Three Budget-Friendly Moving Tips
Making a move to a new home is almost guaranteed to be stressful, so planning in advance for stress reduction is always a good idea. And one of the areas that's often under strain in a moving situation is your budget. If you're worried how you'll stick to your budget during your move, drawing up a detailed budget plan is always a good first step. Add these three strategies into your plan for maximum budgetary efficiency.
1. Pack your own belongings
If you're used to having the moving company or a professional packing company do this for you, it may seem a bit overwhelming to consider packing all your belongings on your own. But if you start far in advance by packing up things you use less frequently, you can get a lot of the work out of the way far before your actual moving date. Packing your things personally is also a great opportunity to identify things you never use and don't need. Throwing these things away or donating them to a charity can reduce the number of boxes you'll need to move, making moving day easier and reducing unpacking efforts needed.
2. Book movers or a truck online
If you shop around online, you can find the best deals on rental trucks or movers, and you may be able to take advantage of special online-only coupon codes or promotional deals. In addition, signing up early online can help ensure your chosen moving company isn't fully booked for your moving day already.
3. Use free packing materials
Whether it's by getting free boxes from an online ad, going around town asking businesses for their leftover produce boxes, or repurposing materials that you already have, you can save quite a sum by sticking to free packing materials. Some types of materials you can repurpose to cushion fragile items during packing include:
- Used but clean wrapping paper or tissue paper
- Small, soft clothing items such as socks
- Linens, rags, and kitchen towels
- Squishy foam items such as yoga mats or sleeping pads for camping
It may occasionally become necessary to buy packaging materials, however, if you have specialized fragile or valuable items that have special packing needs.
These three tips show that you can have a budget move just by expending a bit more effort and planning time. You can also ask friends and family to help you with packing and other essential moving day activities if you don't think you'll have time for everything yourself and can't afford to take more time off work or hire professionals.