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Cheap Ways To Move Across the Country
By Peter Burns MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Planning a move across the country can be stressful and expensive. But preparing ahead of time and researching all of your options can help you significantly reduce how much you spend.
Read on to learn about cheap ways to move across the country to help you cut costs and stretch your budget.
Table of contents
- How much does it cost to move across the country?
- What affects the costs of moving?
- 8 ways to cut costs when moving across the country
- Choose the affordable moving option that works for you
How much does it cost to move across the country?
There is no set price for moving across the country because many factors contribute to the cost. Depending on the distance of your move, how much stuff you have and the method you choose, your overall moving costs could range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.
A person who lives in a studio apartment and can move all their belongings with a pickup truck will spend a lot less than a family moving out of a large house. The way you move will have a significant impact on the price as well. You can hire movers to handle everything or take the do-it-yourself (DIY) route.
Knowing the factors that affect moving costs can help you cut those costs so you can do more with your budget.
What affects the costs of moving?
Moving prices fluctuate depending on your moving distance, belongings, packing materials and the services you purchase. Handling most of the tasks yourself will be much cheaper than hiring a moving company to do everything for you. Here are the main factors that affect the cost of moving across the country.
Distance
Distance will play a significant role in determining your moving costs. Even if you’re driving your own vehicle, you’ll spend way more on fuel for a move across the country than one across town.
If you plan to use a moving company, distance will also affect the price. Moving companies consider a move to be local if your starting location is within 50 miles of your destination. Most companies calculate the costs of local moves by the number of movers needed and the hours it takes to complete the move.
Long-distance moves are typically over 50 miles, which means interstate moving will usually be long distance. Moving companies calculate long-distance moves based on the total distance, the weight of your belongings and the labor costs.
Cargo size
The size and weight of your cargo will affect your moving cost, whether you move locally or long distance. Your cargo includes everything you’ll be moving, from furniture and electronics to clothes. The more items you have, the more time and labor it will take to pack, load, unload and unpack your belongings. More cargo also requires more space in a moving vehicle.
Moving companies may charge an extra fee for large, bulky or fragile items. You may also need to consider the cost of shipping a car if you don’t plan on driving your vehicle to your new location.
Packing materials
If you hire full-service movers, you may not need to purchase moving supplies. The moving company will supply the materials and pack and unpack your items.
But, if you decide to pack your belongings yourself, you’ll need to get moving boxes and packing materials. Make sure to include the cost of these materials in your budget. You can purchase them at hardware stores or try to find them for free from businesses, friends or family.
Other packaging materials you may need to buy include:
- Tape
- Bubble wrap
- Plywood boxes
- Plastic containers
- Plastic wrap
- Styrofoam packing peanuts
Rental trucks and equipment
An alternative to hiring a moving company is renting a moving truck. Rental truck companies usually offer a range of vehicles suitable for moving, from pickup trucks and vans to large moving trucks. Rates for each option vary by company. You may also need to rent moving equipment, such as dollies and furniture pads.
Moving insurance
Moving insurance protects your items up to a certain value if they’re lost or damaged during the move. Moving companies must offer released value protection, which is basic coverage that will reimburse you $0.60 per pound per damaged or lost item.
Because released value protection only considers the weight of an object and not its actual value, you may want to pay for additional coverage. Full value protection will reimburse you for the true value of your goods. If you buy this type of coverage, the moving company must replace or reimburse the total value of lost or damaged items. Full value coverage is more expensive and usually costs 1% of the total value of your load, but it may be an excellent option if you have expensive belongings.
In the case of a DIY move, your renters or homeowners insurance policy may cover you, so check your plan before purchasing any coverage. If you’re not covered, you can look into getting third-party insurance.
Even if you use a moving company, you may also want to use third-party coverage. Third-party coverage can insure very high-value items like jewelry and protect against mechanical and electrical accidents, mold, insects and other issues that may affect your personal items. Third-party insurance can cost anywhere from 1% to 5% of the total value of your cargo.
Moving method
Your moving method will depend on your budget, time, resources and capabilities. You can choose from a couple of options for cross-country moves, starting with the most expensive option — hiring a full-service moving company.
Full-service moving
If you’re interested in hiring movers to pack your items, handle all the lifting, move your items to your new location and then unload and unpack everything, you’ll want to choose a full-service moving option. Full-service moving is expensive but may be worth the price.
