10 Cheapest Ways To Move Across The Country
You’ve accepted the job offer across the country and now it’s time to move – but how are you going to afford it? Moving can be an expensive undertaking, with flights and hotels added to boxes of household goods, not to mention the price of actually moving your things from one place to another. But don’t worry! It doesn’t have to be nearly as expensive as you think…
Here are 10 cheap ways to move across the country;
1) DIY Move
If you’re looking to save money, the best way to move across the country is with a DIY move. There are plenty of ways to get discounted truck rental rates, and you can also find cheap moving quotes online. Hiring professional movers is another option, but it’s one of the more expensive ways to go if you’re on a tight budget.
If you’re looking to save money and don’t mind doing a little bit of work, you can use some of these tips to get discounted cross-country moving rates. You can also hire labor-only movers if you want, but these services can be pricier than hiring your own labor and moving equipment. If you decide to go with professional movers, make sure they offer cross-country moving options. These tend to be more affordable than regular local or regional moves.
2) Utilize your time more wisely
As you’re packing up to move across the country, there are plenty of opportunities to save time. If you’re moving and using self-service options (e.g., U-Haul), you can save time by breaking your move into sections and hiring labor-only movers for each leg of your trip. Once onsite, schedule a few days at a local storage facility so you can focus on getting settled in once your belongings arrive. It might be tempting to get rid of things during transit, but it’s much more efficient (and cheaper) to sell or donate items as they arrive at your new location instead of unpacking them only to repack them again later.
When planning a move across the country, it’s important to understand how to most efficiently use your time. For example, you can reduce travel time if you break up your move into several legs rather than moving long distances in one go.
3) Rent a moving truck
Renting a truck and hiring labor-only movers is one of the cheapest ways to move across the country. Hiring movers will also help save you time and give you peace of mind that your things are in good hands. If you need to get from one end of the country to another, interstate moves will be your best bet.
Most moving trucks come with a packing service as well, which will save you hours and hours of work. You’ll just need to load up your belongings, then unload them at your destination.
If you plan on traveling long distances, it might also be worth renting a storage unit along your route so that you can drop off and pick up items along your way.
It’s possible to move cheap in other ways by packing everything yourself and driving yourself across the country.
4) Hire an affordable mover
Moving can be a costly endeavor. Hiring labor-only movers and/or the cheapest cross-country movers is a great way to save money when moving out of state. These cheaper options are typically less expensive than hiring full-service movers who provide packing, unpacking, and other services that can be done on your own.
You’ll also want to research moving companies so you understand what services they provide, and how much each costs. You’ll need to budget for things like gas, hotels, meals, and food if driving. If hiring only labor-only movers or the cheapest cross-country movers to move from one state to another, there are some important factors you’ll need to consider before committing.
You should get quotes from several different companies before choosing a mover.
5) Automate Your Bills
Automating your bills can save you a lot of time, money, and hassle. Setting up automatic bill pay will give you peace of mind and help you stay on top of things. Plus, it’s much cheaper to hire labor-only movers to help you move if the cost is one of your main concerns.
If you’re moving across state lines, hiring movers can get pretty expensive. Labor-only movers are your best bet if you’re looking to move on a budget and don’t want to pack or unpack. Many people may assume that they need to hire full-service movers if they want help with packing and unpacking but labor-only movers provide those services as well.
6) Put Together a Box of Goods
Planning to do it yourself? We don’t recommend it. Moving is hard, and you don’t want to be doing it all on your own. Hiring a moving company will take care of most of the work for you, but there are plenty of other ways to save money on the move.
For one thing, you can save money by putting together a box of goods before you move. It’s not as hard as it sounds! All you need to do is ask friends and family if they have anything they’re willing to let go of that they don’t need anymore. You might get some good furniture or clothes out of it – which would save you even more money when buying new ones. If none of your friends or family has any items, then look online in classifieds or at garage sales for any used items that might still be in good condition.
7) Split Home Equity With your Spouse
If you and your spouse are both working, it might make sense to use your home equity to help finance the move. You can use a home equity line of credit or take out a mortgage on your house and then hire labor-only movers to pack up everything and move it for you. Just make sure that you’re not over-extending yourself financially before taking this route.
If your employer offers a relocation package or reimbursement for moving expenses, you can use that to offset your moving costs. And if you don’t have anyone helping you move, you can hire labor-only movers to pack and transport everything for you. Labor-only movers are typically paid by the hour and will charge between $20 and $50 per hour. Some companies like HireAHelper offer flat rate hourly rates, which can help save money when dealing with small moves.
8) Ship your stuff
If you’re looking for a cheaper way to get your belongings from point A to point B, hiring labor-only movers is the way to go. This is a good option if you only have a few things and don’t want to spend a lot of time packing or unpacking everything. It also saves on the cost of renting a truck.
If you’re moving to a major city like Chicago or New York, it might be a good idea to go with an interstate moving company. Interstate movers will transport your goods between states and generally offer more services for less money than local or regional companies.
9) Get free moving boxes
This is by far the most time-consuming part of any move, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re on a tight budget, try asking friends and family members if they would be willing to donate their used packing supplies. You might also consider renting moving boxes and packing materials from your local hardware store or U-Haul location.
If you’re not getting boxes for free, then consider renting them from a local rental service or storage facility. This is often much less expensive than renting or buying brand-new moving supplies, and they may even include packing materials as part of your rental fee. You can also get many different sizes, shapes, and types of moving boxes from these services.
Do not hire full-service movers: In general, it’s unwise to use full-service movers because they are more expensive than hiring help on your own.
10) Take Time Beforehand to Save Money
Prepare for your move by budgeting, saving, and researching how to do it as cheaply as possible. Do not hire labor-only movers because they will charge you an exorbitant price for carrying items upstairs and loading the truck. Instead, rent a U-Haul or Ryder Truck from a rental company and do the heavy lifting yourself. This will be much cheaper than paying someone else to do it.
Before you take a trip to Wal-Mart or your local grocery store, ask yourself: Do I really need that? Take an inventory of what you already have before making a trip. If there’s nothing you need and it’s not on sale, don’t go out of your way to go pick it up—it will end up taking time and costing money.
Final Thought
Hiring labor-only movers is a good option if you’re looking to save money and are willing to do some of the work yourself. They’ll pack all your belongings, load them onto a truck, then drive across the country with them.
