When you’re moving house, one of the most important things to do is to define your moving budget. Relocating is far from cheap and so it’s best to be well prepared for all the expenses. It doesn’t matter if you’re moving from California to Washingon or if you’re planning a local relocation. Either way, you should calculate your moving costs, save some money in advance and try to get ready for all the moving costs. If the task of figuring out your budget seems daunting and overwhelming, we’ll give you a few tips. We’ll tell you how to prepare your moving budget, save some money and organize your relocation. So, keep reading to find our tips.
Start saving money on time to prepare your moving budget
Unless your relocation is really sudden and unexpected, you probably start planning the move well in advance. If that’s the case, you should also start saving your money in advance. When you set out to relocate, your budget should be among the first things you start preparing. Before you even find your new home, you should start setting some money aside.
You can set aside a portion of each paycheck for your moving budget. Also, you could start making small everyday changes to spend less money. For example, make your coffee at home instead of buying it at a cafe. It’s a small thing you could change in your day to day life that could contribute to your moving fund. This is a great way to start preparing your moving budget.
Declutter your home before moving to save money
If you’re not sure how decluttering can help you prepare your budget and save some money, we’ll explain. First of all, there’s no need for you to bring the things you don’t need to your new home. By reducing the number of things you’re bringing, you’re also reducing your moving costs. How? Simple – for one, you won’t need as many moving boxes and packing supplies.
Other than that, you’ll save money on transportation. If you’re executing a self-move, you’ll need to rent a smaller moving truck. However, if you’re hiring movers, they will charge you less if you have less stuff. Movers charge by the weight of your belongings, so try to downsize before moving.
Sell things you don’t need anymore
When you’re defining your moving budget, it’s only natural that you’re looking for ways to save some coins and reduce your moving expenses. Well, one of the ways of earning some extra cash before the move is selling the things you don’t need anymore.
When you start decluttering your home, you’ll run into a lot of things that can still be used but you don’t want them anymore. If that’s the case, you can put those items for sale. Your options are selling these things online or organizing a yard sale. Of course, you could give away or donate these items, but if you’re looking to earn extra money, try selling them.
Ask movers for moving estimates to prepare your moving budget
An instrumental part of planning your moving budget is getting moving estimates from your movers. If you decide to work with professional movers instead of moving on your own, you probably want to find affordable moving companies Los Angeles. Well, you won’t know the price of their moving services until you ask them for moving quotes. Ask a few different companies to give you their moving quotes before making your decision.
Keep in mind that there are different kinds of moving estimates. What you should ask for is written, binding moving quotes. This way you’re making sure the movers can’t charge you more than the estimated price. It’s always nice to avoid unexpected costs, and this is one of the ways of doing that. Compare the estimated prices from all the different companies and decide which one works best for you. Remember that if a company has significantly lower prices than all the other, it could be a red flag.
The main costs of moving
If you’re not sure which moving expenses you can expect, we’ll give you a quick run-down.
- Moving services
- Renting a moving truck
- Moving supplies
- Storage services
- Utility deposits
- Renovation in your new home
How to reduce moving costs
When you’re taking the time to prepare your moving budget, you should think of some ways to reduce the many moving costs. Little by little, these expenses can add up and cost you a fortune. To avoid that, here are a few things you could do.
- Declutter: As we’ve said, decluttering is a great way to reduce moving expenses.
- Ask for friends’ help: Maybe you don’t need professional help for everything. Instead, you could ask your friends and family to give you a hand with cleaning, packing and carrying boxes.
- Pack on your own: If you start on time, packing shouldn’t be too big of an issue. So, you could do it on your own instead of hiring packing services.
- Choose a good moving date: You might not know this, but some moving dates are cheaper than others. To save some money, choose wisely. Try to choose a workday in the middle of the month. Most people move on the weekend at the beginning or the end of the month. Also, avoid moving in the summer – choose a day between September and May instead.
Ready to prepare your moving budget and start the relocation?
As you can tell, it’s not that difficult to prepare your moving budget. It might be a little bit stressful thinking of all the upcoming expenses, but you can always find lots of ways to spend less money. Save up as much as you can and try to calculate how much you actually need. Make sure to always have some money set aside for potential unexpected costs – this will save you some nerves in the future.