DIY moving
The cheapest way to move is to do everything yourself. Although you’ll still rack up some costs on rental trucks, fuel and other things, you can take care of a lot of things for free. You can pack, load and drive by yourself without paying for someone else’s labor. While a DIY move is more time-consuming, it’s a great option for a cross-country move on a tight budget.
Storage containers
Storage container services — or moving container companies — are also an option for a cross-country move. Depending on the company’s policy, it may drop off a storage container at your home, and you can pack it at your own pace. Once you finish packing your unit, a driver from the company will pick it up and store it in a location or move it to your destination.
8 ways to cut costs when moving across the country
Though there are a lot of tasks to do when moving, preparing ahead of time can save you money and reduce your stress throughout the process. Here are eight things you can do to cut costs for a cross-country move.
1. Create a budget plan
Creating a budget for your move should be the first thing on your moving checklist. Knowing how much you can set aside for your move lets you know which options are available. It will also ensure you don’t overspend and that you have money on hand if an emergency arises.
2. Have a garage sale to downsize and make extra cash for the move
Selling unwanted items before you move is a terrific way to cut costs. You can sell items through a garage sale or online through Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Poshmark and more. You’ll make money you can put toward your relocation expenses and, at the same time, you’ll decrease the amount of overall weight you need to transport to your new location. Donating unwanted items will not earn you any money, but it will reduce how much you need to transport.
3. Use a portable storage container
Using a portable storage container company can help save on costs. Instead of using a full-service mover, you can pack and load your belongings yourself. If you don’t want to pack and load your items, or you just want some assistance to make the work go faster, some of the best moving container companies offer services to help you.
4. Find free packing supplies
Putting in some work to find free packing materials can save money. If you know friends, family members, acquaintances or neighbors who recently moved, you can ask them to save their packaging materials. You can also find free packing supplies at stores, offices, recycling points or online.
5. Compare quotes from several moving companies
If you plan to use professional movers, comparing quotes will ensure you get the best price. Before getting estimates, make sure you have accurately assessed the size of your load. A rough estimate of how much your cargo weighs and how much space you’ll need may give you inaccurate prices. Once you have three or more quotes, you’ll know a range of how much movers cost for your relocation.
6. Hunt for discounts and promotional offers
Many movers have discounts and promotions that can help reduce your overall price. You may be able to get a discount if you’re a military member or affiliated with certain organizations like the American Automobile Association (AAA). You can usually find promotional offers and deals on the moving company’s websites and contact customer service to see what is available.
Stay on the lookout for prices, discounts and promotions that seem too good to be true, though, because often they are. Be sure to investigate past reviews and third-party rating sites and ask around to figure out if the moving company is reputable before agreeing to anything.
7. Move during the off-season to get the most competitive rates
The time that you decide to move will also affect your overall cost. Spring and summer are the most expensive and busiest times to move because the weather is nicer and road conditions are better. To save money, the best time to move is between September and April. During the off-season, moving companies are not as heavily booked. You’ll have a better chance of getting a lower price when several moving companies compete for your business.
Apart from the season, there are other timing issues to consider. Most leases start and end either at the beginning or end of the month, which makes these popular times to move. Moving mid-month can offer some financial advantages.
Likewise, weekends are more popular than weekdays because you can move without missing work or school. If you can schedule your moving date between Monday and Thursday, you’ll likely have more options at better prices.
8. Enlist the help of family and friends
Finally, one of the cheapest ways to move across the country is to recruit friends and family to help you. Getting others to help with the packing, loading, unloading and unpacking of your items will save you a lot of money, effort and time.
Often, family and friends will help for free or a similar favor from you in the future. Even if you’re moving across the country, you might have a friend or family member willing to help in return for a free cross-country trip.
Choose the affordable moving option that works for you
Moving across the country can be expensive, even if you do a lot of the work yourself. But plenty of research and planning can help you keep your costs under control. Staying flexible and looking for money-saving opportunities as you go through the process can make your move more affordable whether you choose a full-service moving company, a container storage company or you do it yourself.
Peter Burns worked on ByteDance’s Tik Tok Monetization Product team in Beijing, China, and was the lead writer for OpenLanguage. He was the face of Wall Street English China, improving their Tik Tok account from 5k to over 1.3 million fans. His accolades in the education industry include receiving a master's degree from USC and working as an English professor. Peter has lived in South Korea, China, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina and can speak conversational Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.