Financial Advice for Lebron James

Do you still love me, Cleveland?

If you haven’t heard, LeBron is taking his talent away from Cleveland to join forces with the Miami Heat in hopes of finally winning a championship (or several, as he says). I thought it would be fun to layout some financial advice for King James considering his upcoming move. LeBron’s a smart guy though. Even Warren Buffet thinks so. So I’m sure he’s all over this stuff. Besides the obvious, humidity insurance, here’s what LeBron should do:

Have a Huge Garage Sale

LeBron has likely accumulated a lot of stuff during his time in Cleveland. There’s no reason to bring all that with you. Especially those winter coats. Have a garage sale, list things on Craigslist. Get rid of the junk and he’ll have less to pack and ship.

Deduct the Moving Expenses

Since LeBron’s move is work related, he should be able to deduct his moving expenses on his taxes (above the line): packing, transporting, and shipping his many cars. He just needs to meet the IRS tests of time and distance. He definitely meets the distance test (Miami is 1,250 miles from Cleveland). We’ll have to wait and see if he meets the time test.

Get the Mail Forwarded

The last thing LeBron needs is a late payment on his credit report. He needs to make sure he has all of his mail forwarded so that he doesn’t miss a single bill. A visit to the US post office website will do the trick.

Review the Cost-of-Living Stats

Let’s hope LeBron got the 4.08% increase in salary it’s going to take to maintain his standard of living with a move from Cleveland to Miami. According to Bankrate.com’s cost of living calculator a T-Bone steak will now cost him a whole dollar more in the new city.

Consider a Travel Rewards Credit Card

Now that LeBron is moving away from his hometown of Cleveland, he’ll be spending a lot of his own money just to fly back home to Ohio to see his family. Why pay cash when he can earn miles or cash back rewards points by using a travel rewards credit card for all those flights?

Get a New Mortgage at Historic Rates

LeBron will need a nice, new pad to rest his head while he’s working in Miami. With home prices and mortgage interest rates at historic lows, he might just need to buy up an entire neighborhood in Miami.

What are your money tips for LeBron James? Leave a comment below…

photo by Keith Allison

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Last Edited: February 15, 2012 @ 9:38 pm

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Andrea Lucas

If you have a lot of disposable income at your fingertips, I agree that it you need to sell off a lot of your things locally to reduce the cost of moving. Good advice.

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ralph

These may be some good tips for LeBron, but these are also some nice reminders for anyone that is about ready to move. Thanks for sharing.

Florida

I really can't believe people were burning his jersey. I mean, Come On!
Still, a wise move by LeBron and I'm sure he will have a great season.

Go Heat!

Len Penzo

Speaking of tax deductions for moving, LeBron is saving millions by moving to a place with no state income tax! That took most of the bite away from LeBron signing for less money.

Best,

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

Jim

Looks like LeBron took the easy way out to me. Taking on the challenge of winning a title for his hometown in Cleveland would have been worth several championships with the new, stacked "Big Three" in Miami. He should have stayed the course in Cleveland, and his popularity would continue to soar, which automatically increases his income with more endorsements!

Ooh, good advice Kimberly. I've also heard that moving in the Winter is cheap.

Kimberly

Well, given that he's probably going to sign a contract for around $30 million a year I'm not too worried about LeBron's finances! However, if he is concerned about cutting costs on his move, I would suggest moving in the middle of the month so that the movers are cheaper. :)

kt- lifedividend

i don think be should sell his stuff. This is because he is probably going to buy that stuff again in his new place. If he holds a garage sale, everything will be sold at a loss and then buying that stuff again will mean more losses. Just get a very big truck and haul everything to the new home

doctor S

I dont think Lebron is going to be very welcome back in his Akron home for much longer, esp since they were burning his jerseys all over Cleveland. He would be wise to take advantage of deducting those moving expenses come end year like you suggested.

Ironically, Lebron is taking less money to be on a winning team and will stand to make much more money in endorsements now that he is in the Miami market as opposed to Cleveland. South Beach watch out! If you didnt notice on my site, I love anything related to Lebron and Money.