Smart Ways to Avoid Losing Money When Moving

The following contribution is from another author.

Moving home can be a stressful time that takes a lot of planning and attention to detail to get it just right. In order to avoid some of that stress, you may be more than willing to pay for the services needed to get everything from point A to point B conveniently and quickly. However, don’t rush to shell out too much, and be mindful of ways that you might be losing money without even realizing it.

Here, we’re going to look at some of the ways you can lose money when you move home, either by paying for more than you should or by not realizing when there’s money to be made.

Don’t buy packing materials unless you really need to

If you live in a small town or out in the country, far away from any businesses or stores, then you might have to shell out for your own packing materials. However, if you live near any stores, especially big groceries stores, they are likely to have plenty of cardboard boxes that you can use. If you need to buy things like tape, then get them online where you can buy them in bulk for cheaper than buying them at the local store.

Know what you need from your moving company

There are moving companies that will gladly charge you an arm and a leg for additional services and fees, so you need to be careful in finding a moving company that you can trust. First of all, get an idea of how much you need them to take, calculate the space and weight as best as possible. Get an idea of any additional safety or transit gear you might need too, such as trolleys for especially heavy items. Make sure these are included in any estimates you ask for, otherwise, you can expect to get overcharged.

Pick the cheapest day to move

Timing your move can help you save on those moving costs significantly. People tend to move most in the spring and early summer, when the weather makes things extra convenient. Waiting until winter can help you get the moving companies when they are at their least in-demand and thus more likely to do it for less. Sunday is typically the cheapest day to move, as well, since more people prefer to move during the week. This isn’t always guaranteed, but you can check with your moving company to see specifically what days might be the cheapest to move.

Don’t sell big value items hastily

In an effort to downsize your move and to simply be rid of things that you don’t need anymore, you might end up selling some items. You can sell them online, at a garage sale, or simply to friends. However, for specialty items, ones that are worth a lot but don’t sell as easily, you shouldn’t rush to pawn them off when waiting could get you a better price. If you don’t have space for those items in your home, check out storage pods cost. If you stand to make enough money to pay off that cost and still make a profit, it might be worth keeping some of those specialty items in storage.

Stop throwing stuff away for free

Just because you may not be able to sell everything that you want to get rid of does not mean that you have to give it away for free. There are a lot of companies that set up opportunities to make a little extra money by recycling unwanted items. You’re not going to make a lot of money using these, by any means, but any little helps when it comes to cutting the costs of moving.

Rethink your insurance

Your removals company may offer insurance to help you protect your items when they are in transit. If you plan on moving yourself, however, then you might want to look at a moving insurance policy to cover you in the event that things get damaged in transit. Now that you’re moving, it could be a good opportunity to take a second look at your buildings and content insurance to see if you can make any savings that way, too. It won’t help pay for the move, but it can help you save money in the long run.

Of course, the particulars of how much money you spend or how much you could make also depend on the specifics of the move. Keep the above points in mind as you get everything organized, however. You never know where you might stand to save a buck or two.