How To Balance Money And Time During Your Move
A move can be both stressful and costly, but with some foresight and planning, you can minimize the stress and save some cash. The following are a few tips to help you balance your checkbook and your time effectively during your next move.
Tip #1: Purchase used boxes
Free is often preferred, but hunting free boxes that are in good condition and arranging for pickup can take a lot of time and effort—not to mention the gas spent driving to different locations to scavenge boxes. Fortunately, many moving companies now offer to sell gently used boxes at a steep discount. You can pick up all the boxes you need in one easy, quick trip. As an added bonus, many moving companies will let you return any boxes you end up not needing. Some will even buy back boxes in good condition at a reduced rate, allowing you to earn some of the money back without much more cost in time. You can't sell back used grocery store freebies; they do have to be actual moving boxes.
Tip #2: Hire movers only for the move
It can be tempting to bring in movers for everything from the packing to the loading to the unpacking, but this may not be the best use of limited funds. A packing service only truly saves time if you know that you want to move everything in your home. Otherwise, you will still need to put in the time and work of sorting through your belongings and donating or throwing away things you don't want to move. A better use of funds is to only use movers for the actual moving of items out of the old house and into the new house. It can also be worth it in time savings to pay for the moving assembly service where they put together beds and other furniture for you. As for the actual packing, do it yourself over several weeks so you don't feel rushed.
Tip #3: Look at alternative transport options
Hiring your own moving truck and driving it yourself can save you a lot of cash depending on the distance of the move. This option works best for short local moves as opposed to long distance moves. You can still hire a moving company to do the actual moving, you just won't have to pay for their truck service. For long distance moves, using a container moving service may be less expensive than a full service truck mover. Shipping containers are delivered to your property, where they are loaded. Then, they are shipped to your new home to be unloaded. You can hire a moving crew at each end to handle loading and unloading. If your move requires that your stuff stay in storage for a period, this is a great option since short term storage is often provided for the container at the destination.
While no move can be completely free of work or money, you can maximize savings without doing everything yourself. Contact a residential moving service to discuss more options that will fit into your budget and schedule.