If you've ever moved before, you know that it isn't cheap. If you're moving a whole house
worth of belongings, hiring professional movers can easily run into the high four figures, and even hiring freight companies isn't quite the bargain it might sound like. We're working with Penske Truck Rental to bring you moving tips all week long. Whether you're moving across the country or just across town, going it yourself or hiring professionals, here are some tricks for keeping the price down.
- The best advice for keeping moving costs down is this: purge. Moving costs are typically calculated by the pound, so the more you can get rid of before your move, the better. Now's the time to fire up that Craigslist account, hold a tag sale, go on Apartment Therapy Classifieds or donate to Goodwill, and edit out anything you're ready to part with. Be ruthless! Less stuff means less money, less stress and a fresh start!
- Bubble wrap and newspaper are good ways to pad valuables to keep them safe. But bubble wrap does get expensive. Instead, use your linens, bath towels, beach towels, bathrobes and old comforters. And hey presto, you've also eliminated a couple of heavy towel-filled boxes!
- Join AAA. Not only is it good insurance against any mishaps on the road, but members also receive exclusive discounts on moving-related expenditures, including a 12% discount on Penske trucks and other equipment. Members save an additional 10% when they book one-way rentals online.
- Looking for self-storage? Use a free online service like Sparefoot, which lets you compare different self-storage facilities and find the best, most affordable one for your belongings.
- Do it yourself! So many costs can be eliminated if you opt against hiring professionals — including the mental cost of worrying about when the movers will finally arrive with your belongings, how many of your valuables will be broken from poor handling, and how much you'll ultimately be charged. With companies like Penske Truck Rental, you're in the driver's seat in every way. They can even help you find movers just to help load and unload the truck, so you spare your back but still really limit how much you're spending on professionals.
- Invest in karma! Help your friends with their moves, and some day you'll be able to ask them to return the favor!
>>>Visit Penske Truck Rental to plan your next move!
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Speaking of Penske! The BF and I just did a move that crossed multiple states and over 650 miles and we used a Penske truck to do it. They were great people to work with. I originally checked quotes on U-haul, Budget, and Penske and found Budget to be the cheapest when taking advantage of online coupon codes, so I booked with them. Then a rep from Penske called me personally to inquire why I did not complete a reservation with them and to let me know they had some promotions they could potentially offer me. We gave them a call back, told them what we booked with Budget and at what price and asked them if they could do better. They could. We got the same 16 ft truck for four days, an appliance dolly for $5 instead of $30, and unlimited miles instead of 777. After taxes and everything we saved about $50 going with Penske. The unlimited miles aspect ended up being invaluable. They also gave us a free package of rope when we went to pick the truck up, because we had to wait (less than 5 minutes!) for them to finish washing it before bringing it out! The truck they gave us was a 2011 with only 37K miles on it, had a nice stereo/cd player/ipod jack built in and averaged nearly 11 MPG throughout the trip! Considering we loaded the truck to the brim, ran the stereo and ac almost entire time and were in 80+ heat, I was thrilled with that kind of fuel economy. The one and only annoyance with the truck was that it was limited to no more than 75 MPH. Kind of a bummer when parts of KY that we drove through had a 70 MPH speed limit and most people seemed to be doing 80. Cruise control also would have been nice, but all in all I was still really impressed with the experience and would recommend them to anyone.
You made out like a bandit! Sweet!