Moving house is a complicated and difficult endeavor from start to finish. Having little or no money at all is a hard pill to swallow, sometimes even harder than a pink diamond.
But combine these two real-life struggles into one, and the unfortunate result is nothing short of a Herculean task where even the mighty Hercules himself would go, “No, thanks! I’ve got other labors to attend to”.
How can you move with no money?
What an excellent question with not-so-excellent answers. The truth is that each and every relocation scenario is unique and you, in your capacity as a home mover, are the best authority to answer this very intriguing question simply because you should know best the precise difficulty level of the insurmountable challenge you are facing.
We can only offer you some general yet practical tips for moving with no money which will hopefully assist you on your tough relocation journey ahead.
Step 1: Re-evaluate your brave decision to move with no money
The very first thing you need to do if you’re planning to move cross country with no money is to question again the logic and reasoning behind your bold decision in the hope of finding a better solution under the presented circumstances.
Is it absolutely necessary that you relocate to a new home, in a new city, in another part of the country? If yes, then just how urgent is your necessitated attempt to make a fresh start away from your current home? In other words, do you have to take this defining relocation step in your life right now?
The trouble with moving out without any money is that you’re about to dive headfirst into this highly transitional and largely unpredictable period in anyone’s life with a clear disadvantage. It’s like starting a long-distance running event long after all the competitors have started running – you would still have time to catch up with the group but just think about the extraordinary amount of mental strength and physical stamina you would need to become a competitive marathon runner again.
In short, moving house with no money puts you at a great disadvantage. Have in mind that poorly judged situations and rushed decisions to prove a meaningless point can easily get you in a world of trouble.
If you just need more time until you save up enough money to cover your moving costs and the immediate post-relocation expenses, think about whether you can afford to postpone the actual move so that you don’t have to put in the extra effort to negate the above-mentioned disadvantage.
You may not realize it, but when it comes to the somewhat complicated process of moving house, good timing always proves to be a fundamental factor that can increase the relocation success rate significantly.
If the careful re-evaluation of your plan to move out with no money saved only reinforces your resolve to do it, then you must know upfront that the feat is only doable if you own a fool-proof relocation strategy.
Once you’re certain that there are no better options for you than to go ahead with the house move, your next step is to assess your current financial situation objectively – maybe the situation is not as bad as you think.
In reality, the term “no money” can mean different things for different people, so it’s important to clarify what exactly you mean by thinking about moving without money. Do you mean you currently have absolutely no money at all? Or do you mean you have little money and you think it won’t be enough to cover the relocation costs?
Regardless of whether you intend to move away from home with no money or not enough money, your Relocation Survival Guide /the one you’re reading right now/ says that first, you need to find yourself a job in your destination city or state.
In case you don’t have time to deal with that super important task before the move, you must take care of the urgent matter right after the relocation. And unless you get really lucky, job hunting is a slow process and it may take months before you are even contacted and invited for an interview.
To minimize the physiological strain of being money-less and unemployed at the same time, as well as to shorten the time you will have to survive on fumes, it’s highly advisable that you research whether your area of expertise is a valued commodity in the city you’re moving to.
If it isn’t, then you should be at least mentally ready to be very flexible and do whatever it takes to make it there, even if that means working absolutely anywhere until you find a job that suits you better.
How to relocate with no job? Consult our Job Relocation Guide to learn practical advice on how to move to a new city and how to find a new job there.
Step 3: Don’t be afraid to ask for timely help
How to move with little money or no money at all?
It’s very unfortunate to find yourself with no financial resources of any kind at the moment and to have to execute a house move in the meantime. Either of these two transitional periods is bad enough, but their mistimed combination presents a real challenge for your resourcefulness, as well as a genuine test of your fortitude.
“It’s especially hard to admit that you made a mistake to your parents, because, of course, you know so much more than they do.” Sean Covey
Understandably, it may be hard for you to see the silver lining if you’re facing a residential move with no money in your wallet and worse – with no money in your savings account, but the optimistic light at the end of the tunnel is tight there, cleverly hidden in the word “transitional”.
