Want to know how to move for cheap? You’re in the right place. We can offer more than a few tips on how to prevent your bank from breaking during your big move.
Moving is a tough task. If you’re moving alone, it can be quite tricky to navigate the process. If you’re hiring a mover, it can be hard to know which is the right one for you.
Budgeting itself is also a tough task. It’s hard to know in advance what you will need. The moving process changes all the time. Your wants and needs also evolve.
In this write-up, we’ve covered the best tips for moving for cheap. Keep reading to know some hacks and tips!
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Tips For Cheap Local Moves And Long-Distance Moves
Looking for ways to save money when hiring professional movers? The moving process can be difficult to navigate. It can also be very expensive! Especially if your move is a cross-country move. We’ve highlighted a few tips below that can reduce your moving expenses.
Try To Find Moving Boxes And Packing Supplies On Your Own
If you are in touch with someone who has recently made a move similar to your move size, feel free to get in touch with them. They probably already have tips for how to prepare a moving budget.
More importantly, you can ask them for empty moving boxes. This can help you move your furniture most cheaply. You won’t have to spend money on hiring professionals to move supplies or boxes!
It’s hard to get the proper packing materials on your own. A professional relocation company can provide those materials for you. However, hiring movers is more expensive than getting the stuff on your own.
Scout for available things like cork sheets and bubble wrap. This can help make your long distance move much easier.
You can hire relocators to pack some specific stuff. But when moving cross country, you’ll have a lot of furniture pieces to move. Consider packing some of that yourself!
Rent A Moving Trailer
Moving trucks are a great option. Rental services are some of the most sought-after moving services. Moving trailers are a cheaper way of moving your furniture. Of course, this depends on how much stuff you are moving.
A truck rental will always be more expensive. However, it may also be more flexible. A full-service moving company can provide you with top-notch rentals. Professional moving companies also provide more leeway with their trucks.
For instance, a rental truck is more flexible in terms of pricing and size. However, a trailer is still a great option if you don’t want to opt for full-service movers.
Look For The Cheapest Way To Move
Always look for the cheapest option when looking into things like discounts. Is there a garage sale nearby that you can look into? Can you do a DIY move? Can you change your move date to a more suitable time?
There are many travel-related expenses in cross-country moves. This is why hunting for discounts or good deals on different moving services can help you quite a bit. Always look for the best deal out there!
Get Free Quotes
Professional movers often provide free quotes. Your licensed long-distance relocators will usually have their quotes listed on their website. Of course, your moving costs will depend on a lot of other factors.
However, free quotes are a great way to start to have a baseline idea of how much cross-country relocators may potentially cost you. Always get multiple quotes to have a better estimate.
Take Help From Friends And Family
The best way to save money is to get help from friends and family. You can house household supplies as a moving container. This will save you money because you don’t have to hire a storage container company.
You can get a moving truck by getting a vehicle from your loved ones. Instead of hiring relocators to pack and load your furniture, you can get your friends to help you load furniture.
You can also ask your loved ones to give you free boxes. This is an incredibly affordable option for you because it means you don’t have to spend extra cash on buying more boxes.
Reuse Containers
Out-of-state relocators can help provide you with multiple containers. Do you know what will be easy on your bank account? Using containers you already have.
This cuts down travel costs significantly and is one of the cheap ways to move. You can use household supplies as storage containers. You can use old boxes of cardboard. These can substitute as free-moving boxes.
Get Rid Of Stuff You Don’t Need
One way to cut down on travel expenses is to give away stuff you don’t need. Instead of hiring a large cargo trailer or a rental truck or a freight trailer to ship furniture, why don’t you just throw away stuff you don’t need?
You can give them up for junk removal. You can also give them to companies that offer recycling as an additional service. Additionally, you can pass them on to friends and family who need those pieces of furniture. That will make your move a cheap one.
Look For Free Storage Options
Storage services are incredibly useful, but they can be quite pricey. This is why finding a free option will help make your life easier. You can also get this by asking a friend or a family member.
