How to Save Money When You’re Moving
If you’re planning to move soon, crack open some bubbly because you have a lot to celebrate! Moving is the perfect time for new beginnings and opportunities. Not to mention, decorating a new home is always exciting. However, if you find yourself more stressed than excited, you aren’t alone. There is no denying that moving can be stressful—especially when it comes to the added costs. That’s why we’re here to help you save money while moving.
It is always suggested to calculate cost of moving before heading to a new step. It will help you to maintain your budget throughout your moving process. Between packing supplies and moving trucks, the expenses add up fast, but there is no need to stress. There are many ways to make your move much easier on your wallet. Ensure you haven’t skipped any of these tips from premier NYC movers to save money during this process.
Purge Clutter
Clearing your home of clutter before your move is not only a great way to save money when you’re moving—less stuff means less cost! Many movers charge by the box or by the amount of space you need, so fewer boxes and less space required means more money staying in your pocket. Plus, making your home clutter-free can also help it sell faster!
Go through your home room by room and decide what you truly need and what you can do without. Selling or donating large furniture is the best way to save money, but smaller items can add up too.
As you sort through everything, ask yourself these questions:
- Do I need this or love this?
- Have I used this in the past two years?
If you answer no to either of those questions, it may be best to part ways. Bonus: selling these items on a site like Decluttr can be a great way to rake in a little extra cash to offset moving costs.
The average American is sitting on 2 – 3 old phones, tablets or computers in their home. All of these are gathering dust, but did you know that you can make cash from them even if they are broken? This is where the USA’s No. 1 trade-in site for cell phones and electronics comes in handy, SellCell.com. SellCell compares all of the US’s key electronics buyback companies and can in seconds find you the best price for your old phone and gadget. There can be hundreds of dollars difference between electronics recyclers out there. SellCell will ensure that they always find the user the best price, making you extra cash and saving you the time of having to trawl through loads of different sites. SellCell compares thousands of devices. If your device is in great condition or not working so well their site can still find you the best deal!
Pro Tip: If you are moving long-distance, look to sell or donate cheap and mass-produced furniture such as IKEA pieces. Often it is cheaper to rebuy the piece in your new city than to haul yours over!
Use Recycled Boxes
Finding used boxes for packing is a major money-saving solution. As a bonus, reusing packaging is also environmentally friendly!
Here are a few places to scoop up some free boxes:
- Liquor stores
- Grocery stores
- Bulk items stores (i.e., Sam’s Club and Costco)
- Craigslist
- Facebook Marketplace
- Friends and Family
- Freecycle
Used boxes are best for packing light items since they might not have the strength of moving boxes. So feel free to shove some light knick-knacks in that empty wine bottle box, but opt for an actual moving box to pack all your dishes. Flimsy boxes can damage heavier fragile items, and repairs or replacement will cost you more than a moving box.
Bubble wrap is cheap and good for protecting fragile items, but items like clean clothes and towels are also great for cushioning boxes—and they’re free!
Ship Heavy Items
It sounds a bit crazy, but sending your books and other bulky items by USPS or another shipping service can save you money. Long-distance moves are commonly billed by weight, so often shipping works out to be less expensive. This works best for smaller, heavy items that won’t break easily.
Stay Organized
Did you know that staying organized can help you save money when you’re moving? It’s true, labeling moving boxes will save you money. Packing can be hectic, and skipping labels can be tempting, but future you won’t appreciate it because as much as packing sucks, unpacking can be worse. Knowing which box your stuff is in prevents you from rebuying things. And honestly, if the extra cost of repurchasing isn’t enough, labeling will also save your sanity.
Be sure to label boxes with not only what room they go in, but also a few of the key items enclosed.
If you need a label maker, we suggest the Easy-to-Use Label Maker from Brother, available on Amazon!
Find Reliable Movers
Signing up with the first mover you get a quote from could mean that you are shelling out much more money than needed. So ideally, you should get quotes from at least three moving companies. However, the goal should never be to find the cheapest—you should be looking for the best price for excellent service.
You want to find a legit moving company with a good reputation to ensure that you don’t get ripped off. Everyone wants their belongings to be handled well during a move. You probably have some things you care a lot about, not to mention any damage to your belongings could end up costing you more in the long run.
When assessing a moving company, you should look for:
- Price. If it is too good to be true, then it’s probably not worth it.
- Online Presence. You want to ensure the company didn’t appear suddenly—unfortunately, fly-by-night moving scammers are a thing.
- Reputation. What are customers saying on their Facebook page, Yelp, and BBB?
- Proof of license and insurance. Any legit company will have no issue with you asking for these.
Moving prices may also be lower if your move is during the week or the off-peak winter months. So be sure to inquire about this at the time of your quote.
A little bit of know-how will go a long way in saving money when you’re moving, so there is genuinely no need to stress. Enjoy the fresh start and have a drink for us—if you didn’t have a bit of extra cash for some bubbly at the beginning of this post, you definitely should after all of your savings!
