How to Get the Best Movers for Your Budget

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How to Get the Best Movers for Your Budget

Staff Writer · Dec 22, 2009

Anyone who needs to move their family across town or across the country may be looking for the best movers for their specific situation. For any distance, households often have a specific amount of money saved up to finance the move. In some cases, families have to move on a shoestring budget, and simply can’t afford much. You matter what your situation is, there are some basic guidelines for choosing the best moving companies and moving services will help you relocate on your own financial terms.

Find Low Overhead Shops

The common advice is to shop around for the lowest moving quote. Beyond this, if your budget for a move is small, try looking for smaller local moving shops around town who offer much lower rates based on low overhead. This may be a business as small as 2 to 3 people, with only one truck and not much advertising. These are often the firms you can negotiate with to get a bargain moving price, because since they have lower overhead, there is more flexibility built into their rates.

Use Binding and Non-binding Moving Estimates

One way to ensure that a move doesn’t break your household budget is to use conventional moving estimates. Some federal government resources provide information on the use of binding and non-binding moving estimates for finding a maximum price from a company before signing onto a moving deal. With binding estimates, you will get a maximum value that the price will not exceed. With nonbinding estimates, the total final cost can be up to an additional 10% of the estimate price.

Negotiate with Your Small Moving Company

When you have found low overhead shops, talk to them about their actual costs for the move. Some moving families who are strapped for cash have found that negotiating based on mover’s cost is sometimes a way to get a good deal for both parties. Take into account the time and labor that the company will provide, as well as any specific resources they contribute to the job.

Get Involved

Generally, when someone is looking to save money in a move, they can shave a lot off of the cost by declining additional services and doing part of the work themselves. For example, when you’re working within a specific budget, you’ll probably skip additional packing services or apartment moving services that will allow you to just put your feet up and watch the moving crew. With lower cost moving, family members will be likely to do some of their own packing, loading, truck or storage space renting, or anything else that provides value in getting your possessions from one point to another.

Storage Pods

along with the above, there is also the option of buying with movable storage pods, where customers self-pack, and simple truck delivery (no loading crew) cuts down on cost. Check out portable storage containers in storage pods for more discount moving options.

The above can help many families in need to get somewhere on a strict limited budget.

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