How To Save Money On A Long-Distance Move

 The cost of hiring a long-distance moving company can give you sticker shock. Calculated by the distance and the total weight of your belongings, the amount can go well into thousands of dollars. Since moving is an expensive process already, there's no surprise that many people would do anything they could to try and lower the cost.

Take the time to review some of these helpful tips on lowering the overall cost of your long-distance move.

Quotes

Don't stop at the first quote you receive, but take the time to obtain as many as you can with the long-distance moving company that fits your needs. By gathering a couple of quotes,you'll be able to compare better and contrast the prices and services offered so you can go with a moving company that fits your budget and doesn't overcharge you for something you don't need.

Purge

The best advice is to purge as you pack. Packing provides a unique opportunity to review everything you currently have at home and decide whether you still need it in the future. Whatever you find yourself not needing, you can get rid of it. 

 A garage sale can be a great way out of the situation if you've found quite a bit of things you no longer need. It will also give you some money back in your pocket, which could help with movers costs.

 You can also donate some of your bigger items if you don't want to hold a garage sale. This will take away the need for the movers to relocate items you feel you no longer need and lower the moving quote's price at the same time.

 Season Matter

 The date and day matter a lot when it comes to the moving price. During the peek season, sometime late spring to early fall, moving companies are in high demand, which means that price goes up as well.

 If you have control over your move date, book your long-distance moving company during early spring or in the winter when the prices are lower. You can lower them even further if you stay away from the weekend and choose a random weekday instead. To do that, you may have to take some time off work, but the price may make all the difference.

 DIY

When possible, you can make your move more "do it yourself" by going through the packing process on your own as opposed to purchasing an additional service through your long-distance moving company. If you find that the building you are moving out of or into present certain physical challenges, you can consider helping out your moving company.

 Sometimes, the moving company is unable to put the truck right to the front of the building, causing a haul-away charge to appear on the finalized contract price. Avoid these charges by carrying down items to the curb for the local movers to place it on their truck for transport.

 Don't Overpay for Supplies

As you begin the process of boxing up your life to move it somewhere else, ask around to see if anyone has any materials left over. You can even reuse some of the shipping boxes you receive if you like to order online. Try other things around your homes, such as older towels or paper, as a way to insulate fragile items.

 Use Shipping

This particular money-saving hack is for all book lovers. If you've found that your book collection has sprouted unexpectedly, you can work on getting it to your new home by yourself. A moving company will charge you for the books' weight, which can prove enormously heavy boxed up, but on the other hand, USPS offers the Media Mail service. This service ships only books and for a better price. Though it might take the books some time to reach your new home, shipping them is a great option.

 Storage

When you know you’re going to undergo a long-distance move, you may be presented with the option of keeping your items for storage should they get their too early. Try to time your move in such a way as to make the need for storage obsolete and work on putting things where they belong.

 Labor Only

You were no doubt thinking that a long-distance moving company has to do it all, from the packing to the relocating of your precious belongings. But that is far from the truth as most everything about your relocation is up to you. You have the option, with most reputable companies, to hire them just for the move itself. Under those contracts, they will not add any type of packing or hauling away onto the contact. Instead, you would take the item to the curb so that the guys working on your long-distance will focus only on putting it into a jar.

 Conclusion

Lowering your move's overall price is something that could be within your control so long as you want to take steps to do it. Most of the time, it will require a little bit of a do it yourself attitude, but if you're on a budget, it will help save you every penny possible.