Here's a useful piece courtesy of ARA Content on how to save money when moving.
For many, moving can be a daunting task. Whether your new home is across town or across the country, advanced planning is important. In addition to devoting time to organize and pack your belongings, make sure to put aside time to prepare financially as well. Here are some tips to get you started.
Create and Stick to a Budget
As in any aspect of life, keeping a budget of expenses when you move is crucial. Create a list of expected expenses the moment you decide to move. Remember to include things like boxes, packing material, movers, cleaning services, gasoline, restaurant meals and maybe even a hotel stay. There will always be unexpected expenses, but by creating a list ahead of time, you’ll be ready for them!
Hiring a Mover
If you plan to hire a professional mover, get quotes from several different companies. Costs are typically determined based on the weight or the number of rooms that need to be moved, the distance between your old home and new home, packing and unpacking requirements and the time of year. Expect to pay more during peak moving times. You’re more likely to find a deal if you move in the spring or the fall. Try to avoid moving over holidays and on weekends when costs are highest. Remember that the lowest price may not be the best deal – thoroughly review each company’s policy for coverage of items that are damaged or broken during the move.
Affordable Packing
Even if you hire a professional mover, you can reduce the cost by packing and unpacking yourself. Plan ahead and shop around for the best deal on packing materials and tape. Collect boxes at work, your local grocery store or check the online classifieds. Many movers also offer used boxes for free.
Condense the Weight
Limit travel weight by eliminating heavy items. For example, that heavy jar of change sitting on your dresser could be used to purchase something fun for your new home! According to Coinstar, there’s about $10 billion in loose change sitting in homes across the U.S. (that’s about $90 per household). Since you’re already packing, collect all the loose change throughout your home and take it to a nearby Coinstar Center. You’ll get free coin counting when you place the value of your change onto a gift card or eCertificate from retailers like Amazon.com, Pier 1 Imports, Linens 'n Things and more. Coins can also be turned in for cash for a nominal fee. Visit www.coinstar.com for details and locations.
Get Rid of Unused Items
This is the best time to go through those forgotten boxes and get rid of the things you and your family no longer use. Hold a yard sale prior to moving, sell items to your local second-hand store, online or donate them to charity for a tax write-off. You’ll save on moving and gas costs because you’ll have less to move.
Turn it Off
Schedule ahead to have your cable turned off the day of your move. If you are in an apartment, schedule to have the heat and electricity turned off and moved to your new location. If moving from a house, turn off the water heater and lower the thermostat. Don’t leave on any extra lights and make sure the doors and windows are locked and sealed so that the area is protected while empty.
When i moved i used www.moveme.com to help me - its really good for planning your move but saves you loads of money with tips and discounts too.
Posted by: Lindsay | October 17, 2007 at 12:03 PM
I have been preparing to move cross-country for family reasons and have been doing extensive research on the various ways to do this cheaply and quickly on my own as well. I have already helped my girlfriend move cross-country and have assisted several others move regionally, cross-country, and internationally through self-moves and with government paid moves. Here is a few I would like to add.
-if renting a Uhaul or penske truck/trailer/van for a long distance 1 way move the price will vary wildly by where you are going to move to. If you are moving to a small area then the fees can be 2-3 times as much. In my case it was going to be $1500 to rent a trailer but if I returned it in a neighboring larger city it was only $600!
-when negotiating salary or benefits with a company in the new area that does not offer relocation ask if they will do a partial relocation package. The companies are normally figuring on a complete relocation package for a 3-4 bedroom house as well as temporary housing while house hunting in the local area. For a cross-country move with complete door-to-door services including boxing, packing, shipping, and unloading it can easily range from $20-50k+ from a reputable mover! For most mid-career postions this is an expense that I understand most companies do not want to pay for but most will be willing to pay a smaller amount. Several companies which did not offer relocation packages were easily convinced to offer a smaller amount ($5k) as a hiring bonus. This amount would have easily covered my personal moving costs which included Uhaul rental, mileage rate, per diem (lodging and food), and packing supplies. Many companies will also allow you to inprocess at the company before the move and this allows time to house hunt at the same time.
-paying for professional movers for a long distance move is never cheaper! It is much more convenient but never cheaper. I obtained numerous quotes and it was literally cheaper or a similar cost for me to buy a full size truck, enclosed trailer, pay for gas/time/food/hotel, ship my car, and move myself! To completely move my girlfriend's sparsely furnished small 2 bedroom apartment from DC to the Seattle area was between $25-30k!
-while definitely not cheaper it is often more "frugal/economical" to buy generic rubbermaid type containers if decent boxes cannot be found for free or nearly free. I did not believe this until I put it into action when helping my girlfriend move cross-country. It was a short notice move and we could not find boxes quickly of a quality that we would trust with her things so we bought numerous plastic containers on sale for a price that was 2-3x the cost of cardboard. They were used to pack, move, and then after the move the boxes were loaned out and given to others moving or in need. The remainder are used at her place for storage, organization, and several other uses. There was a higher initial cost but the multiple uses of them over time drove down their per-use cost
-hire out the help loading and unloading when doing long distance self-moves through moving services such as http://www.twomenandatruck.com/ They will pack and load your things into a rental truck/trailer faster and more efficiently than most people can. There is a minimum amount of time or money they will come out for but the time savings was well worth the reasonable cost. A discount can often be negotiated if it is an off-time or between large jobs.
Posted by: xshanex | October 18, 2007 at 05:43 AM