Unlike snails and tortoises, people can’t just up and move their homes whenever and wherever they need to go.
During a residential move, there are always so many issues to be dealt with, laborious tasks to be completed, difficult plans to be devised, and great expenses to be covered. The thing is that moving to another home comes with a substantial price – both financially and emotionally.
Luckily, there are some proven ways to cut moving costs and keep your budget healthy throughout the moving process. Planning ahead, researching rates and services, and reconsidering the most suitable and efficient moving options you have all constitute a successful relocation strategy that will help you save on moving costs.
Here are the top 5 ways to reduce moving costs:
1. Hire a low-cost moving company
Research carefully all the relevant information to find an affordable moving company that will best suit your needs. Fill out a moving quote and you will be contacted by top-rated moving companies near you that will offer their services.
Make sure you choose a legitimate company that will provide the most favorable conditions in your case. What you need is high-quality services at a reasonable price:
- Get on-site binding written estimates from several reputable movers and compare the offers. Check whether all the relevant details and specifics are clearly stated, all your requirements are met, and you fully understand and agree with all the provisions;
- Ask about extra services and their charges. Read the fine print carefully and pay special attention to the kind of liability protection included and to the available storage and transportation options. Remember that some companies have minimum charges regardless of how long the move takes while others will charge extra for travel time to and from your house – usually, local movers;
- Negotiate the details. Ask for discounts, ongoing daily deals, vouchers, or coupons – anything that is going to lower the final moving cost. Negotiate the amount of the requested deposit and make sure it is refundable in case you need to cancel the move or change the date. Remember that many movers will try to beat or at least match competitors’ prices, so let them know if you have already received a better offer;
- Read online reviews and ask for references. This is an easy method to check the satisfaction level of former customers and to learn how previous disputes and claims have been resolved;
- Avoid moving scams. Always check if your chosen movers are properly licensed (you can verify their USDOT number) and insured. If you receive an offer that is too good to be true, if the company accepts no other payment methods but cash only, or if it refuses to send a representative over to your place for an accurate moving estimate, raise your guard and find yourself another moving company.
See also: How to find cheap movers near me
2. Schedule your move smartly and book early
To prepare properly and avoid unpleasant surprises, you need to set your moving budget well in advance. Take all the aspects of your imminent move into account (moving company’s rates, extra fees, additional insurance, shipping your vehicle and/or your pets, fuel, road tolls, parking fees, meals, and lodging on the way if you are driving to your new home, immediate post-relocation costs, such as rent and deposits, furnishing and essential supplies, various paperwork, etc.) and examine the possible hidden moving costs.
To reduce the price and to ensure your peace of mind, you are advised to book your move as early as possible. If you have the luxury of picking your own moving date, decide on a day during the off-peak season (from September to May) in the middle of a month and on a weekday. This cost-saving tactic alone may save you a lot of money.
Read also: How far in advance to book movers?
3. Get rid of excess stuff
The fewer belongings you move, the less money you will pay for their transportation, so take only the household items you will really need.
- Create a floor plan of your new home to know which larger furniture and appliances will fit through the doors and will match the interior design. The last thing you’d want is to haul large and heavy pieces of furniture hundreds or even thousands of miles across the country only to find out that you can’t actually use them in the new home for one reason or another. Be smart and always think at least one step ahead when you’re getting ready to move out.
- Sort out your possessions and take only those that have high practical, aesthetic, and/or sentimental value. In fact, this is the most critical step that will help you cut moving costs for real. Go from room to room and create an inventory of all the stuff you own. Then, take a closer look at the house inventory sheet and decide the fate of each and every possession of yours.
- Declutter your home. Discard all the items that no longer have value for you and donate those that are still in good condition but you don’t like or can’t use any longer. The decluttering task is the secret to a stress-free move – not only are you paying less money by having fewer items to pack and move, but you also save precious packing time and save storage space in the new home. As a bonus, the process of decluttering before moving out gives you the unique opportunity to earn some money by selling your unwanted stuff. Remember this critical decluttering rule: if you haven’t used an item in over a year, then you don’t really need it and should discard it before moving out.
- Organize a moving sale. Hold a garage sale to try to sell some of the possessions you will not need anymore for much-needed money. In reality, your decision to hold a garage sale will bring you two huge benefits at the same time: 1) you will get rid of anything that you don’t need anymore, and 2) you will earn some cash that you can add to your moving budget. The thing is that as long as you have enough time before your move-out date, there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t organize a moving sale.
