10 Sneaky Ways to Cut the Cost of Moving Home

There are plenty of ways to save money when moving home, but add the word ‘sneaky’ and the savings seem, well, more precious, somehow more gratifying.

Usually, top money-saving tips when moving home include decluttering your home, getting free boxes from your local store, packing items Russian doll fashion within each other, and using clothing and blankets instead of bubble wrap to protect your belongings.

But beyond the usual get-free boxes from the local grocery store type of advice, here are some clever ways to save money moving home.

Our Top 10 Smart Ways to Save Money on a Home Move

#1. Mix and match home moving options

Most of us shop around for bargains, buying one product in one shop, and another in a different shop, to take advantage of the cheapest offers.

So shop around for the cheapest way to move home, which could be a combination of a removal company and courier for example.

It would make sense to move furniture with a removal company, who will obviously have the skills and equipment that a courier company would not have.

But then you may find that moving a hundred boxes that fit on one pallet is cheaper to move by courier.

A quick search online will reveal that a pallet can be moved less than 100 km for around £75 and 100-200 km for less than £100.

Of course, you will need to get quotes to be able to compare these options, and be sure to research any courier you intend to use with all the diligence you would to check out a removal company.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company. A step-by-step guide on how to pick a good removal company for your particular home move from the hundreds of removal firms out there.

#2. Are you flexible?

Not in a yoga kind of way, but on the date you can move home.

Here is a clever tip for moving on a budget: If you can move out of season, in the middle of the week, or the middle of a month, there are savings to be made as removal companies are less busy at these times and will be looking for work.

Could you move later or earlier in the day, perhaps your removal company can then do two moves in a day and reduce the price for you?

You may also like to read: Can You Negotiate Prices with a Removal Company? In this guide, we look at the possibility of negotiating with your removal company to get a deal that works for both you and them.

#3. Talk is cheap

If you don’t ask you won’t get, so if you are moving on a tight budget, ask.

Talk to your preferred removal company and see if they have some partial loads going to the same area that you intend to move to, you might need to be flexible on your move date or times, but you may get a better deal if the removal firm can combine two loads.

Also, and I’ll be honest, I have not tried this myself, but in theory, this could work.

Spread the word that you are moving home (but be very security conscious about how you do that). Perhaps use local forums, home moving advice forums, your estate agent, or just your close social circle.

The idea is that you are looking for someone who is moving in the same direction at about the same time as you.

You could both then utilize the same removal company, if they too do not have a full load to move. Perhaps then both movers could negotiate a deal with the removal company.

#4. Sync your moving date with the end of your billing cycles

Try to arrange your move date with the end of your billing cycles. That way you will not pay for part months of a bill, or in some cases you could end up paying for a whole month and then a part month in your new home.

Things like your TV channel package can be cancelled a week before you move, it is unlikely you will have the time to watch much TV in the run-up to moving day anyway.

Can you transfer your current utilities to your new home so that the billing is seamless and you will not incur set-up costs?

#5. Are you taking your curtains or rugs from your old home with you?

No doubt you will want to have them cleaned before they are refitted in your new home. So ship your curtains off to the dry cleaners and your rugs to the cleaning company, then having been cleaned, have them delivered straight to your new home.

If you have a number of specialist-clean-only clothing that you are moving, use the same trick.

It will definitely work out cheaper than paying to pack them and then having a removal company transport them.

#6. Have you run down your pantry, food cupboards, fridge, and freezer, as well as all your non-grocery items such as cleaning products and toiletries?

It is a good idea to do that as this will save on packing and transporting costs.

But the next home moving hack is to do your replenishing shop online and have the goods delivered directly to your new home. Not only will you save costs on moving these items, but precious unpacking time too.

As an added bonus, some supermarkets will deliver for free too.

#7. Sell fixtures, fittings, and furniture to the people moving into your old home

A simple way to cut the cost of moving home is to think about what you intend to pack and move. Consider the time that you will save taking down lampshades for example, which are fragile, and likely to get damaged during the home move anyway. It will be easier just to sell them, or if they are cheap enough, leave them in situ.

Furniture is particularly expensive and time-consuming to pack and move, so see if you can sell these to the landlord or the people moving into your old home.

You might even consider selling your home with all the contents as a package deal. You will save a fortune on removal costs, and the buyers will think they are getting a great deal because they don’t have the hassle of buying and refurnishing their new home.

There is a great rule to remember when moving home: moving an item to your new home should be cheaper than what it would cost to replace it.

If any of your large or heavy household goods are easily and cheaply replaced, don’t bother moving them.

You may like to read: Where to Donate Things When Moving Home. The cheapest way to move furniture that you no longer need is to consider donating those items to charities who will often collect them for free. In this guide, we look at different household items and the best places to donate them.

#8. Vacuum-sealed, space saver bags

You know the type, put clothes in an airtight bag and use a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out. The bag and contents then compress to a fraction of their original volume.

Not so many boxes to buy or pack, less time needed to pack and unpack, fewer packing materials to dispose of after moving day, and fewer transporting costs.

And if you pack seasonal clothes in separate bags and boxes, they can go straight to the loft. Just be sure to mark the boxes so that you know what they contain and that they are for storage.

#9. Make use of a friend’s garage

If you only have boxes to move, this cheap moving tip could save a small fortune. This is the plan.

You are moving within the same city, or you are moving to be nearer work for example. Near your new home lives a friend with a secure garage or storage space. You currently drive past, or within a short detour of this garage, to get to work every day.

So, every day, you drop off some of your moving boxes at the garage on the way to work.

Come moving day you should have just one carload to move out of your old home. Job done.

You can then move the boxes into your new home at your leisure, essentials first, and each room as time allows.

The way you store the boxes will have to organised so that you can easily identify what is in each box and stacked in such a way that the boxes you need first are easily accessible.

Colour code the boxes for each room in your new home so that you can unpack them easily, one room at a time.

You may like to read: An Easy and Foolproof Way to Label Moving Boxes. In this guide, we introduce you to a really simple and effective way to colour code your moving boxes so that you know exactly which room they belong in and the best order in which to unpack them.

#10. Digitalize your music, film, and book collections.

There is probably not a single piece of music or film that is not available to view on the Internet. And in all honesty, when was the last time you saw even a third of your DVD collection, or listened to three-quarters of your CDs?

So why not use the opportunity now to sell or donate your films and music? You will save a fortune on packing and moving costs and make some money to boot.

Books can be especially heavy and therefore not an easy group of things to move. Maybe you will not want to get rid of every book you own, but any you can get rid of will reduce your moving costs.

Charities will especially welcome your donations, so do some good for the local community and help yourself at the same time.

You will notice that these are money-saving tips for moving home, not how to move home on the cheap.

There is a difference. At the end of moving day, you want to feel you have had value for money. A man and van may well be cheap, but if you end up with damaged furniture and weeks of stress trying to file a compensation claim that will never be paid, that is hardly good value.

If you hire a professional removal company that may charge slightly more but will provide a stress-free home moving experience, then the extra cost will more than justify itself.

Often the best way to save money when moving home will be to use a reputable removal firm.

It would be great if we could get some ideas from you too about innovative ways to reduce home moving costs. If we get enough we can create a second part to this guide and publish them for other home movers to see.

Just leave your sneaky, inventive, and even outrageous ways to save money when moving home in the comments box below.

Thanks.