3 Money Saving Moving Tips To Consider Before you Relocate

All of that aside, you can save money on your move. There are a few things that you can do to make sure that you don’t blow your entire moving budget. These things are all small things too. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Moving Tips: Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

If you decide that you will be hiring professional movers like North American moving company, try to book the move a minimum of 6 weeks ahead of time. This gives you enough time to complete a thorough check when it comes to the service they offer before you sign a contract. This also gives you the time to negotiate and shop around. You should always get estimates from a minimum of 3 different moving companies and compare the services offered as well as all of the charges and fees.

Another tip for relocating your family when it comes to professional movers is not to assume that the pros will be upfront regarding all of their additional fees. It is easy to make an assumption that the price they quote will be the total price for the move. Sometimes, it really will be, then again, there will also be times when the rental agent needs to add fees or charges for services that weren’t anticipated. It is always a good idea to determine before the move exactly what services will be needed.

2. Consider these Moving Tips: What Season are you Relocating?

Moving tips are important when you’re not sure what is the best time of year to move. Most of us don’t have an option when it comes to when we will be moving. However, if you do have this option, try not to move during the peak season for moving companies – in the summer. Because this is the peak season for moving, the moving companies will be at their busiest and they will also be costlier. If you do have to move in the summer and have kids who are school aged, think about booking the move the day after the last day of school. If your move will be from July through September, try to book the move for a weekday because this will typically cost less and be easier to get the day that you need. For more moving tips look to LifeHacker.

3. What Type of Packing Material will you Need for your Move?

If you will be doing your own packing as opposed to the moving company doing it for you, you will need to have the right packing materials. Now, you can go out and buy boxes, tape, markers, and bubble wrap as much as you want, but you will be wasting your money. You can get free boxes from grocery stores, liquor stores, and offices in your area. You should start making the rounds to collect boxes as soon as you know you will be moving.

If you have kids, there is a good chance that there are already markers that you can use to mark the boxes with in your home. Tape too.

Bubble wrap is totally unnecessary. You can pack your fragile belongings and keep them safe by using things like old newspapers, sheets, blankets, pillow cases, towels, and comforters. You can even wrap each drinking glass and keep it safe by putting them in clean socks. The glasses slide right in and are protected.

If you are creative with packing, you won’t need as many boxes too. For example, things that are in drawers don’t need to be moved to boxes. You can take the drawers out, full, as it is, and wrap the entire thing in cling wrap. This saves space and boxes. Most of us already have cling wrap in our homes too. If you have kids, toy boxes can be wrapped the same way. Put all of the toys inside and then wrap the entire thing with cling wrap.

Moving can be expensive and a massive headache, but with careful planning and a bit of organization, it really doesn’t have to be.

For more moving tips on Stagetecture, look to our moving articles archives.

Essential Moving Tips for Relocating your Family

After the moving truck has pulled away and the adults are tied up with setting up housekeeping, getting new driver’s licenses, and activating utilities, kids are just trying to find a way to entertain themselves. And while it’s not as important in the practical sense as what you are doing, it is the most important thing for them.

Consider Moving Companies that will help in an Efficient Move

The first thing you need to do is to plan for an efficient move. Use some of the clever moving tips from Allied to organize, protect, and quickly unpack your belongings. For example, photograph your electronic connections before unhooking TV’s and DVR’s to speed the reconnection process at the new home. The less time you waste in the transition of belongings, the more time you’ll have for helping your kids with the transition.

You’ll still need to take a break from the unpacking and re-organizing to build some time for the kids. A positive long-term experience is rooted in a great first impression, so be sure to help them develop an enthusiasm for their new surroundings right away.

But your kids won’t just live in your house or in your neighborhood. They have a whole routine that will involve moving about in the community just like you do. The faster you can build this routine, the more the kids will enjoy the new town.

So the process of getting them acclimated to a new place and finding new things to do should be structured around their routines. For example, you might frequent a certain coffee shop not only because of the quality of its products but also because it’s located near your workplace.

Part of what you’ll look to do will be to resume familiar recreation, but you will also have the chance to get into new things. Here’s how you can do each of those things in your new town right away.

Before Moving Forward Learn the Amenities of the Neighborhood

Got an athlete in your family? A musician? What about a hiker? Learn to find neighboorhood amenities for your kids to do doesn’t have to mean you start over with totally new activities.

