Rent a new apartment? Congratulations. It’s a great feeling to find a new place to live, hopefully something that’s in your budget, close to where you work, and maybe has a free gym.
Renting an apartment you can afford is important. These days, everyone’s under a budget — we’re all counting our nickels and dimes, wondering if we eat out too much. But when it comes time to move, don’t assume you can’t afford a moving company. It streamlines the moving process and takes the weight off your shoulders.
When you hire a moving company, somebody does the heavy lifting for you. Somebody else does the driving, so you don’t have to hire a truck. Sure, it’s an extra expense you need to manage, but it’s not as expensive as you think — if you’re smart about it. Here’s how to hire movers on a budget when you move into your new apartment rental.
The Clock’s Ticking. Break Down Your Schedule.
Sometimes moving into a new apartment is like racing against the clock. Maybe you signed a lease on a new apartment rental and have to be out of your old one by a certain time. Perhaps you’re moving for a dream job to a new city and the job starts soon. Say you’ve sold your home to downsize to a new apartment and save some money, and the new owners move in next month.
Be honest with yourself. Do you really have enough time to organize, pack, load, and move all your stuff to your new apartment? If time is scarce, hiring a moving company is a smart solution. You let the professionals sweat the big stuff so you can focus on packing. Everything gets done on time.
Budgeting Movers for Your New Apartment
Hiring movers can get expensive, depending on the company, town, and what you want moved. You can expect to spend anywhere from $550–$2,000 for local moves and $2,000–$7,500 for long-distance moves. Premium moving companies can cost as much as $12,000.
But you get a lot for your money, mainly peace of mind. Someone else will haul the heavy furniture. There is no need to worry about driving or loading a truck. You won’t throw out your back or drop a load of books on your foot. Let the credit card do all the work.
How to Make Hiring Movers More Affordable
Paying close to $1,000 or more is a chunk of change, especially after you just poneyed up a deposit and first month’s rent. But you don’t have to go all out with a full service move. There are more affordable options that may suit meet your budget better.
You could hire the company to pack — and you handle loading and transport. Maybe you could pack and haul boxes onto the truck — leaving the company the heavy furniture.
Another affordable option is to self-pack but use moving containers. You can rent pods through U-Pack Moving or Pods. You pack them yourself. The company moves them for you. You don’t have to worry about driving a truck halfway across the country. You can focus on just driving your Honda.
Other Tricks to Make Hiring a Moving Company More Affordable
There are other tricks to making a moving company more affordable. Many movers hire by the hour. Anything you can do to make their lives easier gets the job done faster and helps you save on the bill.
Just because you hire professional movers doesn’t mean you can’t also ask for help from your friends and family. This way you can save the furniture and heavy lifting for the movers. Your buddies can focus on packing and hauling the small items.
Make sure all your boxes are packed, labeled, taped and ready to go. Wrap any furniture in Saran Wrap. Have your dressers and beds disassembled. Prep all paintings and other art so they’re wrapped and ready to go.
Moving gets expensive — and hiring movers is an extra expense. But don’t assume you can’t afford it. With the right approach, you too can budget the peace of mind of a moving company. Moving’s hard enough already. Why not make it easier on yourself?
All that’s left is to unpack and decorate. Time to get started.