If they have a garage, you can keep your stuff there. You can also use old attics to store your stuff. Additionally, if anyone you know has a large vehicle, you can borrow that instead of getting a moving truck for your move.
What Kind Of Move Works Best For You?
Here are a few tips on how to best plan for your move. Keep reading to see what each kind of move entails to make the best decision for yourself!
Diy Move
This move entails that you do everything yourself. It will lower your moving expenses, but it’s quite a challenge. You’ll have to take care of your containers, packing supplies, truck rental, fuel costs, etc.
You also will need to plan every bit of your move yourself without any help. This is the cheapest way to relocate because it doesn’t have any additional costs of hiring professionals. However, it does mean your move will be quite hectic, though you can do a cheap move.
Renting A Moving Truck
If you’re renting a truck, you’ll completely rely on the professionals to drive your stuff to your new home. This is useful if your car doesn’t have the towing capacity to move all your furniture in it.
A pickup truck can help a lot. If you pack and load the furniture into the truck yourself, it can significantly lower your costs.
A rental truck isn’t the cheapest way to plan your move, but it’s significantly cheaper than having loading, packing, and rental services all in one. If you’re opting for this kind of move, you should have tons of packing paper.
You’ll need to pack all your items. You’ll also need to load them onto a moving container (or multiple storage containers). Then you’ll need to put your moving containers onto the truck rental itself.
If you’re opting for this move, make sure you have plenty of help. Packing and loading furniture are incredibly difficult tasks. That’s why you should enlist help from your friends and family.
Renting A Moving Container Or Multiple Moving Containers
If you hire PODS containers, this makes storage significantly easier for you. There are container companies that can help you with this. Companies like PODS, for instance, can provide you with storage on demand.
You can also rent storage units from companies. On the day of your move, they’ll drive the storage unit to your new home. This is a mobile container. This is useful if you don’t want to hire a moving container.
It’s also useful if you don’t have adequate storage space for all your stuff. Many apartments in the country don’t have large enough garages to hold all of their stuff in. Not to mention, many apartments don’t have garages, to begin with!
Loading And Unloading Services
You can alternatively DIY some of the other stuff but leave the loading for the professionals. Loading and unloading furniture is tricky. Your furniture usually weighs a lot.
This is a tricky one to navigate. Loading services are useful because you can injure yourself without professional help. You can opt for hiring relocators only for the heavy lifting part.
This means you’ll have to take care of everything else on your own. You’ll need to pack your things. You’ll need to take care of the rental yourself. You’ll also have to figure out insurance. The relocators will figure out the bits that are directly related to loading and unloading!
Full-Service Cross-Country Moving Companies
This is the one most people opt for. This is not the cheapest way. However, this is the most stress-free way to relocate.
When you’re working with a professional moving company, they’re going to take care of your move out of state from start to finish. You can also customize your move according to your needs.
You don’t have to opt for all of their services, you can mix and match. You can also rely on them for insurance. Additionally, it’s always useful to have industry professionals on your side. They’ll know tips and tricks that you don’t!
What Should I Consider When I’m Preparing A Moving Budget?
Move Date
The timeline is an incredibly important thing to consider. Out-of-state relocators charge differently based on the time of the year you’re moving during. Full-service moving companies charge more during the summer than in other seasons.
This is because professional relocators are the most in demand during summer. There are national holidays like the fourth of July. People plan their cross-country moves around these vacations.
A good way to save money is to travel during spring, fall, or winter. Also, avoid scheduling your long-distance move in the little of a national holiday or festival. Your moving costs will be much higher then.
Moving Services
Full-service relocators can offer a range of additional services. A way to save money is to cut down on those services. You may not need every single service that relocation companies provide. Please don’t compromise on the quality of your move while saving money.
Prepare A Moving Checklist Early
Everyone’s moving process is different. You will need to make sure you have efficient ways to cut costs that don’t compromise the quality of your move. You need to have specific things on your checklist to make the process easier and less stressful for you.
