Tips For Saving Money and Stress When Moving House
They say moving homes is one of the most mentally, physically and financially draining things we do in our lives. However, it is estimated that Brits move an average of eight times during their lifetime. Considering this significant change occurs so often, surely it makes sense to come up with ways to make it easier and more friendly on our finances. On that note, we have created this post full of useful money and stress saving tips for moving house. Take a look:
It’s all in the planning
Creating a robust strategy for moving house will do wonders for your well-being and your wallet. It will also help you mentally prepare for your move. It doesn’t matter how you structure your plan, as long as it works for you and that you are likely to stick to it. For those of you, like myself, that are not naturally organised, here are some helpful tips for creating a moving house plan:
- Select an appropriate move in date that you can build your plan around.
- Create a moving checklist of all the tasks to complete and arrangements to make before, during, and after your move-in date.
- Set a realistic timetable. Include time for decluttering, packing, moving and unpacking. Set dates that you should aim to get specific tasks completed by.
- Set an affordable budget for the move. Include costs for removal services, packaging materials and babysitters or petsitters for move in day. You’ll also want to factor in the cost of waste disposal services like cheap skip bins sydney to help you when you want to shift a high volume of unwanted materials from your property during a move.
Recruit your family and friends
Don’t suffer the move alone; ask your family and friends if they can help out with various tasks. Volunteers will come in handy with packing, moving or looking after your kids while you work your way through your moving checklist. Cook them a quick and delicious supper as a thank you.
Give your home a detox
Moving unnecessary items from your old house to the new one will add money and time on to your already busy schedule. Only transport items you require and want in your new home. As part of your schedule set aside a day or two during a weekend before your move in date to declutter your home. To improve your organisation of this task, put unwanted items into different bags; for selling, recycling, donating or chucking.
Save money on packing materials
This is a part of your move where you can potentially spend little to no money. Look in cupboards and other storage areas in your home for cardboard boxes, bags, newspapers, tissue paper, tape, etc. All of these items can come in handy when packing up your belongings. Find out if you can pick up any unused boxes from work. Alternatively, ask your convenience store or off-license if they have any spare boxes for you. The vast majority of these boxes will not be used by these businesses so you could be doing them a favour. Also, you may wish to ask family, friends and neighbours if they have any useful materials they can give or lend you.
Pack efficiently and effectively
Make a schedule for when items can be packed. You can start packing non-essential items right away and leave your daily essentials until the day before moving. Try to limit your packing to a few days. If you spread it out over a few weeks, doing a little here and a little this will draw out the process and will be less efficient. Pack your belongings safely and securely. This will ensure they are protected during transit and will avoid breakages and having to pay for replacements. Label each box with a description of its contents and which room it should go to in the new house. If you need a little extra help, these 20 Tips for packing for a move might be useful!
Consider the most cost-effective and stress-limiting way of moving
There are a couple of options for moving; hiring a van and doing it yourself or hiring a moving firm to do it for you. It may work out cheaper to hire a van, but it could save you a great deal of time and stress if you pay the professionals. But, you may find keeping your stress levels and costs down is achieved with a bit of both. For example, you could hire specialised businesses in you local area, like Piano movers in Chicago, to move your most valuable possessions. And you could take charge of transporting the rest. It is important to note that rates for moving firms tend to be higher at the end of the month and at the weekend, when these businesses are at their busiest. If you can, choose a date at the beginning or middle of the month to receive to save you money.
Notify your gas and electricity suppliers of your move
You must let your utility providers know you are relocating. It is a good idea to do this well in advance of your move out date. This will leave plenty of time for the companies to take these services out of your name at the right time so that you don’t continue to pay for them once you have moved out.
Shop around for the best deals on utilities and internet
Moving house gives you an excellent opportunity to browse for the best deals on gas, electricity, internet, phone and TV providers. By entering some basic information to relevant price comparison websites, they will do the hard work for you. Find out if you could be getting a better deal by switching to a different provider. Sometimes you might be moving a long distance which can make it even more confusing to know which provider to go with. When moving to America, you might want to look at something like shentel internet packages. They provide internet services in both Maryland and Virginia and may be best suited to the area you’re moving to.
Be prepared for moving day
Before your moving day arrives do some preparation to ensure it goes as smoothly and cheaply as possible. Pay for a babysitter if you think it will save you stress on the day. Alternatively, ask a relative, friend or neighbour to look after your kids for a few hours on moving day. Prepare some cheap and healthy meals to see you and your family through move in day and the following days while you are busy unpacking. Freeze them until you are ready to use them.
Have a list of things that need to be prioritised at your new home. This may include setting up beds and unpacking essential items.
We hope you find these tips helpful in reducing your costs and stress when moving house.