4. Save on packing materials
Another great way to save on moving costs is to use second-hand packing supplies – especially moving boxes – instead of purchasing them brand new. This way you should be able to save a few hundred dollars – money that you can use for a number of other move-related tasks. The average number of cardboard boxes needed for packing up a home is around 60, so you can do the math and see for yourself that using free moving boxes is definitely worth the extra effort of hunting for free moving boxes.
You can get sturdy and clean boxes for free from people who have recently moved or from local businesses.
- Ask your friends, coworkers, and neighbors if they happen to have any packing supplies that they no longer need. How do you do it? The fastest and easiest way to reach your pals for such a request is to compose a short message on your preferred social media network – you’re likely to get pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support of your friends in such a stressful period for you.
- Visit the nearest big stores (supermarkets, bookshops, electronics stores, home improvement stores, etc.) in your area and speak with their respective managers whether they will be willing to give you good cardboard boxes for free. Most places will need to recycle tons of cardboard boxes at the end of the day so they can only win by giving you all those containers they no longer need.
A word of caution: While it’s always nice to get things without paying for them – in this case, free packing boxes, you should never accept cardboard containers that are in a bad overall condition – for instance, ones that are broken, ones with missing flaps, or ones that have any signs of previous damage.
Useful info: Where to find free moving boxes
Another good way to save on moving costs is to substitute professional padding and wrapping materials with your own – use towels and sheets, pillows and blankets, old clothes, clean paper, etc. to provide padding and protection for your items. Additionally, be sure to use the various containers you already own in the home – laundry hampers, baskets and crates, buckets and trash bins, purses and bags, and many other household items that can hold small things inside them.
Read also: Packing materials for moving you already have in at home
5. Pack your things by yourself
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best ways to save on moving costs is to pack whatever you can by yourself so that you won’t have to pay extra for the add-on service of professional packing. In other words, you won’t need to pay packers to do the job for you.
This is great news for your moving budget but you also have to assess the situation properly so that you don’t end up making a costly mistake by trying to do something that is way over your head. What this means is that if you happen to have antique furniture that is extremely valuable or you own a piano, a pool table, a grandfather clock, or another special item that you want to take with you, then your decision to pack those specialty items on your own can prove to be the wrong one simply because you won’t know what it takes to protect them adequately for the road ahead.
Follow these 5 crucial packing rules to greatly increase your chances of a successful self-packing experience:
- Start packing as soon as possible. Keep in mind that packing for moving is the most time-consuming task you’ll face during your pre-move preparation. Don’t waste any precious time by doing nothing – instead, secure the necessary packing materials and start boxing up your stuff without delay.
- Don’t pack and move useless items. Make sure you have decluttered your home prior to packing. As mentioned above, moving only with things you love and intend to use in the future will help you save both money and time, as well as storage space in the destination house or apartment.
- Follow a packing checklist. A packing checklist and timeline will help you organize the time you spend on protecting your possessions for the upcoming residential move. Proper time management when packing for a move is extremely important so that you can get done with the task before the move-out day.
- Use enough padding materials. This is especially important when you’re packing extra fragile items such as kitchen items, electronic equipment, or even jewelry pieces. Don’t skimp on bubble wrap and packing paper as those two padding supplies will provide the best type of protection for your breakables.
- Label your boxes properly. It’s very important that you take the time to label each box as soon as you pack it up. Writing down the content of the container, the destination room, and any special handling instructions will only take one minute of your time but it can save you a lot of time later on when it’s time to unpack those boxes.
Must-read: What are the golden rules of packing for a move?
Bonus tip: Prevent property damage
Provide protective materials and remove any obstacles to prevent property damage when your belongings are taken out of your old property and loaded into the moving truck. Plan ahead and measure the doors and corners, hallways, and stairs to make sure a safe escape route is available out of your old home. This way, you will not have to pay for repair works or medical help in case of injuries.
Make sure your belongings are handled with care so that you don’t need to repair or replace a damaged item. If some of your possessions go missing or get broken during the relocation, you should be properly reimbursed by the moving company. Consider buying additional insurance if you are moving particularly valuable items.
Many of these practical tips to reduce moving costs will work just fine for you. Take advantage of the most appropriate ones and have a trouble-free and economical relocation.
