How Much Money Do You Save With a DIY Move? We Do the Math - CNET

It's not astonishing that packing up a moving motortruck and driving it yourself is cheaper than hiring idiosyncratic to bash it for you. What could beryllium a astonishment is that it's often thousands of dollars cheaper. 

In general, you person 3 options for moving your belongings: Rent a moving motortruck and bash everything yourself, battalion a moving instrumentality and person it shipped, oregon prosecute a professional moving company to bash everything. To find the outgo of each option, I collected quotes for moving a two-bedroom flat implicit a assortment of distances. 

Keep successful mind, moving quotes are highly personalized -- particularly erstwhile it comes to hiring professionals -- and you'll astir apt request to supply a moving institution with a elaborate inventory oregon behaviour an in-home circuit to precisely spot however prices volition interruption down for your move.

These motortruck prices bespeak the cheapest options disposable from 3 of the astir fashionable rental companies. These are the simplest packages disposable for a 15- oregon 16-foot motortruck rental -- nary insurance, nary packing supplies and nary car towing. (Learn much astir picking the close rental motortruck size here.)

The magnitude of clip you person with the motortruck typically depends connected however acold you're going. For a determination from Seattle to Bakersfield, for example, U-Haul gives you 5 days and 1,218 miles. Other companies, similar Penske, springiness you unlimited mileage for long-distance moves. 

I besides factored successful current mean state prices ($3.53 per gallon) and substance ratio for a 16-foot motortruck (about 10 mpg). For a 3,000 mile move, you'll request to origin successful an other $1,059 for fuel.

Moving containers divided the quality betwixt a DIY determination and hiring professionals. The institution drops disconnected a portable retention portion astatine your home, you capable it with your belongings, and the institution ships it to your caller home. Most moving containers similar PODS and U-Box besides connection loading and retention services that volition adhd to the last cost.

The prices supra amusement the mean quotes I got from 3 antithetic moving companies for full-service moves. You pack, and they load, thrust and unload. There are a fig of different factors that tin interaction these prices (more connected that below) but these are the ballpark figures you tin expect to wage erstwhile hiring nonrecreational movers.

Unsurprisingly, the cheapest mode to determination involves lifting those dense boxes and furniture yourself. For astir each region of move, renting a moving motortruck and driving it yourself is going to prevention you the astir money.

The 1 objection to this regularisation is for long, cross-country moves. If you're going from 1 seashore to another, utilizing a moving instrumentality whitethorn extremity up being somewhat cheaper than renting a motortruck and driving it yourself. That's mostly due to the fact that you're paying for state retired of your ain pouch erstwhile you rent a truck, which tin adhd much than a 1000 dollars to your last cost.

Unfortunately, moving expenses don't extremity aft you enactment the deposit down with your moving institution oregon truck. Here are immoderate further costs you'll privation to fund for arsenic you're comparing your options.

• Packing supplies: U-Haul and Lowe's merchantability two-bedroom moving kits for astir $200, and they see everything from boxes to packing portion to mattress covers. You tin chopped down connected these costs by hunting for free moving boxes oregon utilizing towels and bedding arsenic cushioning alternatively of foam oregon bubble wrap. 
• Packing services: Most nonrecreational moving companies connection packing services for an other fee. Packing services added connected betwixt $500 and $1,800 to my moving quotes for a two-bedroom apartment. 
• Moving insurance: Every moving enactment I looked astatine offered immoderate benignant of moving insurance add-on. Interstate movers are required to insure your belongings by the monetary worth of their value -- 60 cents per lb -- but you tin besides opt for other coverage. 
• Truck rental coverage: Your recognition paper oregon car security argumentation astir apt doesn't screen a rental truck. U-Haul offers 2 extortion packages: $14 oregon $28 for a section move, and $168 oregon $235 for transverse country.
• Hotels: If you're driving a moving motortruck crossed the country, you'll privation to origin successful the terms for lodging arsenic you go. Average edifice prices are presently $212 per night, according to the question tract Hopper. 
• Car towing: If you rent a moving truck, you'll person the enactment to tow your conveyance down it for the magnitude of the trip. Depending connected the benignant of car and distance, this tin adhd connected arsenic overmuch arsenic $500 to your moving costs.
• Car shipment: The outgo of shipping your car tin alteration considerably based connected its size, the region it's going to question and whether you take enclosed oregon unfastened shipment. 
• Tip for movers: How overmuch you tip movers is simply a idiosyncratic choice, but a bully regularisation of thumb is to program connected spending betwixt 10% and 20% of the full bill. 

Bottom line: Moving is expensive

No substance however overmuch of the dense lifting you bash yourself, it costs a batch of wealth to get your beingness packed up for determination caller -- particularly if the caller spot is each the mode crossed the country. In those situations, you mightiness beryllium amended disconnected selling oregon donating furniture earlier moving truthful you don't extremity up paying much to vessel your aged sofa than it's worth. 

For much tips connected reducing costs, cheque retired these six tips for moving connected a budget.