How To Make Moving Affordable

How many times have you wished to buy a desirable item, to use a beneficial service, to visit an exotic location, or to enjoy a fun activity, but have given up the idea simply because you couldn’t afford it? Some things are just too expensive and there is nothing you can do about it. Yet, sometimes you have little choice but to spend your hard-earned money on a single pricey product, expensive service, or costly project, etc.

You may find yourself in such a tough situation when you need to move to a new home. Moving house is notorious for being an emotionally and financially draining process, one of the most troublesome and stressful events in human life. However, if you have your sound reasons to relocate, you need to accept the challenge and start working on an efficient moving strategy. You may not be able to avoid spending lots of time, energy, and money on your move, but the good news is there is something you can actually do about it and keep the better part of your savings where they belong – in your bank account. All you have to do is find the answer to one essential bothersome question: How to make moving affordable?

The solution is to be found in the proven strategies and clever tricks we’ve shared in this article to help you organize a smooth and affordable move across the country.

So, let’s begin with the basic ways to cut down on moving costs that have proven to work without a fault:

Make A Cost-Effective Moving Plan

The need to create a detailed and well-thought-through moving plan as soon as your forthcoming relocation becomes a certain fact has been emphasized so often, that it may sound like a cliché. However, clichés have become such because of their proven validity. So, the smarter you plan and schedule your move, the greater your chance of achieving a gratifying moving experience.

Choose Your Final Destination Wisely

Researching your new area and finding an appropriate new home for your family and yourself is your first and foremost task when planning a residential move.

You need to find a residence in an excellent condition, conveniently located in a safe and prosperous neighborhood, close to your workplace, your children’s school, various local amenities, green areas, entertainment venues, etc. Besides, your new home should be of the appropriate size and type to suit all your needs and preferences and to ensure your convenient and vibrant lifestyle. Last but not least, the property you are about to buy or to rent has to be easily affordable.

Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in lots of troubles and great financial losses, so research your housing options very well before making a final decision or opt for temporary lodgings instead.

Create A Moving Calendar And Stick To It Real Strict!

Organizing well the time you have left until Moving day will allow you to take care of all the important pre-relocation tasks and moving preparations in a timely and efficient manner. Create a detailed to do list with all the chores you need to complete on every given day prior to your move and stick to it, no matter what. This way, you won’t miss anything important and will be able to avoid unnecessary expenses for last-minute emergencies.

Choose A Beneficial Moving Date

Moving during off peak periods is an old trick to save on your final moving costs. You are certain to get a better deal in terms of moving charges when relocating during the colder months. However, if you have no choice but to schedule your move anytime between May and September, at least decide on a moving date during the second half of a month on a weekday (have in mind that weekends and national holidays are always busier which automatically results in higher moving costs and increased risks of accidents and various other problems).

Take into consideration your friends’ and relatives’ free time as well, if you want them to help you out with your move (so that you can save on professional moving services).

Weigh Your Moving Options With Great Care

Performing a DIY move may be a very frugal moving option under certain circumstances – short moving distance, a small number of large household items to move, previous moving experience, reliable friends to help you move, etc. In the best case scenario, you will be able to rent an affordable moving truck and move yourself for much less money than you would have spent on professional moving services.

However, most relocation scenarios don’t turn out to be perfect, so take into account all the hidden costs of moving on your own and all the risks, hassles, and strenuous work involved in the moving process before setting your mind on a self-move. Have in mind that many reputable moving companies offer very affordable moving solutions that will perfectly suit not only your relocation needs but also your available moving budget. But is it really cheaper to hire a moving company? Especially when moving long distance, hiring an affordable moving company will be not only your cheaper option, but also your safer and more convenient moving option.

Make A Realistic Moving Budget

Finding affordable moving solutions is all about proper financial management. So, once you know your final destination and the approximate time-period of your relocation, you need to define its most essential parameter – the moving budget. The first thing to do is to assess your financial situation and figure out how much money you can afford to spend on your move. Then, you need to find a way to accommodate all your moving expenses within the allocated financial resources.