To phrase it differently, the good news for you is that you don’t have any money now, but your situation will inevitably improve once you move to a new city and find yourself a decent job.
In this line of thought, your best course of action when you’re about to move away with no money is to ask your parents or friends for help.
Your caring parents
Provided that your parents are not the reason you are moving out of home with no money, you can as well:
Option 1: Ask them for a loan which you can repay them as soon as you get back on your feet.
Option 2: In the best-case scenario, your folks will save you the uneasy awkwardness that comes with asking such a big favor and be the ones to suggest lending you some money to execute the move.
Option 3: If getting a loan is out of the question, then talk to your mom and dad and see if they will be willing to cover your relocation expenses, which, undoubtedly, is a huge help as well.
Option 4: If your folks are unable to assist you financially, then they must surely be glad to give you a helping hand with the moving preparations /packing, loading, arranging a moving vehicle, etc./, including providing you with some essential things you will need for your new home.
Your good friends
If you can’t secure a temporary loan from your parents, then it’s time to see if any of your good friends can help you survive this tough period. After all, a friend in relocation need is a friend indeed. Right?
Option 1: Ask your friends if they have any packing supplies you can use for free. Maybe a pal of yours just moved house and has loads of moving boxes they no longer need?
Option 2: It’s also probable that one of your buddies has a pickup truck you can borrow to transport your stuff to your new address, especially if you’re moving short distance. Hiring a moving vehicle from a truck rental company costs money, and the latter is something you’re kind of lacking at the moment.
Option 3: Maybe your good friends have furniture or other items they have no practical use for and which you might need – pieces stored in their attics, garages, and basements. However, be mindful that transporting heavy furniture pieces to another part of the country is expensive, so you must be very careful about what you choose to take with you.
Option 4: Close friends are great for helping another friend organize their move /sorting, packing, loading, etc./, so at least you’ll have that relocation stage covered. Instead of buying them lunch or small gifts as thank-you tokens of appreciation, promise to be there for them whenever they might need help moving, and be sure to keep that promise at all costs.
Option 5: You might even have a very good friend who’s doing well moneywise and who wouldn’t mind helping you out in this extremely transitional phase you’re going through.
Option 6: Moving with little or no money is never fun. In the best-case scenario, you will have a good buddy in the new city you’re relocating to and they will agree to shelter you until you (re)gain your financial stability and move into your own place.
Step 4: Don’t spend money you don’t really have
Planning to move to a new city with no money can be truly disheartening and a bit frightening even for the bravest of home movers. If your parents or a friend of yours have agreed to lend you some money to pay for the move, it’s your duty to make sure the relocation costs are kept to their absolute minimum.
Moving on a budget is one thing, but moving on a VERY tight budget or even on a non-existing one is a horse of a different color. That’s right – you need to use every presented opportunity to lower your moving costs, no matter how insignificant that cost-saving opportunity may initially look.
To make the move as cheap as possible, take advantage of our top money-saving tips when moving house so that you can have a very reasonably priced relocation.
Take only what you really need
All you need to take with you is your lucky coin and things will be just fine.
One essential thing you should understand clearly is that the more furniture pieces and personal belongings you decide to move to your new home, the more money you will need to pay for their transportation simply because the relocation price is directly connected to the weight of your shipment.
In reality, the trick to having a fairly successful move with no money and possibly no job is to reduce the items you’re taking with you to their absolute minimum. It’s best to forget about taking any bulky and heavyweight furniture pieces with you at all.
Also, forget about moving any books as they are heavier than you probably suspect. In general, it’s a good idea to leave behind any items you haven’t used for over a year.
A great way to figure out what to take with you is to make a detailed list of all the belongings you view as essentials, and then revise that essentials list a few more times. Take only the things can’t live without even for a few days!
The good news here is that once you find a decent job in the new city and settle in your new home, you can always buy more furniture, more clothes, more books, and so on, or even get hold of some of the stuff you were forced to leave behind, especially if you have moved out of your parents’ house.
