To forward your mail to your new address, you should advise the United States Postal Service that you have moved to a new place, and they will set up mail forwarding. This will ensure that all of your mail and parcels go to your new address.

You can set up mail-forwarding to your new address, up to three months in advance of the date of your move. It is recommended that you do it as soon as you close on your home or after you sign a lease.

Even if your move to a new place is temporary, you should still change your address and then you can set the dates for mail forwarding. If you are only moving for a short period, it may be simpler to just request the post office hold your mail for the time being. You can then pick it up at the local post office.

Beware of third-party services that offer mail forwarding, as they’re usually expensive, and you can change your address without them. Often these services are scams. If you try to register online through USPS to arrange for mail forwarding, it will only cost you a one-time fee of $1.05 (that will cover only verifying your identity). When you visit your local post office, it’s free.

Mail such as personal letters, packages, and bills from utilities that are sent to your old address will be forwarded to your new address for up to 12 months. Newspapers and magazines will be sent for 60 days. If you like, you can ask for an extension.

USPS can shorten the names of places that you need to notify that you’ve moved. Companies like banks, publishers, and hospitals pay USPS for “ancillary address service,” which means that they will receive your new address after you’ve registered. It also means that you don’t need to reach out to these companies to give them your new address.

Another benefit to changing your address through the post office is that you will receive a “housewarming package,” which includes several coupons from home retailers like Lowe’s and Wayfair.

You can still request mail forwarding from USPS even if you only get a little mail. While you know the names of companies you have to give your new address (your bank, credit card company, etc.), you may miss a few. And since your mail will have a yellow or white forwarding sticker on it after registering with USPS, you’ll be able to see which companies still have your old address. You can decide to give them your new address or request them to take you off their mailing list.

If you have moved recently to a new place and you realized that you haven’t set up forwarding your mail, it’s not too late yet to set this up with the USPS. If you don’t have your mail forwarded, you will miss mail that has been sent to your old address. Receiving holiday cards and alumni magazines to your old might be important to you, but credit card statements and other essential bank documents are the things that you really don’t want to miss.

You need to update your information with the Social Security Administration. If you are expecting some benefits such as disability or retirement, you’ll need to change your address with the SSA to receive these benefits. If you are receiving magazine subscriptions in the mail, make sure to change the address on file as soon as you move.

Many people will get excited when they move to a new place, and changing your address with the post office is easy to overlook. Be sure to make the change as soon as you have a confirmed move date, in order to not miss any of your important mailings.