Friday, March 21, 2008

Moving on the Cheap...your answers to my dilemma!


So last week I asked for your input on how to move across the country as inexpensively as possible. In case there are others who need this info, I thought I would compile your most excellent advice for today's Frugal Friday! It also happens that I had to work an extra day this week, so I don't have a lot of time to think of new frugal ideas tonight;)

Here are your tips for moving frugally:

1. ABF UPack was mentioned as a less expensive alternative to UHaul by Samara and April. It looks like this option would save us up to $500. We also would not be responsible for driving the truck with this option, they show up on your doorstep! You can pay for square footage with this option and April had the great idea to tape off the equivalent square footage in your home (corresponding to the amount of space you want to pay for).

2. Penske: this is also a cheaper option for us than UHaul and the equivalent and was mentioned by readers Sue and Mrs. Byers

3. Moving by Freight Train can also be a cheap option, says Martha, if you don't need to move a lot of furniture.

4. CC says her family found that using a POD or something similar worked well for them and was a less expensive option.

5. Ask friends to see if they know someone who has a truck and wants to go on a trip if you pay for the gas!

6. Have lots of yard sales and move less stuff!

Thank you for all the great suggestions last week...I hope this helps someone else as it will help us soon!

3 comments:

Erica Byers said...

How funny you posted this today! Last night while I was washing dishes you popped into my mind...your moving dilemma really. I thought, why not pack some of the seasonal items; clothes, kitchen tools you may only use at the winter holidays, a few decorations etc. into labeled, reasonable sized boxes and have a family member or friend send them parcel post when you would need those items. I know I sent a rather large and heavy box cross country last year for around $25, and amazingly the postal service was a lot cheaper than UPS or FedEx. Just another idea. You might even realize you don't need some of the things once you get there and can lighten the load even further.

Jenna said...

When using ABF (as my husband and I did this past fall when moving from Virginia and Colorado) make sure that you have some place to park and leave an 18 foot trailer! As we were moving from an apartment complex this got us a little worried, because at first they told us we couldn't park it in the parking lot (and then eventually conceded). Just an FYI.

Martha A. said...

Hope you got it figured out!