12 Sep How to save money when moving
No matter how careful you are when it comes to moving budget, it is quite simple to spend more than you originally planned. Moving to your new home is exciting, but also expensive even in your life. That is why we are here to help you out and to give you some tips and tricks on how to save money when moving!
- Make a detailed moving plan
Before you even start setting your moving budget, you need to come up with a detailed moving plan that will help you stay on track. Good moving budget is not unrealistic, so you have to put on paper every single expense that you might have and plan accordingly. When you have everything in written you will see that you might need to prioritize and to give up some items on a list. But it is very important to be honest with yourself when it comes to this.
- If possible, move when it is not a moving season
As in every business, the moving industry has its own moving season which is between April up until September. That period of the years is the busiest and moving companies have tons of clients calling and asking for help. This period of year is more expensive than the rest of the year because everyone wants to move out. If you can, plan your moving to be out of a season because you may save some money. In case that moving out of a season is not an option, you should check with your local movers if they are offering cheaper rates on weekdays. Some moving companies do have discounts on slow days, so you can use it.
- Hire a local moving company to help you out
This might seem unrealistic, but at the end of the day hiring a local moving company to help you out with your move might be cheaper than trying to move the items by yourself. Not only there is a big chance that you will damage something and have to pay for it later on, but they are offering full service that includes professional movers with a moving truck. In case you decide to move by yourself, you will have to rent a moving truck, that is for sure and you will have to coordinate your schedule with the availability of your friends. Not to mention that local movers have all the equipment needed to safely and efficiently perform your move. Moving by yourself requires you to get the equipment and you will probably have to buy it. Most of the local moving companies are offering moving blankets and wardrobe boxes free of charge during the move, plastic wrap, tools and moving dollies, so you are not paying for the protection of the items either.
- Declutter
Moving is an ideal opportunity to get rid of unwanted things that you collected for years. You probably forgot you have some of them. A better thing to do is to organize a garage sale and you can even earn some money to cover some other expenses. It is simple and it can be fun. So gather your friends and family members and you can do it all together.
- Find your own packing supplies
There are many items lying around your home that can be used for packing. Quality packing supplies are not cheap no matter if you are using moving kits or buying box by box. That is why you can use whatever you have around, such as suitcases, storage bins, plastic bins, bags etc. Just pay attention to pack less fragile items here. When it comes to packing paper, you can always use newspaper or towels to safely pack your dishes. Kitchen towels as well. After you searched your home, you can always find used boxes on Craigslist or in any supermarket around. There are many ways, you just have to be creative.
- Pack by yourself
Even though we recommended using a local moving company for heavy lifting and moving of your furniture, if you want to save some money, you should pack up your miscellaneous belongings by yourself. No matter if your moving company is charging hourly or flat rates, packing will affect the price. In case of the hourly rate it will take longer and in case of a flat rate, the rate itself will be higher. Packing is a time consuming and demanding task, but it is better to do it yourself rather than spend some money that you could use somewhere more importantly.
- Don’t overbuy for your new home
It is easy to get carried away and start buying a lot for your new home because you want everything to be nice and cozy. But think twice, if you are moving on a budget, it is probably better not to buy many things at once. Go through the belongings you already have to see what will suit your new home perfectly and buy only necessities for the beginning. Last thing that you want is to stress out about moving budget because you couldn’t resist buying something brand new.
