Are you thinking about moving any time soon? Well with a big financial step like this, there are of course many important realities you will need to be aware of.
Since moving can be both an exciting and an overwhelming process, it makes sense to be as prepared as possible, starting with identifying when it is a good time to move, as well as what important areas you should consider.
With that being said, please read on to learn more about how you might save money while moving as well as if moving will save YOU money.
For starters, perhaps you are moving because you want to downsize to a smaller home. With the current housing market, many individuals are finding the high house prices too far out of their reach and so for this reason, smaller homes can be appealing. Additionally, if in your current home you are finding it too expensive to maintain, this can be also be an ideal reason for selling and downsizing.
While it is true that there are a lot of expenses associated with moving, ultimately however, if you are in the position of selling a higher priced home and purchasing a less expensive one, you are likely to make a profit. Subsequently, while in your smaller residence you may also find the overall cost of upkeep a lot less.
That being said, there are also methods of reducing your moving costs that begin with the time of year you decide to move.
The real question here is, is there a less expensive time of year to move?
As per moving industry experts, moving seasons can be categorized in two ways: peak moving season and non-peak moving season. As you may have already guessed, the time of year and the nature of the weather during that time, tends to dictate whether a moving season will be classified as peak or non-peak. For example, peak moving seasons typically occur during the spring and summer months, while non-peak season traditionally takes place during the late fall and winter months.
As a result, moving during the peak season may mean the overall costs will be higher. More specifically, if you are moving June, July, August or even early September, you can expect this to be a more expensive time. Since moving companies are extremely busy during these times of year, their overall moving rates are likely to be much higher.
Alternatively, if you are moving anytime of the year other than those dates, aka the non-peak season, many companies will actually offer lower rates. As well as being less busy in their off-season, movers may actually enjoy helping individuals move in less humid and sticky temperatures, so moving in the fall and winter months can also provide this benefit overall.
In addition to factoring in the best time of year to move, there can also be financial advantages to moving on a certain day of the week. Overall, if you have more flexibility in regards to when you can move, there are a number of ways you can save money on these types of moving costs as well.
With that being said, moving companies also typically experience slower days of the week and on those days may also set less expensive pricing for those specific days.
For example, Thursday/Friday pricing may be higher as those are commonly known as busier days for movers. On the other hand, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are typically less in demand, and in turn, moving companies may be more likely to offer better pricing.
Moreover, the last week in most months are generally more hectic moving times, and if individuals can opt to move at other times of the month, such as the second or third week of a particular month, then this may present an opportunity for them to save money as well.
Since, you may not always have the luxury of picking and choosing the exact time of year – or the day of the week you’ll be moving, in that case you may also want to find additional ways to save on your moving costs.
As mentioned, certain times of year can mean that moving companies may charge less. However, what if you opt out of paying a moving company to move your belongings altogether? Can you also save money this way?
Here are some additional moving costs to consider that can save you money.
While moving costs do depend on a variety of factors, such as the amount of belongings you own, the level of difficulty it takes to navigate moving certain items, as well as where you are moving, there are also instances where you can reduce these overall costs.
Some areas where you may be able to save a bit of money can include, opting not to hire a moving company, and instead renting/borrowing a truck as well as having friends and family members help you move. Again, depending on the amount of items you have to move – choosing not to have professional movers move for you, you may be able to save yourself a few hundred dollars.
Before you even begin to move your belongings, you can pack everything yourself. In the process of doing so, you can sort through everything you own and get rid of the items you don’t need. Prior to your moving day you can sell, donate or discard them – a valuable step that can enable to you to significantly cut down on everything you have to move to your new place. Ultimately, this can allow you to save on moving time and in turn, the overall cost of moving.
In the end, do-it-yourself moving can save you some additional money. When all is said and done, whether you decide to hire a moving company or move all of your worldly possessions yourself, there are unique ways you can reduce the overall cost associated with this entire process.
Lastly, since owning a home and moving can be a huge financial leap, finding a method of saving on upfront costs as well as home ownership costs over time is an extremely important area of consideration. With that being said, you should aim to seek out ways to save, instead of creating more debt and financial burden for yourself.