Do not purchase any packing materials
The last thing you need when moving out with no money is to pay for packing supplies which, by the way, will quickly add up to your super-stretched moving budget as it is. As mentioned above, one good way to get free moving boxes is to ask friends who have recently moved if they are willing to spare some of their moving containers.
Alternatively, there are surely local businesses that will be forced to recycle cardboard boxes in good condition simply because they have too many of them. Why don’t you go on a box-hunting tour around your neighborhood?
Also, to save even more money that you don’t currently have, use free newsprint paper as packing paper, repurpose old bed sheets and thin blankets as bubble wrap, and utilize bath towels, rags and even clean think socks as filling and cushioning materials.
Be creative and don’t spend a single cent on packing supplies!
Pocket some much-needed cash
An excellent idea that can effectively redirect the cash flow in your direction is to sell some of the household items you own but decided to leave behind. Turn your attention to the items which are in good overall condition and still possess certain market value.
How you attempt to sell them depends on a number of factors, such as how much time you have until your moving date and how much effort you are willing to devote to the sale in general.
Organize a profitable moving sale – this is always a good way to get rid of your unwanted items and make a profit in the process as well. The only big disadvantage of having a yard sale before the move is that you will need plenty of time to properly prepare your goods for sale and to organize a garage sale the right way.
Sell no longer needed possessions online – another great way to pocket some cash but only a viable option if you have enough time to prepare the goods for sale AND wait until a purchase is made so that you can ship the sold item to its new owner.
Sell household items to friends – have in mind that this option can be a bit tricky because of the unwritten rule that material things are not supposed to be sold among friends /especially close friends!/, but rather, they should be given away. Still, provided that both parties feel okay with that sale thing, make sure you give your pals a huge friendly discount.
Step 5: Switch into an ultra-economical mode after the move
After your miraculous relocation, make sure you never again anger your faithful wallet by keeping it empty for prolonged periods of time.
If you have somehow achieved the astonishing feat of moving house with no money or very little money, then it would probably dampen your mood just a tiny bit to learn that the toughest leg of your ordeal is yet to come. Moving with no money or job is a monumental challenge in itself, but there are a few urgent tasks to take care of before you can properly congratulate yourself for your bravery.
Take a closer look at the following practical tips on how to save money after moving to a new city:
Money-saving tip 1: Secure a job first
If you haven’t secured a job yet, start the job-hunting process as soon as humanly possible. Be extra flexible and lower your initial expectations as you might be pressed to accept an offer that is far from ideal.
Do your best to stay positive and once you have made sure you have a regular income to cover your living expenses, just don’t give up on your dreams and continue to look for the job you’ve always wanted to have.
Money-saving tip 2: Alter your spending habits
Finding yourself in a strange new place with much fewer possessions around you than you are accustomed to having, you may be tempted to purchase new stuff with your very first paycheck. However, that is not the survival formula that will let you cross the finish line considering your poor start – you still have a lot of catching up to do, remember?
Post-relocation periods are notorious for being tough on any mover’s budget, so you need to change your spending habits drastically. In reality, you should seriously consider becoming a minimalist and a very smart shopper, at least until you reach the point where you won’t have to constantly visualize dollar bills in your head.
Go only one tiny step at a time and don’t even think about buying a household item or purchasing a service until you absolutely need them.
Money-saving tip 3: Use valuable information to your advantage
After moving to a new city with no money /or moving to a different state with no money/, the unfamiliarity and strangeness of the new place will inevitably cause you to spend more on almost anything than most local residents. The reason? You don’t have the required insider information and the new-city experience to fine-tune your budget accordingly. At least not yet.
Having moved with little or no money, your best chance for survival is to keep your ears open and use any presented opportunity to save money. Seasonal sales, store clearances, weekly or daily promotions, discount coupons, and bundled services are only some of the obvious ways to spend less for the same products or services.
The thing is, you can always go a step further and receive invaluable pieces of cost-saving advice from coworkers, neighbors, or new friends. Yes, struggling to stay on the cheap side of your post-relocation life probably won’t be too exciting, to begin with, but simply view the struggle as a temporary stepping stone to a better life with a brighter future in it.
Were you ever forced to move with no money? If yes, how did you pull it off?
