Save Money on Moving

Here are some thoughts from a reader who left a comment on my post tilted Money Saving Moving Tips:

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 positions 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.

Good thoughts! Anyone have anything else to add?

Comments

[Jerry]

Good friends of mine, moving from West to East, purchased a covered trailer to carry all of their belongings behind them. Arriving at their destination, they were able to unload all of their stuff at their leisure, thereafter selling the nearly-new trailer for more than they paid for it! Even with any additional, short-term insurance costs, they came out pretty well at the end of their moving adventure.
Jerry

[Me]

We moved from NC to TX ourselves. We rented a penske truck because UHAUL is terrible. Infact, when I went did I search for Uhaul, I found http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/. His story was very similar to an experience I had moving from NY to NC with Uhaul. Unlike him, I had a large corporation as a customer's of theirs behind me, so I got my truck.

I found penske offered AAA discounts and even found their online box store the cheapest despite the fact they were delivering the boxes via UPS. I agree that you should attempt to find free boxes when possible. When the move is cross country, I think it is best to purchase new boxes with structural integrity. Given that - check craigslist. People are always offering free boxes after a move. Unfortunately we kept some of the boxes and threw out the rest. Had I known about craigslist at the time I would have had no problem offering them to someone for free.

[Lord]

What you move should vary with the distance you are moving it. Across country you should only move antiques, heirlooms, irreplaceables, precious items, personal papers and photos, and clothing. Lesser distances, it becomes worthwhile to transport less valuable items, but low value density objects such as ordinary furniture and household supplies are not worth transporting far. Better to sell and buy new there.

[Jesse VanWay]

Grocery stores have a huge number of boxes in great condition.

Just take a walk through the aisles around 10pm-- when most stores restock, and ask for a few boxes. I've never been turned down.

[Kinshuk]

nice advice on moving...makes me rethink on the moving bit....suddenly this place and job seem a lot more attractive [ no need of moving out for whatsoever reason! ]
this is what i gather from the discussion above:

1. professional movers are too costly
2. even if u pay them, u might end with less than satisfactory service! :-(
3. its much cheaper [ obviously!! ] to pack and ship on your own.

here r my two bits:

1. Get sensitive items like bulky electronics and delicate furniture packed and transported by professionals because it simply ain't worth the time, risk and effort to do it yourself!
2. See if u can share a truck with someone moving to the same place [or nearby] to where u plan to go
3. Plan your move well in advance so that u are not overwhelmed by the packing load and have enough time to arrange for the packing materials for free!...seek help from friends and associates.
4. Ask your transportation company if they would either you or your spouse to travel along with your belongings. That would save time, ensure safety of valuable goods, remove cost of insuring them plus save one of u the cost of a ticket!

[Matt]

If you're doing a cross-country move, a good option between doing it entirely yourself by renting a truck and hiring full service professional movers is to rent shipping containers like PODS or ReloCubes. It does tend to be more expensive than renting a truck, but FAR less expensive than hiring professionals. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=consumer&id=5106956

They let you take your time loading and unloading, and you don't have to drive a big truck hundreds of miles.

I like the rubbermaid container idea too, especially if you get the clear ones. They are very useful in your new home.

[Lindsay]

Websites like moveme.com can be very useful for getting discounts on moving home :)