Moving across Country, state lines or even into the next town over can be extremely expensive and frustrating. Here are some budget saving tips and budget busting pitfalls to avoid . .
Moving can be incredibly stressful and rather expensive. Our family has moved three times in the past 15 years- once
across town, and twice across country over 1,200 miles away. Each move had it's own unique obstacles and issues to overcome.
Before you move, you need to take into consideration several factors- how far are you moving, across town, across state lines, across country? Do you have your own equipment or do you need to borrow or rent it? In our case, during our first long distance move we had an 18' Utility trailer and a friend of ours allowed us to borrow his 26" enclosed snowmobile trailer.
Go through each and every room of your home with a couple empty laundry baskets. You must go through EVERYTHING you own to decide if it's worthy of keeping/bringing with you to your new home or whether or not it should be sold/donated or otherwise discarded. If you're moving long distance, ask yourself if the items you're bringing with you are worth the money that it will take to drag them across country. Perhaps those 50 notebooks you bought for only .10 each during the September sale aren't really worth the space and weight hauling them with you. Once you have an idea of the items you will NOT be keeping you can decide whether or not to donate them or to have a yard/garage
moving sale and get rid of them for some extra cash.
Things to take into consideration:
Moving can be incredibly stressful and rather expensive. Our family has moved three times in the past 15 years- once
Before you move, you need to take into consideration several factors- how far are you moving, across town, across state lines, across country? Do you have your own equipment or do you need to borrow or rent it? In our case, during our first long distance move we had an 18' Utility trailer and a friend of ours allowed us to borrow his 26" enclosed snowmobile trailer.
Go through each and every room of your home with a couple empty laundry baskets. You must go through EVERYTHING you own to decide if it's worthy of keeping/bringing with you to your new home or whether or not it should be sold/donated or otherwise discarded. If you're moving long distance, ask yourself if the items you're bringing with you are worth the money that it will take to drag them across country. Perhaps those 50 notebooks you bought for only .10 each during the September sale aren't really worth the space and weight hauling them with you. Once you have an idea of the items you will NOT be keeping you can decide whether or not to donate them or to have a yard/garage
Things to take into consideration:
- Are you moving Locally, across state lines, or across country (or overseas)?
- Will your belongings be stored for any length of time when you arrive at your new destination?
- Is your new home in move in condition? Meaning - do you have to paint or make any renovations before you can unpack?
- What Time of Year will you be moving? Do you have kids in school, will they be switching schools? Do you have a business, will you be trying to operate that business during the move?
- This is considerably easier as you have the option of making many trips back and forth to move items. It can get rather expensive on gas though! Chances are, your friends and family would be willing to put up a day and help you bring items from your old place to your new home. The catch- it is up to you to Pack your Own household contents up and have them ready for transport. There is nothing more aggravating than showing up to help a friend move- only to find that they expect you to pack up their belongings for them. First of all, unless they are an extremely close friend, they don't know which items have sentimental value and which items are doomed for the dumpster.
- Are you comfortable hauling a Large trailer or driving a rental truck? Keep in mind when towing very heavy loads that winds can literally tear a vehicle off the road. If not, it may be in your best interest to hire a moving company. Or, alternatively, you may be able to ask a friend who has experience hauling trailers to drive for/with you and then pay for his airplane ticket home. Moving companies can cost as much as $7,500 for 650 mile move.
- Is your vehicle reliable? Are the brakes good, can it make it up and down varying elevations and terrain without issue? Are the tires in good shape?
- Create a Book of important documents- a 3-ring binder works wonderfully for organizing items that you will need when you arrive at your new destination.
- School Records for the kids
- Medical Records for each family member
- Deeds/Rental Agreements/or Real Estate Documents if purchasing a house and closing on it
- Identification for each Family Member
- Birth Certificates for Each Family member - this one is especially important if you are moving Away from the state you were born in. Many people do not realize, until it's too late, that it can be quite a pain to obtain a copy of ones birth certificate, which is necessary when seeking employment, getting new state identification, or enrolling in school. In one state our taxes were audited and they required copies of our childrens birth certificates to be MAILED in with our tax audit form to prove our children were our dependents!
- Avoid Getting Rolled- Over the last 15 years, we've traveled extensively around the country and the one thing that seems to be getting worse is the number of shady individuals that approach asking for money. Usually this occurs when you stop for gas in an area you are unfamiliar with- you may see one or two people just "hanging around" nearby. As you start to pump gas, they'll approach you and start in with their sob story- they ran out of gas trying to help a friend out, or they need just a few dollars to get home, or they lost all their money or wallet and are stuck, etc- Do Yourself and Your family a Favor- do NOT entertain these folks- make it clear that you are not interested - are not able to help- and that they should immediately GO Away. Reaching into your car or wallet for cash will more than likely get you Rolled- aka- robbed, mugged or worse. Do not set yourself up for it!
- Plants- did you know that some states do not allow certain household plants across state borders? This is to ensure that certain pests (bugs/plant diseases) do not infect the local populations. Be sure to have your household plants in an area that is easily accessible in the event that you have to remove them or have them inspected.
- Firearms- if you have hunting rifles, pistols, or other firearms and you are moving across state lines- be very careful! In some states it is a Felony to have a firearm in your vehicle, particularly a concealed firearm. Check the laws in EACH state that you will be traveling through, not just the one you intend to live in.
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