Maybe you have a secret moving-without-any-money tip you are willing to share with us?
Thank you so much for writing this helpful, positive information on this site!
I have been so worried and felt defeated, especially since my spouse is fighting for his life, I am disabled and suffering. Staying here will kill my spouse, plus devastate and hurt me more! We have no other choice but to leave here, besides the fact that we are paying on a house monthly at our destination, our families live here but are not there for us at all, which is so hard to take!! …So thank you for being there, I know we will make it now.
Hello, my name is Chris and i would love to move on. At the moment i live in the North East of England and would love to relocate back to the South of England. I was born in the South and have a burning desire to go back. That’s the good news! The bad news is that i have no money and i don’t think my girlfriend is so keen. So, what do i do now? I can go on my own, get a job in the South and find somewhere to live, which is impossible, or stay up here in the North and live a life of poverty and nothing to look forward to but a horrible death. I do not like the North it annoys me and i resent living here. There is a better world out there for me and my girlfriend. All i need is some help.
After graduating high school I was starting to resent my family and vice versa. They were really pushing me to move out and although I worked all through high school, I had never worked a full time job. Living at home was beginning to really drive a wedge between my family and I and we are relatively close. So what I did was find people to live together and rent a house and now my monthly rent is super low! I work a full time job now that pays decent and plan to begin school soon. Plus I have money to throw in savings. Sometimes it’s really hard but always, ALWAYS, think fully through the decision before making it. I had no savings when I moved out but Im actually doing OK now. Just don’t let emotion take over you.
My name is meghan, i am in the worst situation nightmare possible, no money, no friends, no family to help me, already tried. controlling boyfriend living in the middle of nowhere a half hour to an hour to the nearest towns, no car, might end up getting kicked out with nothing but a backpack, shelter is probably what most people would say… but its pretty sketchy living with a bunch of people you dont know. any advice? at all? other than a shelter? cant just walk out, it’d be a loooong never ending walk to nowhere. i can probably ask a neighbor to get somewhere if i must, but thats all the help i got. advice?
I wished I would had read this article before attempting to move to VA. So upset nothing went as planned . wasted the bit of money I had .So we had to come back to nyc. I really would like to try it again especially after reading the article. I would actually leave behind most of all my clothes. All I got out of it was an ID. Which you need when moving to a new place.trying to look for a job out there now.
Let me get this straight – you’re having trouble moving OUT of NYC, where the housing costs are some of the highest in America but where job opportunities are almost infinite, to VIRGINIA? And you had to come BACK to NYC? How did you pay to move back to New York with no money?
I have moved with very little money, I have had friends offer to drive me, i’d go to supermarkets to get cardboard boxes for packing stuff and would use newspapers and towels to wrap fragile items. But you do need some money saved as most lettings agents will ask for the deposit and months rent and may even ask for a second month upfront. It is possible to move to a city without much money but its easier if you have no dependents, no debts, few belongings and a bit of money that you can use as a cushion to make it less stressful as you tend to need more money than you actually think you will.
I am trying to relocate back to my province and I have had to get rid of a lot of stuff, change my spending habits and live cheap but its still hard and can be depressing so this article definitely encourages me that I am on the right track.
O am on said n get 560.mtg for total of about 22,000 yrly. Just found must move in two weeks. Im desperate. Can’t find anything affordable,any ideas? Anyone?
So next week I am about to do the craziest thing i have ever done!!! We got very careless and got ourselves into a messed up situation. We lost our cars and jobs! We were late on rent and not even a dollar. Since it is our last month he is just letting us move. We live in Ohio and made a fast decision to move to Denver, CO. My 13 year old daughter already had plans to stay with her cousins this summer. We have sold most of the stuff in out house which we are still doing, and buying a used van for $500. I havent applied at any jobs yet. Being Denver I suggested we camp the first week or two while we are learning the city and looking for jobs, also i have seen air bnb for as low as $13 a night. I know it sounds crazy! I was making $10k a month in sales before this and we never saved anything! i used to be a waitress about 10 years ago i was very good and i am very good in sales. He is very tech savvy and very street smart how to use all the apps for free stuff etc. he barters and will buy something for $40 or less and makes hundreds off of it. I am hoping to get a serving job very fast i have an excellent resume, and praying all goes well!! Pray for us!!! Ill update you!
