Moving home can often prove to be extremely costly and you may be wondering the best way to keep costs down. Renting or buying has so many financial outlays that so many people forget about the financial cost of actually moving your possessions – from the cost of packaging, the changing of providers and hiring a moving vehicle or firm.

However there are many ways to make a house move cheaper. You do not want to pay any last minute fees or have to pay out for items that have unfortunately been damaged in your move. These are just a few ways you can make moving house cheaper.

If you book early enough, you may be able to get a really good price. Make sure to compare the prices of a few different removal companies and see whether they offer any affordable extra services such as packing or key waivers. The more you can get for your money, the better.

By booking in advance, you will know that this part of the move is already sorted.

To avoid anything going wrong on the day, plan everything in advance. This includes asking the removal service you are using if they offer any extra services such as a late key waiver – you don’t want to be paying more money if you cannot get into your new home straight away.

You will want to plan the route to find the best possible way to avoid any traffic or rush hour and you will want to work out the best time of day to make the move.

You will also need to get all of your packing done before the big moving day – if you start far enough in advance, you should be able to get it all done a few days before the actual move. You don’t want to be stressing about packing more items on the day! Make sure you pick up free cardboard boxes if you can to keep packing costs down. You can pick these up regularly from local shops and get them weeks in advance so you can start packing.

Many people choose to move on Mondays or Fridays because they have time to pack up before the move or unpack after. This means the other days of the working week tend to be a lot cheaper. With many people often choosing to book Mondays and Fridays off, you might find it easier to get the time off work, too, plus a day or two afterwards to get settled in your new home.

These days tend to be when removal companies are less busy too so it may be easier to get a slot or a cheaper price.

The less stuff you have to move, the cheaper the move will be. If there are any items that you no longer want, why not sell them? This will make your move smaller and cheaper but also put some money back into your pocket.

As long as they are in good condition, you should be able to sell your old stuff on various platforms such as eBay, Gumtree or even Facebook Marketplace. You should do this in advance of your move – some things may be awkward to move in a hurry and you need to also account for people who may not turn up.

There are many places you can sell your old possessions – one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure so why not fill your wallet?

If you don’t want to sell, you could always donate as you will still be clearing out some space from your home and making your move that little bit cheaper.

It might seem that moving everything yourself would be cheaper but sometimes a removal company is a much better bet. Once you have paid for a van, any specialist insurance premiums you might need plus packaging materials, the costs end up being pretty similar to that of a removal company or man with a van. Why wouldn’t you want to use that same amount of money and leave it to the professionals?

They will be covered by insurance, will be able to offer plenty of manpower and know exactly how to remove things safely without injuring themselves. They will be able to get you moved from A to B in a safe and efficient way without you having to do any of the hard labour. It can often work out more expensive to do it yourself.