercise 8.3 in Lesson 8.
In this lesson, students will complete an in-class project showing the potential costs associated
with moving into a new apartment. The project requires students to apply the concepts
presented in the video to simulate the real-life costs associated with finding a place to live.
BETTER MONEY HABITS VIDEO
Home Buying and Renting: Deciding to Buy or Rent: The True Cost of Moving to a New Place
(4:00)
FINANCIAL FITNESS FOR LIFE CONNECTION, GRADES 9-12
Lesson 8: Managing Your Money, Lessons 8-10
ECONOMIC AND PERSONAL FINANCE CONCEPTS
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Budget
Disposable income
Rent
Security deposit
BETTER MONEY HABITS: HIGH SCHOOL
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BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY
Standard 2. Buying Goods and Services, Benchmark Grade 12
1. Consumer decisions are influenced by the price of a good or service, the price of
alternatives, and the consumer’s income as well as his or her preferences.
3. When buying a good, consumers may consider various aspects of the product including the
product’s features. For goods that last for a longer period of time, the consumer should
consider the product’s durability and maintenance costs.
4. Consumers may be influenced by how the price of a good is expressed.
5. People incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to their
purchases of goods and services. The amount of information people should gather depends on
the benefits and costs of the information.
Standard 4. Credit, Benchmark Grade 12
7. In addition to assessing a person’s credit risk, credit reports and scores may be requested
and used by employers in hiring decisions, landlords in deciding whether to rent apartments,
and insurance companies in charging premiums.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:
 List the costs associated with moving.
 Apply the costs of moving to a real-life situation.
TIME REQUIRED
30 minutes (prior to Exercise 8.3 in Lesson 8)
MATERIALS
Handout 3.1: A Moving Experience – How Much Does It Cost?
PROCEDURE
1.
Ask students if they have moved to a new house or new apartment. Encourage them to
describe some of their personal experiences. Ask if they have ever considered getting a
place of their own. Use this discussion to introduce the lesson on moving. Tell them this
lesson will focus on the costs associated with moving and read the following as an
introduction:
“When you are looking at getting a new place, there are also a variety of one-time
move-in costs to take into consideration. Keep in mind that in our lesson today, we
BETTER MONEY HABITS: HIGH SCHOOL
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BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
2.
3.
4.
are going to go through the potential costs you might encounter, so it’s likely that some
of these might not apply to your situation.”
Distribute Handout 3.1. Ask students to use it as a guide and to fill in the blanks while
watching the video. Show the video.
After watching the video, review Handout 3.1. Check to see if they have listed all the
potential costs shown in the video and calculated the total costs.
Debrief the video and Handout 1 by discussing the different costs. Compare their answers
with the comments given before watching the video.
CLOSURE
To summarize this lesson, remind students that moving to a new place involves more than just
finding a place to live. As with other choices, it requires careful consideration of the different
costs associated with moving. Having an understanding of those costs will help prevent
surprises and allow them to better manage their money.
ASSESSMENT
Have students complete the Summary at the end of Handout 3.1.
EXTENSION
Assign a project requiring students to select two apartment complexes or other rentals where
they might like to live, then list the up-front expenses related to each location. The students
can use copies of apartment listings in newspapers, local magazines, or other resources
including the web-site ApartmentFinder.com. After completing their list, students will
summarize their findings and determine which location has the lowest total cost.
Use the Better Money Habits video The True Costs of Renting (www.bettermoneyhabits.com)
to show students other costs associated with renting an apartment. Have students prepare a
written summary of what they learned from the video.
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BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
HANDOUT 3.1 – A MOVING EXPERIENCE: HOW MUCH DOES IT
COST?
List all the potential move-in costs you could encounter when moving to a new place as
presented in the video. The first one is listed for you.
Fees and Deposits Before Moving
1. Apartment Application Fee (including a background and credit check).
Usual Cost = $50.00
Note: Potential landlords might also want copies of:
A. Recent Pay Stubs
B. Letter of Employment from your workplace
C. Proof of any assets you might have (e.g. Savings Account)
2. Deposit. An amount equal to the _____ and _____ month’s rent.
__________+ __________
This assures the landlord that you won’t leave abruptly without paying before the end of your lease. If
you do, at least they’re covered for a month to clean the space and find a new tenant.
If the rent is $775, the first and last month’s rent is equal $_____________.
3. _________________ Deposit. An amount equal to _____ month’s rent.
This deposit is to ensure that you’ll leave the space in the condition that you found it.
If you leave the place undamaged, you should get this deposit back when you move out.
If the rent is $775, this deposit is equal to $_____________.
4. Finder’s Fee.
You may need to pay a finder’s fee if you need help finding a place, which tends to happen in an area
where the housing market is very competitive (or a location that is unfamiliar to you). If you are moving
into such an area, you might work with a real estate agent that specializes in apartment location. In this
case, you may need to pay a fee or a commission to assist you in finding a place to live. Such fees are
generally 10 percent of the annual rent, but the amount can be negotiable.
If the rent is $775, the finder’s fee is equal to _____________.
(To calculate the answer, 10% of the annual rent is $775 times _____ months = $__________.
Then, 10% of that amount is $___________.)
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BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
Total Fees and Deposits from page 1
Application Fee
$__________
Deposit:
$__________
_____ Deposit
$__________
Finder’s Fee
$__________
Total BEFORE Moving
$__________
OTHER POSSIBLE COSTS:
5. Moving Costs
These costs vary greatly.
Can you get a few friends to help you move – buy them pizza?
Rental Truck for a Day - $100.00 plus $50 for pizza and drinks
OR hire a moving company to load and move your stuff?
You could pay as much as $_______________.
Get an estimate or use their free estimators on their websites.
Estimated Moving Costs
$__________
TOTAL COSTS
$__________
Summary: Which of the five up-front, move-in costs surprised you the most? Explain your
answer. What can you do to reduce these costs?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
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BETTER MONEY HABITS HIGH SCHOOL LESSON:
THE TRUE COST OF MOVING TO A NEW PLACE
Handout 3.1 Answers
Total Fees and Deposits from page 1
Application Fee
$
50
Deposit:
$ 1,550
Security Deposit
$
775
Finder’s Fee
$
930
Total BEFORE Moving
$ 3,305
Moving Costs
Answers will vary
TOTAL COSTS
Answers will vary
Summary
Answers will vary
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