Once you manage to process the (surprising) news that the time to move house is just around the corner, and shock or elation gives way to acceptance, your brain will most certainly get occupied with distressing thoughts of dollar signs tattooed all over them.
In most cases, your mind may go into overdrive with essential questions such as How much will my move cost? and How to move on a tight budget?
At first, the trick of moving all your household items from your current home to your new residence without completely emptying your savings account may seem too much for a humble magician like yourself.
But the more you prepare for your masterful act by learning various proven cost-saving moving tricks and relocation strategies, the more you will believe in your own abilities to pull off a successful cross-country move with limited financial resources.
So, how, how to move on a budget when you know too well that moving house is an expensive affair in the first place? How can you make it work when your moving budget is tighter than Santa’s belt?
Check out these top 10 tips for moving on a budget that will help you lower your moving expenses to the absolute minimum.
1. Get Your Moving Cost Estimated
Before you begin your moving preparations and start completing task after task, the one thing that you need straight from the beginning is to have a good idea about how much your move will cost you. You can never know the exact final sum upfront, of course, but you can still get a fairly accurate estimate of the moving expenses you’re about to incur.
Be mindful that some of these relocation costs are not that obvious and it will take a bit of research on your part to learn what to expect and get prepared for the inevitable hidden costs when moving house.
But first things first. In order to create a moving budget – a must-do task that will enable you to keep tabs on your finances, you’re going to have to get a few moving estimates /at least 3, preferably 5/ so that you get familiar with the price range of your relocation.
The preferred way to receive these estimates, which will be optimized for your specific needs, is to fill out a moving quote and then have trustworthy moving experts get back to you with concrete price offers. Remember, you’re looking for the best deals from top-rated and affordable moving companies near you.
When you get contacted by reliable professional movers, don’t forget to request on-site cost estimation so that you can get an accurate calculation of the moving price. Be firm about that in-house survey and do not accept estimates made over the phone or via e-mail – those often end up being vastly inaccurate and misleading simply because they are NOT the result of any actual inspection of your household items and on-site relocation conditions.
And once you know the cost of your upcoming move, then you can go on and set a moving budget so that you can monitor your expenses more closely.
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Do a careful comparison and analysis of the received moving estimates as different movers have different ways of calculating the relocation costs.
When moving out on a budget, it’s fundamental that you compare the received moving estimates in order to select the best offer for your move. Be aware that the best offer does not necessarily mean the lowest one in terms of price.
While carefully comparing the estimates, pay attention to the additional services offered – packing, unpacking, disassembly and re-assembly of large furniture, temporary storage, etc. – and how much each extra service costs.
Moreover, check if there are any extra charges and fees included in the estimate and request more information about them from the corresponding moving company.
A word of caution: should you happen to get an offer that seems too good to be true, proceed with extra caution. Attempt to figure out on your own why exactly the estimated price is so much lower than the other quotes and if you fail to do so, contact the company that has provided the low estimate and demand satisfactory answers to the puzzle of why their price is so much lower than the rest.
For your information, a very low moving estimate could mean T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Why? Low-ball estimates are a scam practice used by some rogue moving companies to lure you, and when they do, then you tend to find a way to increase the price after you’ve booked their services.
3. Consider Pulling Off а DIY Move
And now that you’re holding the detailed cost estimates in your hand, you only need to select the winning offer and contact the professional moving company to book your move.
Moving by yourself could prove to be a financially sound decision.
However, having a limited moving budget means that you must explore all your relocation options and go with the one that will show greater mercy toward your bank account. If certain requirements are met – moving locally, having reliable friends, not moving any specialty items, and boasting previous relocation experience – then you should also consider renting a moving truck and moving on your own.
A self-move will incur the following typical expenses and you’d be wise to include them in your DIY moving budget: renting a moving truck and moving equipment, purchasing fuel, getting packing materials, hiring extra help, and other obvious and hidden expenses.
How to move on a tight budget? Pick the cheaper relocation option, of course. Oftentimes, the cheaper moving option will probably be the harder one to pull off, but good organization and careful planning should enable you to move out successfully either way.
Our tips for moving on a budget (moving tips) continue with advice on how to save money by booking your move prudently.
It’s well-known that the 5-month period from May to September is the time when close to 70% of all household moves take place, so the demand for relocation professionals reaches its highest point during that time. As a result, good moving companies are fully booked during the summer and will not be normally willing to offer you a good bargain.
