Saving Money While Moving House
Moving house is one of the most costly things you’ll do in your life. In fact, many people aren’t prepared for how much it costs, and often find that midway through a move that they are running unusually low on cash. It doesn’t seem to matter if you are moving across the road or the world the cost mounts up quickly. When you know what you’re going to have to spend and where you can save it makes all the difference.
Count it Up
Like everything you do – if you are savvy with your spending and saving – you are going to need to write a clear and detailed budget. Writing down guestimations isn’t going to get the job done. You will need to call at least five companies for each job that requires doing. If you are lucky and moving with a company like Prospect Homes, they often go above and beyond to help make your move as smooth as possible. In the run-up to moving, you should’ve ensured that you had been saving whenever possible too.
Before AND After
In the run-up to moving you might have considered having to redecorate your current home, get workers in to fix certain things like electrics and plumbing – but have you considered that when you finally get into the new house, you might need to do the same thing? You’re going to have to add a decorating and repair cost into your budget, just on the off chance the previous owners weren’t quite as generous as you have been. Plus getting all of you water, electric, gas and other suppliers hooked up, your furniture moved and replacing the pieces that didn’t make it to the new pastures.
You Like to Move it Move it
Hiring a company to arrive, pack and move your home for you is a little bit of a luxury (and no one everyone is willing to pay for). It will work out cheaper to ply a group of friends and family with fish & chips and a self-drive hire van. Will it take longer? Yes, most likely. But, you can quite literally save hundreds and hundreds of pounds by putting in the time yourself. If you want to make the most of the time you have, try and move over a weekend.
If you do decide to go with a moving company, be sure you call at least five different companies, this way you can see who is going to do the best deal, but also it gives you more leverage to get the company you want at the price you want. You can compare quotes easily by visiting WhatStorage website and check the moving companies in your area. For example, if you live in Edinburgh, you can reduce your moving cost by choosing the most affordable man and van in Edinburgh to help you transport your belongings from one place to another.
Heave Before You Leave
When you’re hiring a moving company or a self-drive van the cost will in some part be worked out by how much square footage your van needs to be. So, long before you break down any big pieces of furniture rent a large skip. In fact rent the largest you can, by giving yourself even more space to throw things out, the likelihood is you’re going to use it. If you were smart, you’ll have listed items and sold them on eBay too. Broken toys, old files, things that been stored away in cupboards for years, furniture you secretly hate but had to keep – heave it all out. In fact, while you’re at it, go through your clothing, shoes, bags, any boxes that are gathering dust. A new house is a fresh start, and it’s a great time to shed some of the clutter you’ve been cleaning around for years. Adios rubbish!
You are going to have to unplug and defrost your freezer and fridge; there is going to be a lot of food that was snuggled away. Now is the time to go through it or throw it out.
Get Free Boxes
This is one is exactly how it sounds, head to your local supermarket, corner shops and home improvement stores like B&Q or Homebase – they have huge boxes. If they don’t have any there and then, ask them to keep you some aside and go back and pick them up.
Travelling Food
You are probably too busy to manage to head to the supermarket in person, so open a new email address and open a new shopping account with your local supermarket. There are often decent discounts for first-time customers, so make use of it while you are busy taking care of everything else. Another tip is write up a meal plan for the first week. You don’t want to be spending out extra cash on takeaways during this week. (although one might be nice on the first night in!)
Time is Money
Label boxes well, pack essentials like – tea, sugar, coffee and loo roll in a separate box. If you do that, you aren’t likely to have to head to the shops to pick up something you’ve merely misplaced. If you have labeled up your boxes well, the unpacking time per room is going to be pretty low. Everything will head to the place it should be in rather than in an unspecified pile in the middle of your new living room.
Freecycle
Rather than buy any new furniture to replace what you’ve put in the skip before the move, browse through the Facebook marketplace, Freecycle, and your local second-hand shops to replace them. You can find some vintage pieces of furniture that will outlast any flatpack you might’ve been tempted to buy.
Reconnection
When you move, check out your options when it comes to utility providers, it might be that a new postcode gives you new offers and more significant discounts. Call around and renegotiate a new deal while you have the time.
Overall moving can be stressful and a big sap on finances, however, it can also bring a lovely fresh start, help you clear out your clutter, give you time to look at your funds in a way you maybe haven’t before, and some time to reassess some of your utility bills too.
