Moving is a major undertaking, especially if you have long settled in your current home or office. Because of this, a move can mean a lot of stress and a considerable dent in your finances. The good thing, however, is that even for those who don’t consider themselves pros at logistics and planning, anyone can pull off a smooth and budget-friendly move.
To help you achieve that, here are simple steps that will help guide you as you move towards this big change.
Determine a Budget for The Move
Before you can even begin, find time to sit down and determine your budget. If you are living with a spouse or your family, this can mean sitting down with them and planning this together. Your budget will help make it clear what options are open for you in the next steps towards the move.
When creating your budget, remember to be realistic. List out everything that you will need during the whole process. This will mean the cost of your new place, transporting your things, moving supplies, and so on. However, being realistic does not mean you should set your bar too high either. Work with how much you can realistically afford depending on what you really need.
Once your budget is put in place, give yourself time to prepare the amount that you need (if you don’t have it already). Don’t limit yourself with how much you already have now. Plan this ahead, so you have room to save up for how much you really need.
Plan the logistics
Essentially, what you will be planning for here is whether you will be hiring a moving company or if you will be doing the transporting of your things yourself. When making this decision, consider the amount of stuff that you need transported and how much of it is fragile.
Some large home appliances and breakable furniture may need special care. So if you have a lot of these at home, consider hiring a moving company that will take care of packing and moving your things for you. There are companies that offer full moving services that can work with your own timetable. These services can be more expensive, however, so make sure you are still working within your budget.
On the other hand, if you think you can handle transporting your things yourself (perhaps with the help of friends), you may simply rent a truck or a van. Make sure to speak extensively with the rental company to get the right kind and size of the vehicle that will work for you.
Another thing to make allowance for should you decide to do the moving yourself is the time that you need to pack all of your stuff. Unless you have a very small space and very little stuff, give yourself at least 3 to 6 months to make sure that you have ample time.
Get moving
Once you have your budget set and plans on logistics decided, you can now get started on actually preparing your things for the move.
Even if you are hiring a moving company who will do your packing, you will still need to do some of the work yourself, especially with regard to highly valuable items such as jewelry. Start as early as you can with preparing what things you can pack and bring yourself.
One good tip to take note of when packing is to pack things per room. This will help make unpacking so much easier and less time-consuming once they get to your new home or office space.
Are these tips any helpful? If they are, get ready as early as you can, and follow this simple guide to make your move a pleasant one.