• Divide your moving budget into categories and get an accurate idea of how much money you are going to need for each phase of the relocation process. Be careful not to overlook any essential spending area, however minor it may seem, and provide for all the moving expenses, including packing supplies, movers’ charges, insurance, transportation, urgent post-relocation costs, etc.;
• Be prepared to take quick and efficient measures whenever a moving task exceeds its set financial limit. When making your moving budget, create a document with two columns to easily track estimated and actual expenses. If it turns out that something is more expensive than you’ve expected it to be, you need to compensate by finding a cheaper option in another area;
• Find out the most common ways to lose money on a move and take adequate measures not to incur unnecessary extra expenses. Avoiding costly moving mistakes is the easiest and most efficient way to make your move more affordable;
• Boost your moving budget – you have a couple of valid options to generate some extra income:

–   Sell everything you don’t need. Your first step is to create a floor plan of your new home to determine which of your larger furniture and appliances will fit in the available space, will fit through the doors, and will fit the interior décor. All the items that don’t meet any of these requirements can go for sale, as they are not worth the money and the efforts for moving them to your new place. Then, sort out your belongings and create a moving inventory to get a clear idea of the actual number and condition of your belongings. All the duplicate items, outdated items, outgrown items, and any other items you don’t need or don’t like anymore should also make it on your sales list. You can organize a garage sale, sell your belongings online, or take them to a consignment store – whatever option suits your available time and your preferences best;

–   Use gift cards and coupons. The month before your move is the perfect time to cash in credit card reward points and gift cards, as well as to take advantage of any vouchers and coupons you might have. They can be used for purchasing various goods and services at promotional prices, which will be quite beneficial for your budget.

What matters the most is to make all your moving-related financial decisions in compliance with your available budget in order to save yourself various troubles and frustrations down the road and to make sure you will not end up with empty pockets in your new home.  

Find An Affordable Moving Company

Is it cheaper to use a moving company or to perform a self-move? There are too many variables specific for each individual moving instance, so you can’t go with general assumptions concerning the ultimate dilemma “DIY move or professional movers”. You need to find the answer for yourself but have in mind that hiring professional movers for your relocation has a number of significant advantages not directly related to the moving costs. Besides, many circumstances beyond your control may necessitate the professional assistance of movers, regardless of your personal preferences – great distance to your final destination, lack of sufficient time to organize all the complicated aspects of the moving process, lack of experience, lack of available help from family and friends, etc. After all, driving a large moving truck for several days across the country is not only difficult and exhausting, but will also keep you off work and other urgent commitments for quite a long time, not to mention all the risks, the stress, and the strenuous labor involved. So, your best course of action is to find affordable movers who will have the experience and the equipment to perform a safe, smooth, and economical relocation.

# Get a free moving estimate – the point is it comes for free, so even if you are not satisfied with the response you’re going to receive, you will lose nothing. After all, there is nothing more affordable than a free product or service, right?

# Find affordable state to state moving companies – you are looking for quality services at a reasonable price. So, research all your options and choose wisely – ask for recommendations, read moving reviews, check out ratings, interview a couple of selected movers, ask for on-site binding estimates, compare the offers, read carefully the relevant paperwork, discuss any extra conditions, specific requirements and other important issues, and make sure you are dealing with licensed and trustworthy movers. Then choose the company that has offered the optimal proportion between quality and price.

SEE ALSO: 9 critical steps to hiring the best movers

# Ask for discounts – many moving companies offer discounts to attract more customers. You may be able to take advantage of certain ongoing promotions, time-specific deals, coupons, and other different ways to cut down the moving costs. Or you may be able to negotiate a lower deposit. Just remember – this is the time to put your negotiation skills to good use.

# Avoid moving scams – learn to recognize the red flags of moving frauds. Suspiciously low offers, laconic answers, usage of generic names, denial to perform on-site estimates, no website or website that offers no specific information and displays no USDOT number, discrepancy between the information you have been given by the company’s representatives and the information you have found in relevant online databases, records of past problems and unsettled conflicts are all clear signs that you should raise your guard and search for another reputable moving company. Be extra careful as what seems like an affordable moving option may turn out to be a deceitful plot to rip off heedless customers.

Related: Common moving frauds and extortion scam schemes

# Book your chosen affordable moving services as early as possible – the earlier you secure the services of your chosen affordable moving company, the better the deal you are likely to get. Hiring movers in the last minute will definitely make you dig deeper into your pocket, ruining all your efforts to make moving affordable.

