Responsible for a Moving Budget? 10 Terrible Ways to Spend Your Money

 

Getting ready to move? Before you start, you'll need to plan on how you will be getting your things to a new location. A budget helps you figure out how much you have to spend on moving and storage expenses. Creating a budget allows you to save enough in advance and can also prevent you on wasting too much money for tasks that you could do yourself.

However, not every item on the moving budget list is the right place to spend your money. Here are 10 of the worst things to spend the moving budget on.

 

Hiring the First Mover You Find

Sometimes a person can be in a rush to find movers. You may be in a circumstance where you must leave your old place immediately. Yet picking the first mover found online, in a newspaper or an ad stapled to the telephone pole isn't always the right move. You may find inferior services, high prices, and inexperienced movers. Always give yourself enough time to research different moving companies and to pull quotes. Then compare prices as they relate to the services that are provided to select the best company.

 

Small Office Labels as Moving Labels

There is a reason why office labels and moving labels aren't interchangeable. Moving labels come in larger sizes, bright colors, and come with permanent self-adhesive to ensure that they cannot be accidentally removed from the box. They also may already be marked with the name for each room, such as kitchen or bedroom, so you don't have to write it down or worry about the ink smearing if you are moving on a rainy day. Office labels are designed to be smaller and for office use, which may not be suitable for moving as they can be hard to see and may come off from wet outdoor weather.

 

Having Movers Handle Your Vehicle

There may be times when you will also be moving your primary vehicle, an extra vehicle, or a recreational vehicle to your new home. Some home movers may also provide vehicle moving services for extra costs. Yet they typically don't have the extra experience on how to secure a vehicle in a moving truck. Shipping your vehicle with an auto moving service is usually the safer alternative, or find a friend or family member who is willing to drive the vehicle there as you can drive them home the next day. 

 

Packing Paper and Wrap Materials

If you plan ahead, you won't actually need to purchase either of these items. Start saving packing paper, bubble wrap and air pillows from any package deliveries you get before your move. You can even use plastic shopping bags from grocery stores as filler between items in boxes. Also, get creative on what you can use as packing materials. Bathroom towels, kitchen towels, drapes, blankets, and throw pillows can also act as packing materials in boxes.

 

Paying Movers to Pack

While it may speed up the job, you normally don't or want the movers to pack for you. They may pack items too tight or too loose in boxes, place the wrong items in the box, or are not careful with more delicate items such as TVs, computers, and glassware. If you dread the thought of leaving the movers unattended to pack as you imagine yourself rushing into the room every 2 minutes to check their work, it's probably better if you just do the task yourself.

 

Moving Bulky Items That You'll Never Use

You may have bulky items such as washers, dryers, fridges, vacuum cleaners, and other old things that you placed into storage. They may have malfunctioned as you wanted to use them for parts, or just never got around to tossing them out. Don't spend more money moving these items to the new home. Sell, donate, or get rid of the items. By purging these large items, you can lower your moving budget.

 

The Trip Itself If Your Company Will Pay for It

You may be moving across the country due to taking a new work position or because the company requires you to move. In these instances, check to see if the company will pay for the entire move or reimburse you for some of the moving expenses. Some companies are more than willing to pay for these costs to retain top talent in their operations.

 

Purchasing New Furniture Immediately

Some people are so eager to move to their new home and apartment so they can go on a decorating spree. They may even start furniture shopping early to find those great items that will fit into specific rooms. Yet, it's always better to wait until after moving to the new location before purchasing any furniture. You can cut down on shipping costs as the furniture store can just ship directly to your new home. Also, you can ensure the furniture will be able to fit through doors and into the rooms as you'll be able to measure out the spaces.

 

Onsite Storage Containers

Getting large storage containers that are left along the curb are great for temporary storage for a few hours or a day to hold things. Yet if you plan to have items in storage longer than a few days, it may be cheaper and safer to just rent a self storage unit. These storage units come in varying sizes, can provide climate controls, and are on a secure facility location to prevent vandals and thieves.

 

Big Purchases

One of the worst things to do with your moving budget is to blow it on some type of big purchase that is not necessary. Whether it is on a PS5, a new car, or other large item, the money you spent on that purchase could have been saved for any type of emergency that may arise during the move, such as moving insurance or an accident. Instead, save the money and wait until you are settled into your new home. Then make the big purchase when you're financially stable.