Moving home is never going to be a cheap affair. As well as finding deposits, paying agent’s fees and endless solicitor’s costs, there is the expense associated with the physical move to deal with too. Moving home involves vans, lorries, boxes and bags, not to mention the costs of insurance, moving services, child and pet care and everything else.
If you, like many others, are trying to move home on a tight budget, don’t despair. With a little thought and dedication, many of the big costs of moving can be trimmed down to more manageable levels if you know how. Here are some top tips for cutting costs on a house move that you can try on for size.
#1. Don’t buy new packing boxes
New packing boxes are a big expense, particularly if it is a family home that you are moving. Rather than buy new, stick with the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ philosophy and go on the hunt for some good quality used boxes instead. Try local classifieds, Facebook groups, forums and asking around friends and neighbours. Some will give them away free, others may want some cash, but either way you can get them for significantly less than if you buy them from your removal company.
#2. Don’t use packing materials
Things like bubble wrap and packing nuts all cost money, but most people can actually live without them. Rather than packing breakables in plastic bubble wrap, why not use something that you were going to have to pack anyway. Woolly scarves, socks and jumpers are ideal for wrapping up smaller items, whereas duvets, blankets and cushions are great for protecting larger items from damage.
#3. Work out the best strategy for removals
It can be tempting to think that it will be cheaper to do your move yourself than it will be to get the professionals in. Whilst this can be true in some cases, such as a young student moving a single room or a couple moving from a one bedroom flat, once you get up to two or three bed roomed family homes or bigger, the costs involved in running the van back and forth between the two addresses really starts to add up. Wasting time packing, unpacking, driving and repacking the van over and over may mean you end up keeping the vehicle for two or more days, which makes this cost saving solution actually more expensive than getting a removals company in the first place!
#4. Get quotes, and lots of them
When it comes to picking a removals company London residents can save a great deal by shopping around for their quotes. Compare prices from at least three companies, and make sure you understand what is included. Hidden costs such as insurances, mileage allowance and additional time beyond the quoted period can make a good value quote become not very good at all.
#5. Do as much as you can yourself
Even if you are getting moved professionally being totally prepared on moving day can save valuable time and costs. Pack everything, dismantle furniture ready for their arrival and do any cleaning or meter reading well before they get there. This will let you maximise their time and efforts in doing what you paid them to do, not what you could be doing yourself. It is also highly recommended for you to get a self storage facility in Horsham that could store your belongings in case it won't fit in one go.
There are some really great tips here, particularly in relation to not using new boxes. If people choose to rent a crate instead it can work out more cost effective, and in many cases is more environmentally friendly too!
ReplyDeleteIn these tough economic times finding ways to reduce the costs of moving is more important than ever.