Having secured the services of a trustworthy affordable moving company, you are already halfway to ensuring an affordable move. It’s time to take care of another very expensive aspect of the moving process – packing.

Affordable Packing Ideas

Packing provides the greatest variety of affordable moving solutions:

Get Rid Of Unwanted Items Prior To Your Move

You will not only save on packing materials (as you will have fewer items to pack), but will also save on the final moving costs. The moving costs are estimated based on the total weight of your shipment. So, the fewer items you relocate, the lighter your shipment will be and the less truck space will be required. This will automatically result in a lower moving bill. What’s more, you will be able to pocket some extra money by selling your unwanted possessions, as already mentioned. If you prefer to donate them to charity instead, you will be able to get a tax deduction at the end of the year. It is a win-win situation.

Pack Your Items Yourself

Professional packers will use professional packing materials to guarantee the safety of your items during transportation and will do the job really quickly, but their services will cost you a lot. Packing your belongings yourself may require lots of time and efforts, but it will help keep more money in your wallet. Besides, you will have the chance to organize your items the way you want to, to pack at your own pace, and to handle every piece with utmost care.

Use Affordable Packing Materials

But where to buy affordable moving boxes and other cheap packing materials?

• Check websites like Craigslist, eBay, and other similar sites where people put their well-preserved used items for sale;
• Ask around in your neighborhood (or spread the word in the social networks) to find out if someone is selling used packing materials in good condition;
• Ask at local grocery stores for clean and sturdy boxes they don’t need, or at printing houses for white paper strips or end rolls of newsprint you can use instead of packing paper, etc.;
• Keep any large, sturdy shipping boxes that have arrived in the mail during the months prior to your move (as well as any packing peanuts, bubble wrap, etc. that have been in them);

  

• Purchase packing materials in bulk and look for ongoing sales and promotions;
• Substitute professional packing materials with appropriate items you already own and will move to your new home anyway (suitcases and travel bags, crates and baskets, paper bins and buckets, old towels, bed linen, blankets, tablecloths, old magazines and newspapers, etc.)

Just have in mind that used or improvised packing materials won’t provide as good protection for your belongings as brand-new specialized packing supplies would. So, it will be a good idea to provide professional packing materials for your more delicate and valuable possessions (repairing or replacing damaged possessions of yours will cost you more, not to mention that you may lose items of high sentimental value as well).

Optimize Space And Provide Safety

Optimizing the space in the moving boxes has two distinctive advantages:

• You will need fewer moving containers as you will be able to accommodate a large number of items in one box (so, you will save money on packing supplies);
• You will prevent shifting inside the boxes during transportation, reducing the risk of damage to your items (so, you will save money on restoring damaged items).

Therefore, before undertaking the Herculean task of packing up your entire household, get familiar with various efficient packing methods, innovative packing techniques and proven packing rules. You will be able to save space, time and materials (= money!) and to provide maximum protection for your belongings.

Just steer clear of the common packing mistakes that may result in a very unaffordable relocation!

Take Care Of The Relevant Paperwork

Putting your documents in order will help you organize a smooth and affordable move:

• Get proper insurance – you may be tempted to save some money by not getting additional insurance, but you will be risking way too much. If your possessions get damaged or stolen, you will only receive 60 cents per pound per item. Sometimes saving a few dollars may cause you to lose hundreds or thousands, so think twice before skipping proper insurance;
• Get your security deposit back (if applicable) – take the time to repair minor damages you may have caused and to clean your rented property thoroughly before you leave. This will increase your chances of getting your full security deposit back;

  

• Transfer utilities – arrange for the utilities to be disconnected at your old property on move-out day to avoid paying for services you no longer use. Also, contact service providers in your new area in advance to make sure the utilities will be running in your new home when you move in and to avoid extra charges for setting up services in the last minute;
• Change your address – to have your mail forwarded to your new address, you need to fill out a change of address request at your local post office. If you prefer to change your address online, use the USPS official website as other sites may charge you up to $ 20 for the service;
• Update your documents – you will be charged an extra fee of you miss the deadline for updating your driver’s license, car registration and insurance, and any other necessary documents.

