The process of moving from one home to another is as expensive as it gets – there are moving costs and expenses waiting for you at every turn. And when you know that your hard-earned money is at risk during your own move, the overall stress of moving is likely to keep increasing until it reaches some unhealthy levels with the approach of Moving day.
Moving on a tight budget is never fun but the good news here is that there are a number of ways to reduce moving costs and move for less in the end. Some tips for saving money when moving are much more effective than others, so we’ll focus on the cost-saving tricks that have been proven to work well.
Find below the top things you shouldn’t pay for when moving to a new home. And then, do your best not to pay for those things in an attempt to save on your local or long distance move.
1. DON’T PAY for moving items you’ll never use again
Possibly the best way to pay less when moving across country is to sort out all your belongings and then pack and move only those that you do intend to use again once you arrive in the new home.
The moment you understand how important the decluttering task is when you’ll be able to save BIG on your move. Why? The more items you choose to take with you, the heavier your entire shipment will be, thus increasing significantly the transportation costs.
Why should you pay for moving useless things which you’ll only place in storage as soon as you move into your new house or apartment? You shouldn’t, of course. The sensible thing to do is to inventory you entire home and then get rid of all unwanted items in order to save MONEY (lower transportation costs), TIME (faster packing and unpacking), and SPACE (less storage room used in the new home).
Moving experts advise that if you haven’t used any items in more than 12 months, then you don’t really need them, so you can seriously consider getting rid of them before you move away. There are exceptions to that unwritten rule, of course, but the thing to remember is that the cheapest way to move house is to move with as few possessions as possible.
Moving only your essential items will help you cut the cost of moving. However, you can go one step further and try to sell some of those unwanted items, either at a garage sale or online, to boost your moving budget too.
See also: How to declutter your home before moving
2. DON’T PAY for overpriced moving services
It’s not a secret that some moving companies charge more for the same moving services than others. So, why should you pay more to have your things packed and moved to the new home when you can find an affordable mover to do it for less money?
Affordable movers do exist – you only need to know how to find them. Bear in mind that cheaper moving services should not and must not mean low-quality services – that’s why it’s imperative that you compare several moving companies to be able to pick the most affordable one.
The secret to finding a cheaper yet reputable moving company is in requesting in-home surveys that end with the issuance of accurate moving cost estimates in writing.
- FILL a free quote form to get in touch with 3-5 top-rated professional moving companies in your region.
- ASK the movers to visit your home for accurate cost estimation.
- GET your household surveyed by experienced moving company representatives who will issue you with a moving estimate in writing after the survey is over.
- COMPARE the moving companies by doing a more thorough research: read moving company reviews online and check their complaints history.
- COMPARE carefully the moving quotes you’ve received and pick the best offer in terms of PRICE, EXTRA SERVICES, and CONDITIONS.
- BOOK the services of the affordable mover that fits your moving budget and meets your expectations in terms of quality moving services.
Read also: How to find cheap movers near me
3. DON’T PAY for professional packing services
When you’re moving on a tight budget, the best thing you can do is judge which tasks you’ll be able to do on your own (thus saving money by not paying professionals to do them for you) and which tasks you’d better leave to the pros (thus saving potential trouble by damaging some of your items or getting injured in the process).
Don’t spend your money on things you yourself can do – this is the advice that should really help you lower your moving costs. In fact, it’s the task of packing for a move that can prove pivotal for your efforts to save money when moving house. How?
It’s simple: pack whatever you can by yourself. Think about it – as long as you have enough time, packing up your clothes, shoes, bedding, and all the soft goods in your home shouldn’t be a problem. Also, packing non-breakable items such as books is pretty straightforward too.
Packing is a methodical and logical task that requires plenty of time – that’s why you should follow a good packing checklist to be able to pack up most of your things without paying professional packers. And whenever you feel stuck, our numerous packing guides should help you get back on track in no time.
There’s no doubt that packing by yourself will save you money but you should also recognize your limits to keep your move from getting dangerous. Leave huge furniture pieces and specialty items such as a piano, a grandfather clock, and a pool table to professional packers with years of experience.
Important info: Should you hire professional packers?
4. DON’T PAY for brand-new cardboard boxes
Of course, you should take advantage of any good ways to cut moving costs – after all, spending the least amount of money on your move should be your ultimate goal. It’s the question that you should be asking yourself throughout the move, Why should I pay more for something when I can pay less?
Did you know that, on average, around 60 cardboard boxes of various sizes are needed to fit the items found in one home? Now, the cost of a single cardboard box may not be much but multiply that cost by 60 and you’ll realize why it’s so important to find cheap or even free packing boxes.
Is it possible to find free moving boxes? Absolutely. You’ll only need more free time to hunt down those free packing boxes.
- ASK your friends whether they have spare cardboard boxes that they don’t really need. Use your favorite social network to reach more of your pals at once.
- CHECK online if there’s somebody in your neighborhood or town/city that offers moving boxes for free. Yes, you’d be surprised how many people are wondering what to do with their cardboard boxes after a move. Your best bet is a couple of specialized websites: Frecycle and Craigslist.
- GO to the largest supermarkets, shopping centers, home electronics stores, and bookshops in your town and city and ask on the spot if they have any cardboard boxes you can have at no extra cost.
The chances are that you’ll manage to get more than enough packing boxes that way simply because those local businesses are required to recycle all that excess cardboard.
Practical advice: Where to find free moving boxes: Complete list
5. DON’T PAY for other packing supplies either
When looking for the cheapest way to move house, you need to understand that you should use every little chance you get to cut the moving costs. In reality, that cost-saving trick often proves to be the only way to move out on a really tight budget.
Now that you know how to reduce the packing costs by getting your hands on free moving boxes, it’s time for the next money-saving step – finding and using good substitutes for brand-new cardboard boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, and furniture blankets.
- Substitutes for boxes. Should you ever run out of free packing boxes, then don’t rush to the store to buy more cartons. Instead, look around your home for good alternatives to cardboard boxes. Plastic BUCKETS, BASKETS and LAUNDRY HAMPERS can be filled with various non-fragile items. SUITCASES are perfect for moving heavy books. BAGS of various types – shopping, trash, vacuum, and re-sealable ones – will hold well most of the items you put inside them. Use clean trash bags for moving hanging clothes directly off the wardrobe.
- Substitutes for bubble wrap. Thick bath TOWELS are great for protecting extra-fragile items, just like sheets of bubble wrap. Also, thick SOCKS are good for protecting stemware glasses.
- Substitutes for moving blankets. Save money on packing supplies by using ordinary household BLANKETS and BED SHEETS to wrap around your breakables on the road.
- Substitutes for packing paper. You can use ordinary NEWSPRINT instead of white packing paper but be careful never to place it directly over delicate surfaces for fear of leaving nasty ink marks on those fragile items. Newspapers are perfect for filling out empty spaces inside moving boxes.
Very good explanation for moving, to take into packing.
Useful tips and great movers.
Very impressed with service, polite and courteous which makes the move so much easier.
Thank you