Moving can be a stressful and costly experience, and the bigger the move, the more you need to plan it out and prepare properly. While many moving expenses are unavoidable, you can cut your costs quite a bit with the right game plan. Follow these tips and you’ll keep expenses on your next move to a minimum.
The number of items you move and the weight of those items affect are two of the most significant factors in determining your moving costs. It’s a good idea to get rid of whatever you can before your move so you aren’t paying to take unnecessary possessions from your old home to your new one.
You have three options with items you don’t need – sell them, donate them or throw them away. Selling them is obviously the best option for your wallet since you’ll be making money that you can put towards your moving costs. Go through your entire home and set aside anything that you don’t need. You’ll make the most money selling items on Craigslist, eBay or other sites, but you can also hold a garage sale if you have enough time before your move. Donate anything you can’t sell, and throw away anything that isn’t suitable for donating.
Get Free Boxes
You need boxes, but it’s expensive to buy them from moving companies. There’s no reason to buy boxes considering all the places where you can grab some free of charge.
Retailers often have plenty of boxes that they’re going to recycle. Visit a few local grocery stores and liquor stores and ask if they have any boxes available. You could score some strong, durable boxes that can handle even your heaviest items. You can also try other retailers, such as clothing or department stores. Check around back, first, because there may be boxes laying around behind the store. If you don’t see any, go inside and ask.
Check with people you know and look around at work, as well. If you work in an office, someone may be able to save some supply boxes for you. Printer paper boxes are common around the office and make excellent moving boxes.
The free section on Craigslist and Freecycle are both good places to look for boxes online. People move all the time and don’t need their boxes anymore after the move, so there are many opportunities to find free boxes online.
Check Out Multiple Moving Companies
If you’re trying to cut costs on your move as much as possible, you may think that moving everything yourself is the way to go. This isn’t always the case. You’ll need to spend money to rent your own truck and pay a per-mile rate. It’s also important to consider how much extra time you’ll spend moving if you choose to do it yourself. Saving a bit of money with a do-it-yourself move doesn’t matter if it takes you two days that you could have spent working.
Get quotes from a few different moving companies to see how much professional movers would cost, and compare those amounts with how much it would cost you to do the move yourself. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with moving companies. You may get a better deal if you do so, especially if you’re moving during one of their slow periods.
Move During an Off-Peak Time
The more flexible you are with your moving dates and times, the more money you can save. While this applies more if you hire movers, it’s also true if you’re renting a moving truck.
The most popular times to move are during the summer and the spring, particularly on weekends and holidays. If you can move on a weekday in fall or winter, expect to get a much lower rate with a moving company or on a truck rental.
If you’re renting a truck, you’ll likely get a better rate on a weekday, but you should plan a moving schedule where you avoid rush hour traffic. A truck full of your belongings is going to get low gas mileage anyway because of the added weight. Sitting in traffic for an hour will only make it worse and add to your costs. Rent the truck and pack it in the morning, and then get on the road in the afternoon. If you’re planning to keep the truck overnight, consider getting on the road in the evening when there is much less traffic.
Ship Your Books
Books are heavy and can run up your bill. Instead of packing your books and moving them yourself, take them to the post office and pack them in Media Mail boxes. USPS offers affordable shipping rates on these boxes, and this is a far more convenient option than lugging around heavy boxes of books yourself.
Track Your Expenses and Donations
Your move may increase your tax refund for the year, depending on the circumstances surrounding it. The IRS allows you to use your moving expenses as a tax deduction if you’re moving for work, the new job is at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your previous job was, and you work full-time at least 39 weeks within the first year of living at your new home.
If you meet those requirements, keep your receipts and track your moving expenses so you can deduct them. If you donate anything before your move, keep proof of that, as you can always deduct donations on your taxes.
Moving on a Budget
Every little cost reduction you can make adds up when you’re moving. If you follow those tips, all the savings could leave you with a much more affordable move. Plan your move and create a moving budget so you have a target for the most that you want to spend. If possible, be flexible about when you move, because that’s the easiest way to cut your costs.
