Costs to Keep in Mind When Moving to Another State Across the Country

Long moves can get expensive, so it is vital to budget for them. Unfortunately, that can be hard because there are a lot of little expenses that you need to take into account.

The best thing to do is to make a list of your expected expenses and make sure that you have all of them covered, along with an extra fund just in case you forget something.

Moving Services

This is the single largest expense for most moves, but it is also the easiest to predict. The moving company will tell you how much their services will cost.

It is generally a good idea to start by shopping around and getting quotes from different services to see how much that part of the move will cost. That will form the foundation of your budget and give you some idea of how much you will need to spend for the whole procedure.

It is possible to handle a move on this scale by yourself, but it can be tricky, and it isn’t always cheaper. You would still have to pay to ship your possessions or rent a truck that can handle hauling them.

Professionals are less likely to damage items by accident while moving them, which can reduce the cost of buying replacements. It is good to consider all of your options, but you will need to carefully calculate the expected costs of a DIY move to see if you can actually come out ahead.

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Fuel and Rooms

Crossing the country will take a long time, so you also need to budget for enough fuel to make the journey and a few places to stay while you are traveling. The cost of fuel is fairly easy to estimate.

Plan out the trip so that you know the distance that you need to travel, and divide if by your vehicle’s expected mileage to figure out how much gas you will need. Remember that mileage can vary based on driving conditions and the amount of weight in the car, so you can only treat this as an estimate.

Multiply that by the average cost of fuel in each region that you are crossing to figure out the approximate cost of gas.

Lodging is trickier to estimate. If possible, it is often a good idea to book hotels in advance so you can try to get a good deal, but it can be hard to keep to a strict schedule when moving.

Try to avoid staying near major tourist destinations if you can, and avoid times when there are a lot of people on the road to benefit from reduced demand for lodging.

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Meals and Snacks

You’re going to get hungry on the road. The amount that you will need to budget for food will depend on what you get, but most people find that the cost adds up quickly.

Fast food is a quick and convenient option, but it is also one of the most expensive and least healthy. You can save a lot of money by focusing on foods that are easy to pack and cheap to make.

It can be hard to fit enough food in a packed car, so you may need to stop at a grocery store to restock during the trip. That will add some time to your trip, but it can be worth it to cut costs.

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Tips for Loading & Securing Furniture on a Rental Moving Truck

If you’re planning to move, then you probably already know by now that packing everything and loading it into a moving truck can sound like an intimidating task, and things can get quite difficult if you’re not well prepared.

You can hire professional furniture movers if you want them to do load everything, but at the end of the day you still have to do the packing, so there are some things you need to know when it comes to the whole ordeal.

Truck size and packing supplies

You can’t really start packing if you don’t have anything to pack with. Make sure you get all the supplies you need, from boxes to packing tape, to plastic wrap, to moving blankets, and everything in between. Other supplies you might need are a mattress bag as well as moving straps to keep things in place.

Also, since items will shift during transit, you may need extra padding to place in between boxes. You will also need to figure out how big a truck you need to rent. If you’re unsure, you can call a truck rental company, and they will help you figure things out.

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Get your furniture ready

Best way to do that, if possible, is to disassemble it. This will make the furniture easier to pack and carry. Try taking the furniture apart into manageable pieces. Of course, not every piece of furniture can be disassembled, but taking apart the ones that can be will make a big difference.

You can take apart your bed frame, take out the drawers from your dressers and filing cabinets, and remove table legs. If you remove any screws from the furniture make sure you keep everything in a bag so that you don’t lose them. Note: remove the bulbs from your lamps; you don’t want glass shattered all over the place.

Loading strategy

It helps to have a strategy when it comes to the puzzle of loading everything into the moving truck. If you want to be extra prepared, you can do a walkthrough of you house and make some notes when it comes to the order in which the items will be loaded. This can help make the process smoother and also faster.

The largest and heaviest items should be loaded first. This means any appliances you might have (such as your refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher, etc.), as well as tables, chairs, couches, bed frames, etc.

The size of those items dictates the fact that they should be at the bottom of the pile so that you don’t risk crushing lighter items. Additionally, keep them the closest to the wall of the cab, and make sure you balance the truck by placing heavy items on both sides. If you want to save space, it’s ideal to place large furniture items upright.

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The lightest items should be loaded last. After you placed all the heaviest and longest items in the moving truck, it’s time to figure out the smaller and lighter objects, or the ones that have different shapes.

The list of lighter items can include mirrors, pictures, TVs, or small furniture items. Smaller items should be placed in their original boxes so that it will be easier for you to keep track of them. Lighter items should be placed on top of appliances and furniture.

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