Moving on a Budget
As you all know we just moved, and it was pretty interesting. I learned a lot about moving and even more about moving without spending too much. I listened to a lot of the advice given to me by readers and friends and I was pleasantly surprised to find we were able to move our entire house for well under our budget.
Here’s what I learned:
Find Free Packing Materials:
I had originally gone to U-Haul and bought some boxes and packing tape. Then, I was reminded that by doing a quick search on sites like Craigslist and Freecycle, you can find lots of packing materials for free. People are very happy to see you show up to take away all their empty boxes and left over bubble wrap. The majority of our packing goods came free and after I get them all unpacked I’ll be listing them for someone else to use. This is a great way to save money and recycle perfectly usable goods.
Skip the Truck Rental:
We had originally planned on renting one of those giant trucks, but realized it just wasn’t necessary. Sure, it would have been easier; but we weren’t moving across the country, just across town. The cost was one we knew we could skip. A borrowed horse trailer (cleaned out first, of course) and a convoy of pickups driven by friends and family meant we were all moved in one day. The other added bonus to this method was that once the convoy showed up at our new house it was easier to navigate the boxes because they were spread out between the vehicles. I knew all the kids stuff was in the back of Grandpa’s truck and all my scrapbooks were in my backseat. I knew that all my precious family photos and family heirlooms were safely tucked into the backseat of Daddy’s truck and all was well in the world.
Skip the Moving Company, if you can:
We could have hired a moving company to pack, move and unpack our whole house, but why? It seems like a huge waste of money and part of the fun is the packing and unpacking. While emptying closets and packing boxes, I found all sorts of treasures I had long forgotten about and so had the kids. It was fun, a lot of work, but fun. We did 100% of the work all by ourselves and although it was hard, it was worth every second. It was fun to see the kids get excited about the move and it was really fun to watch the look of shock on my Hubby’s face when he would come home from work and a brand new pile of boxes would be stacked in the garage. (He is still wondering how we have accumulated so much over the years.) If we had been moving across the country or if we had a houseful of very valuable artwork or some such thing we would have considered the expense and possibly would have hired a company. But, with our houseful of “regular” stuff just moving across town was one thing we could totally do by ourselves and save a lot of money in the process.
Move in Later:
If we had moved in the day we got the keys a lot of money and time would have been wasted. The house needed to be deep cleaned and re-painted before we could move in which also gave me some opportunities to assess the storage potential of each room, measure for furniture arrangements, etc. How did this save me money? By knowing where everything would fit and how it would all be stored I kept myself from moving in with furniture that would be too big/too small and needing to buy new or having too much stuff and not enough storage-I was able to have a garage sale to get rid of those items I would no longer have room for. This saves money, time and headaches. Just imagine moving into a new house only to find that your washer and dryer are too big for the space allotted or that your dining room table won’t fit anywhere! Move in after you have had a chance to truly assess every aspect of the house and the storage. Give yourself time to search for the best prices on items you may need to buy (like refrigerators or storage sheds) instead of needing to rush out and buy something the day you move in.
What about you? What have you done to save money when moving to a new house?
Topics: Finance & Money, Life & Family |
May 8th, 2008
Reminds me of our move in late 2006. We did some of these things, borrowing our churches truck and trailer, getting family and friends to help, and getting used boxes from work/friends/family.
Good post! Stumbled!
May 8th, 2008
Pete-Thanks! Yes, all of these ideas really helped and we spent much less than we planned!
May 8th, 2008
I’m glad your move went well.
With respect to renting a truck - most people don’t have access to a horse-trailer and a convoy of pickup trucks (which is probably a sight to see) so renting a truck is probably the next best option.
Mike
May 9th, 2008
We are hoping to move this month and have been collecting boxes and bubble wrap as you suggested. The only thing I would disagree with is the removal van. Petrol in the UK is expensive so it’s cheaper to make one trip in a van rather than several trips in the car. Even though it is just across town.
May 9th, 2008
@Four Pillars and @Caroline-
Agreed-fuel can be expensive and maybe not everyone has access to a trailer or caravan of pickups (which was an interesting site to see), but if it is possible to skip the rental truck-I suggest looking into it. The costs of the truck and the pain of having to drive an enormous vehicle are worth avoiding in my opinion. I think another option for those without access to trailers or pickups is to rent a pickup and a flatbed trailer rather than the full size moving trucks. They are usually cheaper, better on gas and easier to handle on the road. Of course, that wouldn’t be a good option for cross-country moving, but across town it would be great.