How to Stash Cash When You Relocate
We recently moved from New Jersey to Virginia. It was the longest move so far for us and an exhaustive process. Even though the move was the result of my wife’s job relocation, there was almost no help from her employer because it happened at such a bad time (her employer has been reducing work force since last year).
So instead of asking for more assistance from her employer for the move, we felt lucky instead that my wife kept her job at all. Other than that, we were pretty much left alone to deal with the stress of the moving, both physically and financially.
Caption: skrewtape
We have moved a couple of times before, but they were all local. And moving within a 50-mile radius is much easier: rent a U-Haul and ask a few friends for a hand and it could be done in half a day. Not this time though. With two little kids, two cars and a house-full of stuff, there’s no way we could move by ourselves again like we did before. Hiring professional movers was the only choice. The most expensive part of the moving is moving itself and that’s where the most money can be saved. Here a few tips you can adopt from us right away to avoid overspending on a big move:
Shop around. Obviously, the Web is the most efficient tool for finding a moving company, but it’s not the only one. When searching for a moving company, one of our biggest concerns was unexpected charges. There are lot of stories about people’s belongings being held hostage at the destination as the mover demanded extra money. We didn’t want this happen to us. We took an extra step and asked friends who moved from other states to New Jersey which moving company they used. We checked out local papers too. It never hurts to shop around.
Prepare a detailed list of items for quotes. Not every mover does on site estimates. Many will give quotes over the phone or on the Web instead. In order to get the quotes as accurate as possible, I prepared a detailed list of items we wanted to move to the new home, especially big items, before making calls. Since the exact number of boxes wasn’t clear when I asked for quotes, I gave them a number that was in the high end of our own estimate. In my opinion, it’s better to overestimate a little than underestimate a lot to get a lower quote.
Obtain a written contract instead of a verbal agreement. I don’t like surprises. So to avoid any, I asked the mover to send me a signed contract after reaching a verbal agreement. The contract also included the list of items I provided when I was quoted for the price. In addition, I also put floor damage of our new home into the contract ahead of time to prevent any extra cost later if the movers messed it up. A written contract makes sure that we pay what we agreed to pay.
Find free moving boxes. We didn’t buy any moving boxes. Ever since we decided to move, my wife has asked the janitor in her office to save boxes for her: printer paper boxes, tissue and paper towel boxes. Basically, we took every box we could use that would’ve otherwise been tossed in the trash.
Pack everything yourself. We learned this lesson the hard way 10 years ago when we moved out of the school dorm after my wife got her first job. At that time, we didn’t pack a single item after the mover told us they will take care of everything. They did and charged us more $2,200 because they wrapped every bottle and dish in the room and the price was based on the number of boxes they moved. That didn’t happen this time. Doing our own packing saved us money and we knew where to find things when we were unpacking.
Get rid off stuff you don’t need before you move. The less to be moved, the lower the cost. However, before throwing away things, we made a list of things we no longer need and asked our friends and neighbors if there’s anything they wanted to take. Eventually, our friends took some furniture such as computer desk, chairs, crib, and baby stroller and car seats. Our neighbor, who teaches at a kindergarten, got some toys. Our old clothes were donated to a local charity. We were happy to see them find a new home other than the dumpster.
When the moving was finally over, we didn’t take as big a hit to the wallet as we could have had we not taken the time to reduce our moving load, and shop around. The total cost, including tip and moving supplies that we bought ourselves, was $1,700. Not bad for moving 250 miles. And after the unpacking was done, we decided to keep almost every box because we will move again soon.
Tags: moving, relocation | Categories: Quicken Tips, Saving |
Lived in Virginia for 3.5 years (Arlington) before moving out here to Sunny San Diego. You’ll no doubt love it Sun. My move from D.C. to San Diego was definitely my biggest ever – most expensive, most taxing physically and emotionally – but also, the most fun!
Some really simple tips for saving I used to gear up for the big move:
- Ask friends and family for gift cards to chain restaurants like Applebees that are EVERYWHERE you go in the U.S. You’ll be surprised how much yummier a free meal there will taste than gas station food!
- Did the same for gas cards. My family chipped in to give me gas cards for the holidays the couple of months before I moved. Saved a ton this way!
- Looked for hidden benefits I didn’t realize I had – my best friend works for Hilton Hotels. I offered to pay for her meals and gas (voila, almost free at this point with the gift cards) if she came along and let me take advantage of her low room rate when we couldn’t stay with other friends on the drive across.
It was one of the best (and most frugal) times of my life. I recommend thinking a bit beforehand about little stuff like this – it can save you big bucks later.
Chelsea
Virginia was beautiful when we visited there. Best of luck and great tips.
We recently moved too and it can be a drain mentally, physically, and financially!
Good advice!
- Keep in mind that local moves are priced by the hour. Interstate moves are priced by the pound.
In either case, less is more (in your pocket.) Less time, less pounds.
- Don’t expect someone else to work for free. If you can, do it your self, i.e. packing.
- Get written contracts and read them before you sign. (If it ain’t in writing it doesn’t exist!)
@sunsfinancial: You’ll like VA. Take time to tour. Lots of history and scenery.