Moving house is an expensive activity, just when you think you’ve handed over the money for the new house, all the other expenses start piling on top – all those costs that you’d forgotten about, so how can you cut down your spending at this expensive time?
Pick Your Moving Date Carefully
Did you know that most people move house on a Friday? Then after that, a lot of people choose a Monday. This is likely because they either want the weekend to unpack and sort everything, or want the weekend to pack up and get ready. It makes sense, however as moving firms are busy on these days, you might struggle to find one who can help you out, whereas if you choose a differ, ent day, not only will there be more availability but you’ll probably be able to haggle on price too. You’ll have more room to shop around for the company. If you can be flexible on your moving day, and the time of day you move, you may be able to negotiate a deal with the removal firm. The easier it is to fit you into their schedule, the better chance you have of getting a lower price. Planning your move well in advance will really help you as if you are hiring a removal firm, the more notice that you can give your removal team the better. It will allow you to take your pick of firms, rather than going with whoever has availability. Planning your move carefully, can help you to avoid costs that you hadn’t thought of – because if you plan carefully, you will think of everything. Once you have some quotes from the removal firms and choose the best one for you, then you should have some time to get them to come round to your house and survey, which will give you more of a precise quote. This will mean that they won’t turn up with a van that’s too small and then end up charging you extras for having to bring a different van or taking longer by making more trips.
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Declutter
The less you have to move, the less you have to pay. It’s obvious really when you think about it, so getting rid of some of your stuff before you move is a no-brainer. Not only that, but if you declutter before you move, then you might be able to sell some of your things, which means you won’t be saving money, but you’ll be making it instead. Remember that time is money and the more time it takes a removal company to move your things, the more it will cost you. It might mean that you’ll need fewer people to move you from the company and a smaller van, which can all cut down costs. Start packing well in advance and go through everything you own and really think about whether you need it or not. Does it need to come with you? It’s far better to get rid of your unwanted things now than to do it when you’re unpacking. Don’t move items unnecessarily; it wastes time and money.
Eat Up
Before you move, stop shopping for food and eat up everything you have in the fridge and freezer. This will not only save you money on shopping, but it will again mean there is less you need to pack and to move. You can have some fun making some concoctions out of random ingredients, but it’ll be worth it.
Think Outside The Box(es)
There is more to moving than just packing and moving boxes. There is the fact that you will have to move your internet and possibly cancel with one provider and get a new one or wait until your provider can come and reinstall it in your new place. Therefore you could find yourself disconnected for a couple of days and days where you’ll have a lot of stuff to sort out. Make sure you think ahead about things like this and either arrange with your internet provider to make sure you’re online at all times or make sure you have enough data on your phone so that you can create a hotspot and not miss a thing. Check out smarty sim only deals as if your service provider charges you a lot if you go over your data allowance, then you might want to switch to a cheaper provider who can give you unlimited data.
Do it yourself
If you can do it yourself, then do it yourself. Get some mates to help, hire a van if you need to, or just fill up a load of cars and make a few trips; this will save you an awful lot of money. Of course, it will be a lot of hard work, but if saving money is your priority, then this is what you need to do. Just make sure that you have home contents insurance in place on the day you move into your new home and check if it covers items during the home moving process, just in case anything goes wrong. You end up having to pay out to replace your TV or laptop, meaning you haven’t saved anything at all.
Haggle On Price
If you do need to hire a removal company, then not only should you ask for any movement on the original price, but you can find out if there are ways to cut the cost of your move. Ask if you can bring down the cost by bringing down the amount of work the removal firm will have to do. For example, if you can pack yourself, then do that, and you could even ask if it would make a difference to the price if you moved everything to the ground floor of your home. You never know, so it’s worth asking if you want to save those pennies.
Get Your Own Boxes
The cost of boxes and tape can quickly mount up, so as soon as you know, you are moving, then start saving boxes and ask friends and family to do the same. You can see if you can get some second-hand and cheap from eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. Most local businesses such as supermarkets, office supply stores, bookstores, specialized liquor stores, and so on have more cardboard boxes than they need. Local retailers are required to break the containers down and recycle them at the end of the day, so usually, all you have to do is talk to the store managers and leave their respective businesses with as many boxes as you can carry home.
Don’t Spend Money On Wrapping
To cut moving costs even further, use things like blankets, bedsheets, towels, and other pieces of clean clothing to wrap your items in. This kills two birds with one stone as you’ll need to move these items anyway, and you’ll save on buying wrapping and filling materials like packing paper and bubble wrap. You could even use thick to protect your glassware or use them to fill up small spaces in order to immobilize the boxes. You can use old newspapers too, but just be careful as newspapers are likely to leave ink stains on some of your delicate items.
Remember, though, while you are trying to save money, you also don’t want to cut back too much when it comes to packing as you will want your belongings to be safe during the move. If they’re not, then you could end up spending the money you save (and maybe even more) on replacing what gets damaged during the move.
Pack carefully
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Take the time to pack your items carefully, so they are safe during the move. Label fragile items clearly and try not to overload boxes. Also, pack strategically so that you don’t have to pay out for an extra big removal van. For example, use empty Tupperware to pack small items, pack bags that you’re taking with you anyway, and in some cases, you can even leave your stuff in your drawers and just move them as they are. Combine heavy items like books with cushions in boxes, so the space is filled, but the box isn’t impossible to lift. Remember that you don’t have to use standard cardboard boxes, you can easily utilize containers you already have lying around your house. Think buckets, baskets, suitcases, drawers, and bags.
Be Organised
Whether you like it or not, if you want to keep costs down, then you will need to be organized. You need to make a list of everything you need to do and stick to it. If you can save half an hour one day and an hour another, then this time will add up quickly, and you’ll find you’ll have plenty of free time to finish all your move-related tasks in advance and remember, time is money. If it means you don’t have to have much time off work and can get things done nice and quick, then even better. Sorting yourself out quickly and sharply will mean you’ll save on spending on ordering takeaways too.
This is a contributed post and therefore may not reflect the views or opinions of this blog or its author.
