Summer is the prime season to move. The kids are out of school. Housing options abound. But the companies that provide you with moving services are keen to this fact, too. You’re not overly likely to find killer deals during their high season.
There are ways to save, though. If you’re willing to do some of the hard work yourself, and are willing to reach out to your network, you can minimize the costs of moving dramatically.
Hit Up Your Grocery Store for Moving Boxes
Grocery stores get shipments in bulk, which means that the boxes have to be incredibly sturdy. Every night, they compact whatever boxes they’ve emptied for the day. They’re literally getting rid of them!
Since they’re getting rid of them, many stores will let you take some home with you if you’re willing to come pick them up in the late evening before they start the work of loading them into the compactor. You do want to ask permission rather than just showing up and grabbing them, though. Start with the stockperson you see in the aisle, and ask if you can talk to their manager about it. They’ll more than likely be happy to have you take some of that extra cardboard off their hands.
Want more ideas on where to get free moving boxes? Check out these four additional sources.
Drive Your Own Truck
Transporting everything you own is expensive, but the costs can be minimized if you drive your own moving truck. Rentals typically come with a per day and mileage charge if you go over a certain amount of miles, but still come out cheaper than paying someone else to do it for you. When you’re comparing rates, be sure to take coupon codes into consideration. Be sure to look at national brands like Budget Truck Rental, who has a wide selection of truck sizes, pick-up and drop-off locations across the country and a decent amount of coupon codes through PromosPro going at any given time.
When considering this option, remember that most companies will require you to be at least age 21 to drive the truck, though some companies require you to be age 25. You should be able to drive the truck with your regular driver’s license. Be sure to call your insurer before renting to be sure that you’re covered under your own policy so that you won’t end up paying extra at the rental place for additional insurance you may not need.
Pizza and Beer are Cheaper than Movers
This is true almost 100% of the time. While you might be able to find a professional team for $30 per hour, this rate gets less and less likely the larger your house and the larger your city. When you’re embarking on your journey, get a group of good friends to come over to help out with the task, bribing them with pizza and beer, or pop if you’re a non-drinking crowd. Not only will you save money, but you’ll get one last chance to hang out with everyone before you leave for good.
The real problem lies on the other side—what do you do when you get to your new home where you presumably haven’t built a network yet? One great way to approach this is to reach out to your future networks. If you have already established a relationship with a local professional organization or religious congregation before your arrival, you may want to casually mention your arrival date. Odds are, they’ll ask if you need any help getting set up, at which point you can offer up the pizza and beer (or pop) proposal. While this set up was great for saying good-bye to old friends on the other end, on your arrival it’s a great way to make new friends from literally Day One.
Moving is stressful no matter how you do it, but when you use these tips, it doesn’t have to be quite as expensive.
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