How My Family Dealt with Unexpected Moving Costs

My family relocated recently. Although this is a regular occurrence because of my husband's job the unexpected moving costs never fails to catch me by surprise. Just when it seems we have a handle on the expenses something else comes up.

Moving is unavoidable. Hidden expenses sometimes are. Here are a few of the hidden costs and how my family deals with them.

Boxes

This is one area that we never spend money on. That's the theory anyway. The reality is that searching out free boxes takes up gas, emotional energy and often lunch or dinner from a drive-through. Boxes that aren't broken down take up more space in the car and can cause two trips to get what you need.

Calling stores and businesses ahead of time helped streamline the moving effort. Several places were willing to hold boxes for us. More than a few places told us what day or time to pick up boxes.

Bring a box knife or disposable utility knife

Another small moving tip that helped was to bring a box knife with us. We purchased an inexpensive utility knife from a dollar store. With these, we could easily cut the tape off of the boxes and break them down ourselves. They took up less space in the car and allowed us to maximize the number of boxes we could pick up.

Soda and bottled water

The moving expense of soda and bottled water sneaks up on you. Every soft drink or bottle of water adds up. We compensated by carrying a cooler of bottles or sodas with us. This had the added benefit of being available when we needed one. A very small lunch bag holds up to four bottles or five cans. Freeze a bottle so you don't lose space. It will keep the drinks cold.

Dealing with meals out

Coupons and deals helped us deal with meals out. This isn't a moving expense that you don't usually think about. We saw pretty quickly that collecting boxes led to being out during mealtime. Having that expense didn't help. To minimize this impact we used coupons, took sandwiches with us and paid attention to deals and specials.

Packing materials

It amazes me how many people buy packing materials when moving. We moved our entire household and purchased only 2 special packing boxes, 1 medium sized bag of styrofoam peanuts and four packs of styrofoam plates. Friends saved newspapers which were used for packing almost everything else. for and sheets made good cushioning for larger fragile items.

The peanuts were used to thoroughly pack an extremely fragile heirloom figurine. The special packing boxes and plates were used to pack dishes and china. They worked well and were much less expensive that purchasing additional special packing boxes from the moving store.

Plates actually served double duty. We unpacked our dishes first but we ate off of the disposable plates first. This minimized the impact of finding out that the dishwasher didn't work. It's also more convenient to throw the plates away instead of washing them when you're in the middle of a move. Coupons helped to make them more affordable.

Standard moving expenses

The truck cost is unavoidable. In the past we've gotten better rates by moving on a weekday and asking about discounts. Using the right size truck for our needs helps to reduce costs further.

The moving expense of labor can be cut by asking friends to lend a hand. It's hard work but we've been very fortunate to have always had extra hands who were willing to help.

Always be willing to reciprocate if a friend needs help when moving. Not only does it help with their moving expenses but reciprocating also helps strengthen friendships.