Therefore, if you can exercise flexibility when booking your move-out date, then a proven technique to cut moving costs is to reserve your relocation during the off-peak season and thus, save big from the standard moving rates. Remember that weekends, as opposed to weekdays, are usually the more expensive periods to move, as are the first and last days of each month.
So, take into consideration the above information when you’re moving house on a tight budget, and whenever possible, use the unique chance to bring down the overall relocation price by being flexible to choose an off-peak move date for your upcoming move.
Being flexible, you are also expected and advised to book your moving job as early as possible simply because you will be presented with better options to move cheaply to another part of the country. Why? Some moving companies offer discounts for early booking too.
Are you willing to pay dearly for the transportation of your old dresser? Or maybe you are, if the antique furniture has a high sentimental value for you. Sometimes moving on a budget is all about making compromises.
You may not realize it but moving ALL your belongings from one house to another will really hurt your limited budget. But why, you may wonder.
As you can see from the moving estimates you have received, the final price of your relocation will be based primarily on three major factors:
the overall weight of your stuff,
the total distance to your new home, and
the extra services you request from your mover.
Here’s the deal: the move distance is a constant value and cannot be changed no matter how strongly you may wish to do it. So, the only good way to reduce the moving price is to either lower the weight of your shipment or request fewer or no extra services from the moving company. Or both.
Let’s take a look at the decluttering option. Living under one roof for a long time usually leads to the accumulation of a large number of items that become more and more useless, and more and more unwanted with each passing year. And, believe it or not, your forthcoming move presents the opportune moment to move to the new house only the stuff you really want and need.
Begin the purging process by making a complete house inventory of what you own. Go from room to room, inspect each household item, and figure out whether you will be moving it or leaving it behind. Apart from the things you can’t imagine parting with and the ones you no longer care about, be mentally ready to make some tough decisions about the things you are not certain what to do with.
Whenever faced with such dilemmas, be more decisive and keep repeating to yourself that the more items you decide to relocate, the more strain you will place on your stretched moving budget (you’re covering the transportation costs out of your pocket, of course) AND the less space there will be in your new residence.
The above advice on how to move on a low budget will help you keep more money in your savings account, but what if you could actually earn additional cash to cover some of the moving expenses?
In fact, it is quite possible. The answer is to hold a profitable garage sale for all the items you no longer need or want. Also, you can choose to sell them online to make money for your limited budget.
Get back to the items you have decided NOT to take to your new home and assess their current condition. Set apart the ones which are not damaged and still seem to have a good market value, and then spend some time preparing them for sale – thorough cleaning, minor repairs, etc.
Think about placing a fair price tag on each one and research online for similar stuff. Underprice your possessions and you won’t get any real profit from the moving sale, overprice them and people will not be particularly interested.
Also, come up with an advertising plan and consider various methods of spreading the word about your yard sale – via social networks, local newspapers, or signs and posters throughout the neighborhood.
On the day of the garage sale, sort and display your stuff attractively and logically, greet the strangers to your home with a smile, and be ready for some serious price negotiations.
Strong cardboard boxes of assorted sizes are the first step toward a successful packing experience.
If you’re thinking that packing supplies are not an expense worth mentioning, then you’ll most definitely be unpleasantly surprised when you finish up the necessary calculations. Packing materials will add up quickly to your limited moving budget, so you’re going to have to get a bit creative in order to organize and execute a cheap cross-country move.
Needless to say, your main concern will be how to get more moving boxes for free. You can ask all your friends, in person or via your preferred social network, if they have any moving containers you can borrow permanently.
Alternatively, you can pay a visit to local businesses, such as supermarkets, office supply stores, specialized liquor stores, bookstores, and so on, and speak to their managers about getting free cardboard boxes in good condition. Those businesses are required to recycle the cardboard boxes they no longer need anyway, so you have a good chance of going home with piles of boxes of assorted sizes. If there is a recycling center near your home, you may try your luck there as well.
To further save money on your move, you can use old towels, sheets, rags, or any other appropriate pieces of clothing instead of bubble wrap. Speaking of alternative packing materials, you can use newsprint instead of packing paper but only to fill in the empty spaces inside the moving boxes and not for wrapping anything with it for fear of staining those items with ink.
A word of advice: Getting free packing materials is great when moving on a tight budget. After all, why should you pay for something when you can have it for free?