Sounds like the situation I am in, I am in sales and have always wanted to move to Co from Ohio. it is depressing here in ohio. I want to make this move so bad! maybe I could stay with you guys until I landed on my feet again lol!
Nikki, I’m really praying all goes well for you guys. Proverbs and Dave Ramsey advocate saving — although I have a lot of growing to do in that department, lol.
Hope you get a great serving job soon. Always save time for your family. God and church, family, work, then relax. Take care!
Nikki, praying for you guys! Sounds like you have a plan! Hope you get a great job asap.
Prioritize: God and church, husband and family, work, and relaxation for you. Take care!
This was a great read. My situation is a little different as I have a medical condition that has required me to have multiple brain surgeries and have became disabled and have issues from them. So working is out the picture for me at the current moment. I currently live with family but I am treated very poorly and feel that my safety is compromised. I am always having to yell and argue and stand up for myself. Even though I am deaf from my 3rd brain surgery I am still able to speak just not as clearly as before.
My mental health has really taken a serious nose dive to where it’s completely non existence and I’m just here taking up space wishing I died in the 4th (last) brain surgery, zero happiness. I decided that I am no longer going to excuse anyone for the things they do or say.
So since I have several important doctor appointments this month I have decided to weather the storm a little longer till the end of the month then I’m leaving with $1200 to my name. No specific place just wherever my car takes me.
People say there is resources for people with disabilities but I am just NOT sure where to begin. I did fill out 3 public housing applications. 1 apparently called me and I said I am deaf you need to call back in 2 hours when my sister is home and can hear. They hung up and cancelled my application apparently. When I reached out to the housing authority the lady via email my application was cancelled due to a communication barrier even though it said I was deaf on it.
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Thank you so much for writing this helpful, positive information on this site!
I have been so worried and felt defeated, especially since my spouse is fighting for his life, I am disabled and suffering. Staying here will kill my spouse, plus devastate and hurt me more! We have no other choice but to leave here, besides the fact that we are paying on a house monthly at our destination, our families live here but are not there for us at all, which is so hard to take!! …So thank you for being there, I know we will make it now.
Hello, my name is Chris and i would love to move on. At the moment i live in the North East of England and would love to relocate back to the South of England. I was born in the South and have a burning desire to go back. That’s the good news! The bad news is that i have no money and i don’t think my girlfriend is so keen. So, what do i do now? I can go on my own, get a job in the South and find somewhere to live, which is impossible, or stay up here in the North and live a life of poverty and nothing to look forward to but a horrible death. I do not like the North it annoys me and i resent living here. There is a better world out there for me and my girlfriend. All i need is some help.
Chris
After graduating high school I was starting to resent my family and vice versa. They were really pushing me to move out and although I worked all through high school, I had never worked a full time job. Living at home was beginning to really drive a wedge between my family and I and we are relatively close. So what I did was find people to live together and rent a house and now my monthly rent is super low! I work a full time job now that pays decent and plan to begin school soon. Plus I have money to throw in savings. Sometimes it’s really hard but always, ALWAYS, think fully through the decision before making it. I had no savings when I moved out but Im actually doing OK now. Just don’t let emotion take over you.
Awesome advice
‘Step 2: Look For A Job Before The Move’
Easier said than done
What if you have no money, kids, and family that won’t help even if you begged. A fresh start would be awesome but there’s no light at the end of me.
My name is meghan, i am in the worst situation nightmare possible, no money, no friends, no family to help me, already tried. controlling boyfriend living in the middle of nowhere a half hour to an hour to the nearest towns, no car, might end up getting kicked out with nothing but a backpack, shelter is probably what most people would say… but its pretty sketchy living with a bunch of people you dont know. any advice? at all? other than a shelter? cant just walk out, it’d be a loooong never ending walk to nowhere. i can probably ask a neighbor to get somewhere if i must, but thats all the help i got. advice?
