Whether your move is job-related or you’ve decided that you would prefer to live in another state, , especially with children, is a big deal. There’s a lot of planning with things like hiring the movers, packing up, eliminating what you don’t need and scheduling it for the right time of year. Moving can become quite expensive, but with a list in hand and careful planning, you can save money.
Hiring the right movers
The movers you hire will be the ones responsible for the care of your entire worth of belongings. For this reason, you need to make sure that you do your research on several interstate moving companies before making a final decision. Moving companies are not all alike and making sure that their overall customer satisfaction rate is high, is very important. Get quotes and then decide which one with your combined research fairs the best.
Avoid peak seasons
One of the biggest ways to save money on your move is to avoid the peak season. For most companies, this generally falls between the middle of May through the end of September. Another way to save even more is to schedule the move for a weekday. Since most people want to move when their children are out of school or on the weekends, you can really enjoy a huge savings.
Do the packing yourself
Packing up your things, especially if you have a large family can become overwhelming. However, if you opt to do this work on your own you can save hundreds, even up to a thousand dollars on the original quote. For that price decrease, it’s well worth it. If you’re lucky enough to have time on your hands and over a month before the actual move, you can go room by room and do a little bit each week, starting with the off-season items and forward. This way the packing up process won’t seem so tedious and time-consuming. If you decide to do the packing yourself, just keep in mind the number and the sizes of the boxes that you got your original quote for. If you go over, those savings you received may all but disappear. Another point to keep in mind is to pack each box up carefully. If any damage occurs you will be responsible.
Getting the most space out of each box
While you’re under contract for a specific amount of boxes, there are ways to get more space out of each one. There are many products on the market that are great for packing up clothing, blankets and even stuffed animals. Many of them reduce the air with the use of a vacuum. This lets you double the load on several of your boxes. Since you need your things to arrive in good condition, it’s also important to wrap glasses and breakables secure. Bubble wrap, white newspaper, linens and even coffee filter are all essentials.
Purchasing boxes
Planning out a move is critical. It gives you time ahead to enjoy savings in many ways. Take boxes, for instance, if you have a month or more before you need to move, you can drop by your local supermarket or retail store and inquire about their shipment dates. Most companies still toss out their boxes and if you’re lucky enough to reach them before they do you can get you boxes for nothing more than an hour or so of your time. If your move is sudden and your time is of the essence, you can still save some money by purchasing them on your own versus through the moving company. Just make certain that you have the right sizes and count.
Reduce your cargo
If you’ve lived in your current residence for several years, you probably have a lot of things in your possession that you no longer need or want. If this is the case hosting a yard sale or donating the items to a church or charity is a great way to give something to another and reduce the cost of your move.
Moving doesn’t have to cost you your hard-earned savings or cause extreme amounts of daily stress. With careful planning and the willingness to do some of the work on your own you can cut your original estimate down significantly.