Your moving checklist will put your needs into perspective. Do you need a moving truck? Do you need a PODS container? How many container companies do you need to look into? What’s the inexpensive option for you in terms of relocators?
The sooner you have a checklist, the sooner you’ll know how many services you require. This will help you narrow down your relocation company list. You can also look into company reviews accordingly.
Research As Much As You Can
You need to look into your relocation company as soon as you can. We will delve more into what to look at when hiring companies. However, you need to research as early as possible. Once you have a list of your requirements, you can cross-check with movers according to your budget.
What Do I Look For When Hunting For Movers For A Cheap Move?
Let’s look at some important considerations to make when looking for the best moving company for you.
License
The relocators you are thinking of working with must be licensed. This information is available on their websites. They must have documentation proving they’re certified. The license numbers to look out for are the USDOT and the ICCMC.
Quotes
You need to look into the quotes of movers. As we’ve said before, you should look at multiple estimates. This will help you compare prices much more easily.
Some industry professionals have their quotes on their websites. There are many other ways to know prices as well. You can look at online reviews. Many past clients discuss prices in great detail. You can also ask your friends and family members who have moved before. Getting quotes and compare will help you for a cheap move.
If you’re looking for instant quotes online, we can help you with that. If you fill in this form, you will easily be able to access no-strings-attached quotes from us! You can then compare those quotes to make the best decision for yourself.
Number Of Services They Provide
Many excellent relocators don’t necessarily provide the services that you particularly need. Not all companies provide PODS. Not all companies have contracts that can get you freight trailers.
This is why it’s important to look into the number and type of services that they will provide. There are many reliable and affordable options for you.
Companies like U Haul and U Pack can provide you with a bunch of useful services. There is also the Van Lines. Allied, International, American, and United are some of the most revered. They are affordable and reliable.
Moving Insurance
Insurance is a large part of moving. If you’re going to commit to a relocation company, you should make sure that they’re going to take care of insurance. This is especially true for long-distance moves.
What To Prepare For Before Moving Across The Country
New Job
It’s best to have a new job before your move. Looking for a job in a brand-new city or state can be quite a nightmare. How much will your employer pay you? You should know about your potential monthly income so that you can calculate your potential monthly expenses.
Housing Costs
You should always look into real estate costs before moving. If you’re buying a house, look into that. Different states and cities have different prices and requirements for owning a house.
You also need to get in touch with a reliable real estate agent if you’re thinking of buying. Additionally, there will be the consideration of home insurance.
If you’re renting, you still need to do research. Research will help you to have a cheap move. The average rent differs between states, cities, and even neighborhoods.
Research Your Neighborhood
Speaking of neighborhoods, you should research yours! Make friends with your new neighbors. Look into schools, hospitals, libraries, grocery stores, liquor stores, etc, that are nearby. This will make your life much easier to navigate once you’ve moved.
Utilities
It’s important to know who your utility service providers are. Gas, electricity, and water are important things to research.
Daily Expenses
Look into public transportation costs. You should also look into grocery costs, average living costs, etc, of the place you’re moving to. This makes planning and budgeting much easier.
Conclusion
Moving can be tough. However, if you plan and do plenty of research, you can make your move cheap and stress-free.
It’s best to rely on professionals to a certain extent. If you try to do everything together, you may find it to be incredibly stressful.
Since budgeting is a big consideration while moving, it’s best to sort that out as early as possible. We hope our moving tips and tricks helped you!
Happy moving.
FAQ
Q: What month is the cheapest to move?
A: If you want to move for cheap, you should move in winter or spring. That means, you should move from October to January.
Q: What is the most inexpensive way to move long distances?
A: A do it yourself (DIY) move is the most inexpensive way to relocate. You do not need to hire any movers as you will handle all the work.
Q: What is a hybrid move?
A: A hybrid move is the mix of DIY and full service move. It is the process that can help you to save a good amount of money. This move is comparatively cheap.