7 Ways to Save Money When Moving House

Moving house may be one of the most stressful things that any of us does in our lifetime, but there’s one way to lessen the blow; make the move as cheap as possible.

Having recently moved house on a budget today I wanted to discuss some of our frugal findings for saving money when moving house.

Plan Ahead

When it comes to utility bills, gym memberships and a variety of other monthly bills that you’ll likely want to cancel, many providers have a cancellation policy in their terms and conditions.

That means that it can take anything from a week to a month to cancel (or move) your utility accounts over.

To take our phone line for a moment; it takes two weeks to cancel a phone line with our old provider.

If you don’t plan ahead then there’s a risk you’ll be paying your old utilities for weeks after you move out of your property.

So make a list of what needs to be cancelled or moved, and contact each company in turn to see what notice they need.

Then plan this into your move date so you’re not paying for utilities at two properties rather than just the one.

DIY Removals

Paying for a professional removal company to move your belongings is expensive. Even more so if you’d like them to pack your belongings too.

But why would you do that as a frugal individual? Instead we opted to pack and move all our own belongings.

Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t much fun – but the only real cost was hiring a big van for the day (roughly $100).

That’s in comparison to the four-figures it would have cost to hire a professional moving team.

So move your own stuff – it’s better to pay with your sweat than with your wallet.

(As a side note, I also lost 1.8kg in the two days it took us to move – another little side benefit of “doing it yourself”!)

Don’t Pay For Boxes

If you’ve ever bought cardboard boxes you may have been surprised by the costs; I know I was when I started to investigate.

While paying for a company to deliver shiny new boxes to your home might make your life a little easier, there are free ways to get hold of moving boxes.

Probably the best way to get free moving boxes is simply to pop into your local town centre and go speak to some of the larger retailers there.

Supermarkets are a perfect example.

Many of them have literally hundreds of boxes they need to dispose of each day – and you can save money while helping them by taking some off their hands.

Just ask at the customer service desk and walk out smiling knowing how much money you just saved yourself.

Flexible Moving Dates

Hiring a van and moving your own belongings may be cheaper than using a removal firm, but you might be surprised to hear that van rentals can vary in cost by the day of the week.

Some rental firms charge more on weekdays, others more on weekends.

If you opt to move your own stuff, then, shop around and ask for a number of quotes both for weekdays and weekends.

You’ll often find there’s a “sweet spot” where you can hire a certain van on a certain day and it’ll be considerably cheaper than hiring the same van a few days later.

Minimize

The more stuff you have to move, the bigger the van you’re going to need.

And big trucks cost more than small trucks. So don’t just pack all your worldly belongings; to save money when moving house aim to minimize your belongings.

Take the time to go through your cupboards, your loft, your garage and decide what really matters.

If you’re anything like me you’ll find there are all sorts of things you can get rid of before the move; this not only means a smaller (cheaper) van is required, but also less work moving stuff you really don’t want or need.

Sell Unwanted Possessions

So you’ve sorted out your belongings. What next?

Why not consider trying to sell some of them, to offset the cost of moving?

Try a yard sale (in the US) or a car boot sale (in the UK) and shift all that old junk you don’t need any more.

Remember: every penny you can earn is helping to pay for your van rental so be brutal.

Your goal should be to end up with nothing at the end, apart from a fistful of money to pay for your van hire.

Pack Properly

Moving all your possessions has serious risks – especially if you’re doing it yourself.

Spending a day (or more) lugging boxes about, getting progressively more tired and grouchy (or is that just me?!) can lead to damage.

You know the sort; broken crockery, dented TVs, scuffed paintwork.

So take the time to pack your boxes properly, so as to protect your belongings in transit.

We used a combination of (reclaimed) bubble wrap and scrunched up newspaper to pack our belongings and even our intricate cocktail glasses arrived in perfect condition.

How does this save you money? Quite simply it prevents you from having to replace anything you’ve broken.

How About You?

How do you save money when moving house? Do you have any other tips I’ve missed? I’d love to hear your input – please leave your suggestions in the comments section below…