However, you should avoid using visibly low-quality containers because they can break easily under the weight of your items and damage whatever is in them or even cause injury-prone accidents, thus rendering the entire budgeting idea counterproductive.
Your limited moving budget will certainly take a big blow if you leave the entire packing process to professional packers. So, in order to lower the moving expenses to the absolute minimum, begin the packing process by yourself as soon as the moving date is confirmed.
Start from the rooms you use the least (spare rooms and storage areas) so that you don’t clutter your home unnecessarily, and then pack your way toward the premises you occupy on a daily basis. Also, consider disassembling and preparing for moving the furniture pieces that you think you can safely handle on your own and leave only the extremely heavy and bulky pieces to the pro movers.
If you sense that you’ve fallen behind on your packing schedule and you still can’t afford to pay professional packers, consider asking some good friends to give you a hand so that you can manage to fit into your moving calendar.
Provided that you have enough time until the move-out date and you don’t own any specialty items that require special packing care, then you should pack up your things on your own so that you won’t have to pay professional packers to do it for you.
Increase your packing efficiency by following a good Packing Timeline – a special-purpose packing checklist that will guide you through the entire home packing process.
Moving out with little money is not ideal at all but you can still make it work by making good decisions when it matters the most. One such decision is to ask your best friends to give you a hand with packing (so that you don’t have to pay professional packers) and even with moving the heavy items out of the house (the heavy lifting) if you’ve made up your mind to organize a DIY move.
Asking your best friends to help you move is one of the most effective ways to move on a low budget.
Asking your pals to help you move is never easy… but it’s the lack of enough financial resources that have forced you to ask that favor from your buddies. And by doing so, you’re actually pledging to help THEM pack and move when the time comes. Still, it’s a decent solution that will help you weather the storm one more time.
When you’re getting ready to move out of state on a budget, make sure you get friendly assistance to keep the moving costs within reason. Here are the three most important things you should do when asking friends to help you move:
REACH OUT to your pals as early as you can to minimize the unavoidable disruption to their own plans. This is important.
BE ready organization-wise when your buddies arrive to speed up the process and avoid the unpleasant situation of wasting their time. Have the necessary packing supplies and moving equipment ready, and assign specific tasks to each of your pals.
PREPARE some thank-you gifts for your helpers. Yes, you’re moving on a very limited budget but those thoughtful gifts don’t need to be something you actually buy – rather, you can make them yourself.
When moving out on a budget, the last thing you’d want is to make a serious mistake that will cost you money in the end. After all, you can’t possibly afford to waste money that you don’t really have, so be careful not to let any major slip-ups rob you of your only chance to make it to the new home with little money.
Here are the top mistakes that may prove too costly at the end of the day:
ACCEPTING the first moving quote that comes your way without comparing it with at least 3-4 other moving company quotes. Always do your homework right!
FALLING for a low-ball cost estimate that turns out to be fraudulent later. Always keep your guard up!
AGREEING to sign incomplete or blank documents when urged by movers to do so. Never do it!
ENTRUSTING your valuables to movers. If you have to do it, always purchase more insurance for peace of mind.
LIFTING and CARRYING heavy household items without using proper moving equipment and without using the right lifting techniques. Bear in mind that potential injuries (medical bills) or property damage (home repair bills) will hurt (your budget) the most.
Performing a move with a limited budget is never an easy thing to do regardless of the state you’re moving to – New York, California, Florida, Texas, and so on. Yes, it’s not a good idea to spend money which you don’t really have. So, in addition to observing the tips for moving on a budget above, you’re going to have to resort to taking advantage of each and every opportunity to cut the moving expenses even further.
Oh, and don’t be hesitant to ask your moving company to work with you by inquiring about current discounts or ongoing promotions. It never hurts to ask, right?
Great article with necessary information like online moving quotes. Here I am getting some real-life experience to work with productivity quotes like my new way to transport furniture. I think this will help me more to boost my moving out of state.
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Just a few helpful tips
Thanks I feel more prepared , even though I feel this move is stressful
This article is really informative and lovely. Thanks for sharing it with us and I am glad I came across it.
Great article! Thank you for the ideas its very helpful and full of insights.
Lots of really great tips like booking in advance and during non peak season .
Thanks!
Great article with necessary information like online moving quotes. Here I am getting some real-life experience to work with productivity quotes like my new way to transport furniture. I think this will help me more to boost my moving out of state.