Check on local soccer leagues and see who’s taking new players when you arrive in town. Help your kids find the sporting goods stores where they’ll start shopping for gear. If it’s a musician you have, find the stores, performance venues, and instructors that your kids will be interested in. Encourage them to seek out other musicians. Take your outdoor enthusiasts to locate the area’s hiking trails and other adventure destinations.

Start a New Chapter After Moving

Sometimes a move can help your kids broaden their horizons. If the band at their old school was decidedly too dorky for your uber-cool kids, you may find that a Friday night football game in the new city will expose them to an impressive marching band that lures them right into music.

There may have also been no way to participate in certain activities back home. A relocation from the mountains to the coast will open the door to surfing and deep-sea fishing.

Moving Tips: Create a Fresh Start in a New Home

Whatever the transition–geographic, climatic, or social–a fresh start can be a great time to build new activities for your whole family to enjoy together.

You’ll never be able to fully duplicate the old hometown when you are in a new one, but you can take advantage of the things that are different to build a new experience for your kids. You can also replicate some of the best things about the old haunts. If you can frame it this way for your kids–we get to do the things we’ve always done, but we also get rid of the boring stuff in exchange for exciting new stuff–their enthusiasm and acceptance will be higher. The key is to make this a priority and be involved alongside them!

For more moving and home staging tips on Stagetecture, click here.

If you are thinking of changing jobs and relocating to a new city, state, or even country, have you thought about the cost, time, and wear and tear on your family? While job relocating can be beneficial, think of all of the factors to help you and your family make an informed decision about moving. My Guest Blogger gives you 3 cost saving tips to consider.

Image courtesy of Hot Coupon World

______________

Job relocations have become more prevalent in recent years as job seekers have become more flexible due to changing markets, high unemployment rates, and the increasing popular of corporate relocation to cut costs. Although relocating can be a great way to boost your career and long-term employment prospects, there can be some hidden costs to such a decision. Here are some things to consider before relocating.

1. The cost of replacing lost or damaged possessions.

Moving in general is an expensive and time consuming process. It is all about taking all your possessions, packing, sorting and then moving them across sometimes vast distances. Items can be broken or damaged during the move. It is important then to make sure you enlist a highly-reputable moving company – which is hopefully something you can find with the aid of your company’s corporate employee relocation firm.

Working with a corporate relocation service can help you find a good moving company, work out other moving details (like property transfers and sales), and they can even offer advice if things go wrong during the move. These services will help you dramatically reduce the stress involved in your relocation, so hopefully your company will “spring” for one. Regardless, there’s always a chance your possessions will get lost or damaged in a move. Therefore, it’s good advice to plan for this possibility.

2. Negative equity in real estate.

Negative equity in real estate is also referred to as being “upside down” or “underwater.” Essentially, it means owing more on your home than it’s worth on the current market.

Negative equity has become increasingly common in recent years due to the mortgage crisis. There are many reasons for negative equity, such as depreciation due to declining property values or the fact that your house may have been overvalued in the first place. Regardless of the reasons, the end result is still the same, and unfortunately this is a problem for many people who undergo a job relocation.

If you must sell your home while you’re living and working out of state, it’s a good idea to ask a local relative (or hire someone) to check on your property regularly. If your home is vacant for a period of time, it can be vandalized or fall into a state of disrepair…neither of which help you sell.

3. Lost personal time spent dealing with your move. The personal time it takes to plan, coordinate, and then actually move your belongings can take weeks or even months to plan. Packing alone is time consuming because you have to organize everything first, buy boxes and then pack it up.

Then, once you’re packed up, you still have to coordinate the moving date, contact movers and/or rent a moving truck, and etc. This is not only costly in terms of dollars, but it definitely takes time.

Relocating is often a stressful experience that can be hard on your family, so it is not something to be taken lightly. You don’t want to underestimate the time you need to help your family both physically and mentally prepare.

Image courtesy of Allerair

While job relocations can be very time and money consuming, it’s usually because they’re worth it. It’s a huge compliment when your company thinks enough of you and your work to move you across country, and it’s likely your career prospects are a little brighter as a result. Good luck!

Author Jason Lancaster works with TRCGS.com, a corporation that helps employees and companies relocate. If your company is relocating your office, be sure to have them visit TRCGS.com.

For more moving tips on Stagetecture, click here.