Compare two rentals, moving costs included

A cheaper rent is easy to spot. The deposit on the new place, the truck, the overlap month, the fibre installation and the curtains that don't fit are easy to forget, and together they decide whether the move pays for itself.

This adds up the full monthly cost of both places, subtracts the once-off cost of moving, and tells you the month you break even. A move that saves R300 a month and costs R12,000 to make takes over three years to repay. If you're not staying that long, the cheaper rent is a false economy, and better to know that before you sign a lease.

Fill in, for each place:

• the rent, plus internet, rates, electricity, water and anything else billed monthly
• the once-off costs of the move: deposit, transport, any overlapping rent, replacement furniture
• the annual escalation to apply to both, and how many years you plan to stay

Use your real bills. A flat with cheap rent and expensive prepaid electricity can cost more all in than the place you're leaving, and rent-only comparisons hide that completely.

The headline is the monthly difference, saving or extra. Under it sits the figure that actually answers the question: how many months until the saving has repaid what the move cost. The cumulative-savings chart crosses zero at that point, so everything below the line is money you haven't recovered yet and everything above it is a genuine saving. Two more charts show each place month to month and in total across your horizon.

The horizon input matters more than people expect. A move that never breaks even inside three years often does inside five.

What it can't weigh is the rest of it: a shorter commute, a safer street, being closer to a school, a landlord who answers the phone. Those are usually the real reasons anyone moves. This just handles the money side, so you know what those reasons are costing.

Money Cat is an information tool, not financial advice. Confirm any figure that matters with your bank, lender or a registered professional.