3 Moving Day Mistakes That Can Cost You Money

Mr Move It All • May 22, 2023

Are you in the process of moving to a new home or apartment? If so, you may be dreading the upcoming task of moving all of your belongings. The process of packing and physically moving boxes can cause you to make some mistakes along the way. Some mistakes are more costly than others, with these three things potentially making your move more expensive.

Using Any Boxes

You may think that saving money on moving boxes will make your move cheaper in the long run. Unfortunately, your packing material could be what makes your move more expensive than what you intended.

Moving boxes are designed to protect your belongings and stack properly in your moving truck. The boxes are lightweight and will fit together like puzzle pieces, which helps them stack together so that they do not move in the back of a truck. If the moving boxes cannot move around, the content inside them are less likely to break.

In addition, those tightly packed moving boxes will allow you to fit more boxes onto the truck. This can save you money by requiring fewer trips because you will fit everything onto the truck the first time.

If you are on a tight budget, consider seeking out free or cheap moving boxes. People often post ads to get rid of their moving boxes once they are done with them. A used box can work as well as a new box.

Another mistake that can be made is thinking that the default moving insurance will be acceptable. Moving insurance is something that deserves a little bit of thought based on what you are moving.

When you hire professional movers, the service comes with some basic insurance on your belongings. Unfortunately, items are not valued in the way that is the most logical. If you do have an item that is damaged in transit, you would only receive compensation based on the weight of the item. With the ability to receive up to 60 cents per pound, this means you would receive far less than what the item is worth.

For example, a 50 pound television could only be worth $30 if damaged, which is clearly not enough money to cover the damage that could be caused to a TV. Evaluate what items you have and if you have expensive items that require additional coverage. Buying moving insurance from your moving company will protect you in the event that a high value item is damaged.

One thing to keep in mind is that your moving company may require that they pack your belongings for the insurance to be valid. This means it may be worth having the movers pack your big screen TV while you pack your soft, cheap, and durable items on your own.

Forgetting a Visual Estimate

Many moving companies will ask to come out to your home and provide a visual estimate, meaning that they see all your belongings first to more accurately gauge how much your move will cost. While the estimate is not the final price, skipping the estimate could cost you money.

You do not want your moving company underestimating the size of the moving truck that you need. If they cannot see all your stuff and gauge the right size truck that is necessary, your move could take longer than expected due to a round trip to pick up more of your stuff. When in doubt, get the bigger truck to avoid additional hours of labor where movers are traveling between homes.

Mr. Move It All can help you avoid all of these issues during your next residential move. Contact us for more help avoiding moving mistakes.

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