How To Save Money On A Long Distance Move

Let’s be honest from the beginning: moving isn’t cheap. Moving long distance is even more expensive. The costs on the move are not universal and they vary from case to case. The specifics of your move, the distance and especially the weight of your shipment will determine the price of your relocation. Still, there are some useful tips that can help you save money on a long distance move.

Make a moving budget plan

When moving long distance, you have to think about your moving budget. That is the starting point that will show you will you have enough resources to hire a moving company or you will have to try to move on your own.
When you are preparing the budget plan, you should do it slowly. If you do it in the hurry, it’s easy to get the calculation wrong. Determine the exact amount that you can realistically invest into the moving process. Take into account all the aspects of the relocation and set financial limits for each specific moving task.
Think about all of the expenses that your relocation will require.

Incorporate in your moving budget plan:

• Moving company costs
• Self-moving costs
• Vehicle transportation costs
• Immediate post-move costs
• Unexpected costs

Add all the costs and see do they fit in the budget that you’ve determined. Even if your budget covers all of this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t save some money by following all or some of the savings steps of this guide.

Choose the perfect time for your relocation

You can save money on a long distance move if you relocate off-season. Avoiding relocating in the middle of the moving seasons is the best way to save money on a long distance move. If your schedule is flexible, moving in the off-season will be very beneficial for your budget. It will require a little more organization and time, but when your final bill comes you’ll see a big difference.

Besides, the services of the moving companies are much lower in the off-season. It’s the time of the year when they need business the most, so they are very open for negotiations and discounts.

Save money on a long distance move by decluttering your home

When you are moving long distance, the weight of your things will be one of the biggest moving cost. The math is simple here: fewer belongings that you are moving equals lower moving costs.
You surely have some things in your home that you don’t need anymore. When you start thinking about moving, you will realize how many items you actually don’t use.
Decluttering your home will significantly increase the cost of relocation and help you to save money on a long distance move.
Go through your home, make an inventory of all of your belongings and separate them into 4 categories:

• Relocate – make a list of the belongings that you want to move to your new home.
• Donate – make a list of things that you wish to donate to the local Red Cross or other organization.
• Sell – make a list of things that you no longer need, but you can still sell. You won’t believe what can be sold in the garage sale. Organizing one it’s a great way to get rid of unwanted things and make some money at the same time.
• Throw away – make a list of things that are broken or unusable. Removing these items from your home first will make it easier to go through the rest items.

Pack yourself

You can save money on a long distance move by packing yourself instead of purchasing the packing services. Still, you have to keep in mind that it’s not an easy process. Packing can be very stressful and overwhelming. You will need to pack your entire home into the boxes and that can be exhausting. The patience, good time schedule, and great organizational skills are crucial when you’re packing on your own.

There are some packing tips that can come in handy:

• Empty your dressers and closets – It may sound tempting, but moving your closet with your wardrobe is not a good idea. It’s very time-saving, but also very costly. The full closet will weigh so much more than the empty one. So check all of your drawers and remove any items that you find in them.
• Pack room by room – You may consider packing the same items from different rooms together. Don’t do that. You will be running all around the house in search of similar items which is very time and energy consuming. The best way to pack efficiently is to tackle one room at the time. Pack all of the items of one room into boxes, label them, and then provide to the next one.
• Prepare packing supplies – Before the packing day arrives, prepare all the packing. Put them in one place, so you can access and find them easily. Research what supplies you may need and buy them in advance. The main item that you will need is the moving boxes of all sizes. You can save money on a long distance if you know where you can find free moving boxes.

Hire a reliable moving company

It’s a common mistake that hiring movers will be more expensive than moving yourself. When you calculate all of the dangers of the DIY move, usually is even cheaper to hire a professional. Not to mention, much safer.
Movers with experience will know how to load, transport and unload your belongings without damaging them. They will know how to deal with many possible accidents in the most efficient way.

When considering can you afford to hire professionals, ask them to do an in-sight estimation. Collect quotes from at least three different companies and see which one best suits your budget.
The key is to hire a reliable moving company. That is the best way to avoid moving scams. Also, beware of the companies that have significantly lower quotas from the others. The offers that sound too good to be true usually costs you much more.