Free Excel template
Free Excel moving budget and checklist template
For anyone moving house who wants the to-do list and the money in one place. Enter your moving day and how many weeks before it each task should be done; the template turns that into a do-by date, flags what is overdue or due this week, compares estimates with what you actually paid and adds a contingency so the surprises are already in the budget.
Preview and try it
This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moving budget and checklist | ||||||||
| 2 | Moving day | Jan 16, 2027 | Contingency | 0.1 | |||||
| 3 | As of date | Dec 1, 2026 | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | Task | Category | Weeks before move | Do by | Estimate | Actual | Done? | Status | Difference |
| 6 | Set a moving budget and date | Planning | 10 | 46333 | 0 | Yes | Done | ||
| 7 | Get 3 written mover quotes | Movers | 9 | 46340 | 0 | Yes | Done | ||
| 8 | Give landlord written notice | Housing | 8 | 46347 | 0 | No | Overdue | ||
| 9 | Book movers | Movers | 8 | 46347 | 1850 | 1920 | Yes | Done | -70 |
| 10 | Security deposit and first month, new place | Housing | 7 | 46354 | 3200 | 3200 | Yes | Done | 0 |
| 11 | Order boxes, tape and bubble wrap | Packing | 6 | 46361 | 140 | 162.5 | Yes | Done | -22.5 |
| 12 | Request time off work | Planning | 6 | 46361 | 0 | Yes | Done | ||
| 13 | Book storage unit (1 month) | Storage | 6 | 46361 | 180 | No | Due this week | ||
| 14 | Declutter: sell, donate, dump run | Packing | 5 | 46368 | 40 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 15 | Book cleaners for the old place | Housing | 4 | 46375 | 275 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 16 | Schedule internet install | Utilities | 3 | 46382 | 85 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 17 | Start and stop electric and gas | Utilities | 3 | 46382 | 50 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 18 | Forward mail and change address | Admin | 2 | 46389 | 2 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 19 | Rent a van for plants and fragile items | Movers | 2 | 46389 | 129 | No | Upcoming | ||
| 20 | Update bank, employer and subscriptions | Admin | 1 | 46396 | 0 | No | Upcoming |
How the formulas work
Do-by dates counted back from moving day
Weeks before the move times 7 is the number of days to count back from moving day. Use 0 for tasks on the day itself and a negative number for jobs after the move: rekeying the locks at -1 lands a week after you get the keys. Change the moving day and every date moves with it.
Status for every task
Done once you type Yes. Otherwise the do-by date is compared with the as of date: past it is Overdue, within the next 7 days is Due this week. In the sample, written notice to the landlord is overdue, which matters because leases often require 30 or 60 days' notice; check yours.
Expected cost while some bills are still estimates
(F6:F31="") is TRUE for tasks without an actual cost yet, so SUMPRODUCT adds their estimates, and F32 adds everything already paid. As quotes turn into bills, the figure gets closer to what the move really cost. Room left in the budget compares it with the estimate plus contingency.
Tasks done out of the total
COUNTIF counts the Yes answers, COUNTA counts the tasks, and & joins them into a phrase: 6 of 21 in the sample. It is text, so use COUNTIF alone if you want to calculate a percentage from it.
Make it yours
- Get written quotes from more than one mover and put the one you book in Estimate, then the final bill in Actual. Long-distance moves are often billed by weight, so the final price can differ from the quote.
- Color the status column: select H6:H31, Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Text that Contains, Overdue in red and Due this week in yellow. Sort by Do by to work in date order.
- Set the contingency in E2 to suit your move. Moves with storage, a long distance or a tight date usually need more cushion than a local move with friends.
- There is no TODAY() in the file on purpose, so the sample statuses stay put. Type today's date in the As of date cell when you open it, or replace that cell with
=TODAY()if you want it to update by itself.
FAQ
How far in advance should I start planning a move?
Many people start 8 to 10 weeks out, which is how the sample is laid out, but it depends on your lease, how much you own and how busy movers are in your area. Change the weeks column to fit your timeline.
How do I count back a number of weeks from a date in Excel?
Subtract the weeks times 7 from the date: =move_date-weeks*7. Excel dates are day numbers, so the result is a date. Use WORKDAY if you need to skip weekends.
What moving costs do people forget?
The usual ones are cleaning the old place, tips and food for movers, a night in a hotel, storage between leases, utility setup fees, and the basics you need on day one at the new place, like curtains and a shower rod. They are all in the sample list.
Functions used
SUMAdds numbersROUNDRounds to digitsSUMPRODUCTMultiply then addCOUNTIFCounts cells that matchCOUNTACounts non-empty cellsIFPicks a result from a test
Related guides
- How to write a nested IF in Excel
- How to concatenate with a space in Excel
- COUNTIFS with multiple criteria in Excel
- Excel IF statement with multiple conditions
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