I wished I would had read this article before attempting to move to VA. So upset nothing went as planned . wasted the bit of money I had .So we had to come back to nyc. I really would like to try it again especially after reading the article. I would actually leave behind most of all my clothes. All I got out of it was an ID. Which you need when moving to a new place.trying to look for a job out there now.
Let me get this straight – you’re having trouble moving OUT of NYC, where the housing costs are some of the highest in America but where job opportunities are almost infinite, to VIRGINIA? And you had to come BACK to NYC? How did you pay to move back to New York with no money?
I have moved with very little money, I have had friends offer to drive me, i’d go to supermarkets to get cardboard boxes for packing stuff and would use newspapers and towels to wrap fragile items. But you do need some money saved as most lettings agents will ask for the deposit and months rent and may even ask for a second month upfront. It is possible to move to a city without much money but its easier if you have no dependents, no debts, few belongings and a bit of money that you can use as a cushion to make it less stressful as you tend to need more money than you actually think you will.
I am trying to relocate back to my province and I have had to get rid of a lot of stuff, change my spending habits and live cheap but its still hard and can be depressing so this article definitely encourages me that I am on the right track.
O am on said n get 560.mtg for total of about 22,000 yrly. Just found must move in two weeks. Im desperate. Can’t find anything affordable,any ideas? Anyone?
So next week I am about to do the craziest thing i have ever done!!! We got very careless and got ourselves into a messed up situation. We lost our cars and jobs! We were late on rent and not even a dollar. Since it is our last month he is just letting us move. We live in Ohio and made a fast decision to move to Denver, CO. My 13 year old daughter already had plans to stay with her cousins this summer. We have sold most of the stuff in out house which we are still doing, and buying a used van for $500. I havent applied at any jobs yet. Being Denver I suggested we camp the first week or two while we are learning the city and looking for jobs, also i have seen air bnb for as low as $13 a night. I know it sounds crazy! I was making $10k a month in sales before this and we never saved anything! i used to be a waitress about 10 years ago i was very good and i am very good in sales. He is very tech savvy and very street smart how to use all the apps for free stuff etc. he barters and will buy something for $40 or less and makes hundreds off of it. I am hoping to get a serving job very fast i have an excellent resume, and praying all goes well!! Pray for us!!! Ill update you!
Sounds like the situation I am in, I am in sales and have always wanted to move to Co from Ohio. it is depressing here in ohio. I want to make this move so bad! maybe I could stay with you guys until I landed on my feet again lol!
Nikki, I’m really praying all goes well for you guys. Proverbs and Dave Ramsey advocate saving — although I have a lot of growing to do in that department, lol.
Hope you get a great serving job soon. Always save time for your family. God and church, family, work, then relax. Take care!
Nikki, praying for you guys! Sounds like you have a plan! Hope you get a great job asap.
Prioritize: God and church, husband and family, work, and relaxation for you. Take care!
Nice article! The kind of value you share in your article is commendable.
This was a great read. My situation is a little different as I have a medical condition that has required me to have multiple brain surgeries and have became disabled and have issues from them. So working is out the picture for me at the current moment. I currently live with family but I am treated very poorly and feel that my safety is compromised. I am always having to yell and argue and stand up for myself. Even though I am deaf from my 3rd brain surgery I am still able to speak just not as clearly as before.
My mental health has really taken a serious nose dive to where it’s completely non existence and I’m just here taking up space wishing I died in the 4th (last) brain surgery, zero happiness. I decided that I am no longer going to excuse anyone for the things they do or say.
So since I have several important doctor appointments this month I have decided to weather the storm a little longer till the end of the month then I’m leaving with $1200 to my name. No specific place just wherever my car takes me.
People say there is resources for people with disabilities but I am just NOT sure where to begin. I did fill out 3 public housing applications. 1 apparently called me and I said I am deaf you need to call back in 2 hours when my sister is home and can hear. They hung up and cancelled my application apparently. When I reached out to the housing authority the lady via email my application was cancelled due to a communication barrier even though it said I was deaf on it.