Travel Cheap

Provided that you have hired an affordable moving company to move your belongings to your new home, you need to find an affordable way to get there yourself. Research all the possible means of transport (trains, buses, airplanes) and check travel sites for cheap airfare and different promotions, but keep in mind that driving your own vehicle is your most economical option. The main reason – if you use any other means of transportation, you will have to pay an auto transport company to ship your car. When driving, you will have to pay for gas, road tolls, parking fees, hotel stays, meals, etc. but those are minor expenses compared to the considerable amount you will need for plane tickets for all your family members + the charges for shipping your car. What’s more, you will be able to transport some of your belongings in your car which is both convenient and cost-effective:

• you will pay your movers less as you will be able to decrease the total amount of your shipment;
• you will be able to take your valuables and delicate possessions with you;
• your pets will travel with you, so the relocation will be less stressful for them;
• you will have a nice trip with your family.

All the above affordable moving tips have proven to yield the desired results but some uncommon tricks may work even better for you:

How To Make Moving More Affordable

1)      Read moving reviews to identify the most affordable moving companies. You may find it hard to believe but you can save up to $ 500 of your final moving costs by reading reviews alone. Find out more information here;

2)      Let your lowest written moving estimate be seen. When moving company representatives come to your place to perform a visual survey and provide you with a binding estimate, you can trick them into offering you a really good deal. All you need to do is make several copies of the lowest estimate you have received up to that moment and scatter them in strategic spots around your house. When the representatives of the next moving companies notice the document and learn the final relocations costs stated by their competitors, they are certain to offer you a better deal or at least to match the offer;

3)      Avoid extra charges. Take adequate measures to avoid hidden moving costs and fees, usually incurred by additional services. Plan all the elements of your relocation adventure in meticulous details and prepare well enough to eliminate any grounds for extra charges – reserve a parking space for the moving truck directly in front of the entrance to your home, reserve an elevator (if applicable), make sure there will be no split pickups or deliveries, get your new home ready in time (so that you won’t need temporary storage), etc.;

4)      Consolidate your shipment. You will pay less for the shipment of your household goods if the moving truck transports other people’s belongings as well. You will have to wait longer to receive your items as the moving truck will stop several times to pick and/or deliver other people’s possessions, but you will be able to save a lot;

5)      Get free moving help. Ask your friends to help you with the moving preparations, so that you can finish all the laborious tasks on time without the need of expensive professional assistance. Needless to say, all your family members should also contribute to the successful completion of the numerous moving-related chores;

6)      Borrow moving equipment. There is no point in buying items you will only need temporarily during your move. If possible, borrow them instead – not only specific equipment and tools required to disassemble your furniture or to move larger pieces around, but also protective materials (such as corner guards or plywood boards) to prevent property damage on Moving day, or packing supplies your friends, coworkers, or neighbors who have recently moved don’t need anymore, etc.

7)      Use up your provisions. Moving toiletries, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, and other similar goods is really bothersome (some of them are non-allowables, others may not be good to use after a week or so in the moving truck, etc.), so it is a good idea to stop spending money on such items about a week or two before your move and to use up your stashes. Also, be sure to use up, sell, or donate all your perishable food supplies, fuel reserves, hazardous materials, and other goods that you cannot take to your new home;

8)      Keep your wallet closed after the move. Don’t be quick to undertake major renovation projects or to rush into the stores for new furniture, cutting edge electronics and domestic appliances, fancy clothes, expensive artwork, etc. right after your relocation. Refrain from any desirable luxuries for some time until you have assessed your financial situation, prioritized your needs, learned your way around your new city and found affordable shopping places, economical transportation options, cheap entertainment options, etc. For further details check out our insightful money-saving tips after moving to a new city;

9)      Ask for job relocation packages. If you are required to relocate to another branch of your current company or if you are sent to another state with a specific long-term assignment, you should ask your employer for moving help. Different relocation packages are available when moving for work, so take the time to research all your options and see if any of them suit your needs and preferences;

10)    Don’t overlook your tax deduction opportunities. Oftentimes moving expenses are tax deductible. So, keep all your relocation-related documents and receipts as you will need them to deduct some of your moving expenses from your taxes at the end of the year.

Happy affordable moving!

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