Moving to a new house is exciting but it can be stressful. There’s often so much to do before moving and it can come with a high cost. Moving from one location to another isn’t cheap but it can be made more affordable. Here are several ways to save on moving costs so that you can save that hard-earned money to spruce up your new home or apartment!
Ways to Save on Moving Costs
1. Get Rid of Clutter
A great technique for getting rid of clutter is the best way to save on moving costs. While it takes time and can be overwhelming at times, it’s best to tackle it one category at a time.
Clothing
Take everything out of your closet and out of your drawers. Are there certain items that you haven’t worn in years or certain items that you could do without? Get rid of them! Whether it be through selling them on Poshmark, packing them up using ThreadUp, and/or donating them to different organizations. There are so many ways to get rid of your clothes and make money off of them. Just remember, the more you bring with you, the higher the moving cost.
Here are some places where you can donate clothing:
1.) Goodwill (Link:
2.) Salvation Army
3.) Vietnam Veterans of America
4.) St. Vincent de Paul
6.) Project G.L.A.M.
7.) Room to Grow
8.) Soles4Souls
9.) The Arc
If you are donating your clothes or items to some of these organizations, note that some offer at home pick up where you gather your belongings into brown cardboard boxes. Others require you to take the boxes to a physical store or dropbox.
Furniture
Depending on where you are moving, it may be less expensive to buy new furniture than to bring your old ones. If this is the case, why not sell or donate the furniture that you own and get new ones for your new home?
Towels
Instead of packing towels all folded and neat, use towels in between fragile items instead of bubble wrap. The fewer boxes, the less you’ll pay on moving costs.
Miscellaneous
For everything else, including home decor, books, kitchenware, and knick knacks, do your best. Think about what items you love and think about what items you can do without. Keep those that you know you need to hold on to and toss or donate the ones you don’t use or need.
2. Membership Discounts
Moving can be chaotic. It’s easy to forget that memberships to the AAA, AARP, and Costco come with benefits that can help offset the cost of moving quite a bit. Here are just some of the discounts that come with each membership:
- Penske Truck Rentals: discounted truck rentals and moving supplies along with free unlimited mileage on all one-way truck rentals.
- Extra Space Storage: AAA members receive the first month free and a $15 American Express Reward card when they rent a storage unit from Extra Space Storage.
- UPS Store: There’s a 5% discount on UPS shipping along with a 15% discount on select products which allows AAA members to ship a few boxes.
- Atlas Van Lines: If you hire Atlas Van Lines movers as an AAA member, you receive full value protection for free when moving to a new state.
- Consumers Relocation Services: Discounts for those who need more help with relocating.
- 1800-Got-Junk: AAA members save 10% off all orders to get rid of items prior to a move.
- AARP: AARP members save up to 20% on Sunday to Thursday rentals and 10% on weekend reservations using their membership number.
- Union: If you’re a union member, you can save 20% on local and one-way Budget truck and van rentals through Union Plus.
- Costco: Costco members save 25% on Budget truck rentals. To get the discount, however, you must start the reservation through Budget’s Costco partnership page.
3. Senior Discounts
Some companies offer senior discounts, but the key to finding out is to call and ask. There are several discounts you can leverage from organizations like Penske and Bekins.
4. Groupon & RetailMeNot
While deals change day by day, Groupon offers deals related to movers in your area. From curbside storage pickup to local moving companies, there are so many groupon deals that may save you quite a bit of money.
If you haven’t heard of Retailmenot, it’s a website that aggregates coupon offers and makes them available to consumers. It distributes coupons for accessories, automotive, beauty products, baby products, clothing, electronics, furniture, health, home and garden, jewelry, pets, photography, toys and travel.
While deals change day by day on this site, you can find a variety of different discounts from many moving companies along with other discounts related to relocating from one house to another. It’s worth checking out to offset the cost of moving from house to house.
5. Do Your Research & Negotiate
It’s important to do your research and call up moving companies before a big move. Instead of going with the first one that you see, call and ask questions. Ask about whether or not they are insured, ask them what they would charge, and ask them all questions related to your move before making your decision. Sometimes you can negotiate by using another deal that you received from another mover and get the mover you want at a fraction of the cost.
Keep in mind, you may want to read reviews before choosing a mover. Do your research!
Most Importantly, Enjoy Your New Home!
We hope you enjoy your new home and hope that you are able to utilize this guide to save a few bucks. Saving during the move allows you to have more money to use to spruce your new place up.
If you're planning on moving and need help with your move, check out our partners at Makespace. They help hundreds of movers every month with their moving and storage needs and they’re offering WYL’s community of renters $75 off the first month with code wyl75!
Michele Christine Weinstein is a motivational writer, content creator, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who utilizes her life story and pre-medical background to inspire others. She believes in the power of our stories and encourages all to share their stories of struggle on a platform that she founded called Not a Standard. Outside of work, Michele enjoys kayaking, walking her dog, and working out. She also enjoys a good home-decor project, although it usually results in bloopers (which she later shares on social media for good laughs and instructions!). She’s always sharing her projects, bloopers, and little motivational quotes (which she calls Michele-isms) on Instagram, so check her out. And stay tuned for what her story entails next. It may just be great.
*Contributions are solely guest opinions and don’t reflect the opinions of or are endorsed by WYL, our staff, clients or other interested parties.