Move Date Overlap Cost Calculator

Who this is for

What your move dates cost. From the date the old home ends, the date the new one starts and your planned move date, the sheet works out the days you pay for a home you are not living in, the days with no home at all, and the cost of each at your own daily figures.

Renters and buyers choosing when to give notice, complete or collect keys, and households deciding whether a few days of paying twice is cheaper than storage and a hotel.

What this helps you track

• How many days the two homes overlap, or how many days fall between them
• The cost of paying for a home after you have left or before you arrive
• The cost of storage and somewhere to stay during a gap
• Up to three candidate sets of dates compared side by side

How to use it

1. Write the date your old home ends, the date the new home starts and the date you plan to move.
2. Enter a daily cost for each home and for storage and a place to stay, worked out from your own rent, mortgage, bills and quotes.
3. Read the overlap or gap days and their cost in the summary.
4. Fill the comparison table with up to three alternative sets of dates; the days and costs on each line are worked out in the browser and the workbook.
5. Before fixing a date, work through the checklist so the dates you compare are ones you can actually get.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the daily cost worked out?

From your own figures: for example a month's rent or mortgage payment plus the bills that run while you hold the home, divided by the days in that month. The sheet uses whatever daily figure you enter and supplies none.

What is counted as overlap cost?

Days you pay for the old home after the move date, at the old home's daily cost, plus days you pay for the new home before the move date, at the new home's daily cost. These are the days you hold a home you are not living in.

What is counted as gap cost?

Days between the old home ending and the new one starting, at your storage and temporary stay figure per day. If you would stay with family for free, enter only the storage cost.

Does it tell me which date to choose?

No. It shows what each set of dates costs. Stress, time off work, school and the availability of removals all matter too, and only you can weigh them.