I recently had to move house, and as most of you will know, it was a stressful process. It also threatened to be a very expensive one too. But with little money to spare, i was determined to make the move as cheap as possible. Here’s what i learned, and some tips on how to move house without breaking the bank.
Do The Legwork
The way to avoid paying people to move house, is to do as much of the work yourself. This is highly dependent on your physical state, and for some people this will simply not be possible. But for me, i must have made 10 trips to the tip, and walked stuff out of my flat and into the new place at least a hundred times. It was back-breaking and tough, but it saved me many hundreds of pounds.
Move House Without Breaking The Bank – Help From Friends
Friends are there to help you after all. I cannot drive, so a friend with a van was a lifesaver to throw out rubbish and then make tip trips. She refused payment too, so i settled for a couple of pub lunches by way of thanks! But friends will be happy to help you if even for a short while, and it can really take the pressure off a move. A friend moving a few boxes with you to your new place can save you hours.
Move House Without Breaking The Bank – Sell Stuff
Another option is simply to earn the money you need to move. If you need to raise £500, think about what you have of value that you no longer need. One advantage of a home move is you have to encounter everything you own. I soon realised how much stuff i owned that i did not need. So a move is a time to remove clutter and make money from items that are of use to someone else.
Move House Without Breaking The Bank- Negotiate
I had to use some removal men for the job of moving big items between homes. But i ensured i negotiated the best deal for the job i needed doing. I got estimates, changed the criteria of what i needed and found a price on the cheapest day of the week that i could afford.
Make Sacrifices Elsewhere
Moving, and you need £400 to do so? Then if you do not have that money, the only solution is to save £400 elsewhere. Perhaps drop that big night out you had planned, that takeaway you wanted, and that new shirt you had your eye on. When moving it can feel like a full time job anyway, so easing off your social life for a few weeks is not the biggest sacrifice.
A Chance To Reassess Finances
When i moved to my new place, i was forced to examine EDF gas tariffs, what i paid for Sky and a host of other costs. A move is a good chance to reassess your outgoings and perhaps trim costs.
