Preparing Your Moving Budget

You might have to take a lot of factors into consideration when preparing the moving budget. If you decide to hire a moving company, you got to make a note of:

1. The total weight or volume of the stuff you want the professionals to relocate. The cost varies according to the weight or the volume of the shipment.

2. The distance you’re going to cover. The fuel cost is one of the most important variables and can hugely impact the overall moving cost.

3. Time also has a little contribution. You might have to pay a bit higher during the pick seasons.

4. Accessibility. The cost might go up a bit if the access to your home is not so convenient. The professionals have to carry the heavy furniture and load the vehicle.

5. The number of labor required for the packing and unpacking work.

If you’re moving during the pick seasons, be ready to pay a bit more than usual. For moving industry, the busy seasons are –

· The summer season. For your information – try to move in October and April to save a few bucks.

· The National holidays

· Usually the last week, to be very precise, the last day of each month.

· Weekends

· Even the middle of the month during the summers.

Here are the things that might cost you some additional bucks –

· If you need a hotel room to stay when your stuff is still in route.

· Car transportation cost if you want to ship your car.

· A utility fee for discontinuing or hiring an existing service.

· Last but not the least, tip for the mover.

Tips to Save Money When You Move

Self Movers: Price quotes for self service moving will be much cheaper. If you have enough time available and don’t mind to do the packing, unpacking, loading and unloading work, you’ve to pay to the mover just for driving the vehicle and take it to the destination point or you can rent a truck
and drive by yourself..

Cash Back Bonuses: You can use the credit card or back account offering cash back bonuses.

Moving Supplies: Here is another piece of advice. You can save a lot of money on the moving supplies. Here is how –

1. You can order affordable moving supplies online.

2. A friend of yours, who has recently moved, can sell you the boxes. Who knows you can even get it for free.

3. Don’t buy a tape dispenser. You can borrow it.

4. Crumpled newspapers can be a great replacement for bubble wraps.

5. You can literally save money by buying the packing tape and other supplies from the local market.

6. Why pay extra for renting the padded blanket from the mover?

You can use your own blanket, area rugs and linens instead. A few moving companies offer wrapping blanket for free through. Check with your mover in advance.

Do Packing On Your Own: Pack the stuff by yourself and hire the service of the mover just for loading, driving and unloading work. To know time saving tricks and reduce the hassles, read our “Packing Tips” section.

If You’re Flexible: What does that mean? If you can manage without your belonging for a while, movers can offer a great price reduction as they can consolidate your stuff with some other customers’ belongings.

Get Rid of Unnecessary Stuff: Carefully select your stuff. Discard the old, not so important things. That way you can keep the weight and the cost of transportation reasonable.

Moving Estimates – How to choose the right one..

Although local movers offer the price estimate based on labor needed, distance to be covered and intestate movers decided the cost based on weight/volume and distance, there could be some additional charges. Be sure to check with your mover to know what kind of additional charges may apply to you.

Here are the Additional Charges –

• Walk up fee.
• Rise in fuel cost.
• Need of shuttle service.
• Packing and unpacking.
• If the labor need to cover a long distance from the truck to the house.
• If you need help with disassembly or reassembly of the furniture.

To make sure you don’t have to pay for anything unexpected, ask for a contract including details like –

1. Delivery address
2. Delivery time
3. Insurance coverage
4. The items that need to be moved
5. Charges all inclusive
6. The total cost

Take quotes from several movers before you finalize one. Quotes are offered for free. So don’t hesitate

Preference for Binding and Non Binding Estimates:
Options for both binding and non binding estimates will be presented. You would like to go for the binding estimate though.

Visual Estimate:
Request for on site estimate before you hire a service provider.Don’t hesitate to ask for multiple phone estimates and on site estimates.

Take everything into consideration to help the professionals make an accurate estimation. Take a quick look in the basement, attic, garden, garage and closets.

Make sure the professional has marked everything according to your specification. The estimate should include everything and if you change it at the last time, the cost will increase.

Communicate with your service provider to be sure about all sorts of service cost. The estimate should also include transportation cost.

Don’t get easily convinced if a random company offers the lowest estimate. Maybe the estimator didn’t see a heavy appliance like a washing machine. If he did, ask for a binding estimate in written.

Tipping the Mover:

It’s totally up to you. In general, depending on the nature of work and help offered, you may have to pay 7 – 12% of the total bill to a local mover and $3- $5 per hour to a long distance mover.

Deduct the Moving Expenses from The Tax:
If you need to move at the start of your new job or time of job transfer, expenses like lodging cost on a way to the new home, the cost of moving your personal belongings and other household goods, storage expenses etc
will come under deductions. Obviously not all expenses come under deduction. To be eligible for such privilege, you’ve to meet for two tests.

Time Test–
If you start working within 13 weeks of your move, and work for at least 39 weeks after you move, you’re eligible. As long as you’ve a full time job in the new location, does not matter whether it’s a new job or under the same old employer, you will get deductions.

Distance –
Your new job location must be minimum 50 miles from the old home than the old job was. If you didn’t have a job before, the new job must be 50 miles further from your old home.

Other Indispensable Criteria are –
Your move should shorter the commuting distance than it was earlier. Otherwise the IRS won’t allow the deduction. The time between your move and start of the job should not be more than a year Remember, expenses are deductible only in the year they are paid. You can’t deduct the reimbursed expenses. You can only if the reimbursement has been included in your wages. In case you’re self employed, you’ve to work for 78 weeks during the first 2 years. For a married couple, who file a joint return, only one can meet the time test. Plus, you don’t need to meet the time test if –

1. You’re in an active armed force and the move was due to the permanent change of station.

2. If your job in the new place ends unexpectedly because of death, disability, a layoff except a misconduct or your had to transfer for your employer’s benefit.

3. You had to move to the U.S from outside the U.S because you’re retired, or the surviving spouse, you’re a dependent of a person who died when living and working outside the U.S and you’ve moved within 6 months of that person’s death.