Can You Afford Professional Movers or When DIY Moving Is Just Not Worth It
Cost of Professional Movers vs DIY Moving.
Does it really save you money if you do the moving yourself? Is hiring a reputable moving company really worth it? Hidden costs of DIY moving.
Everyone is trying to save money these days and uses every opportunity to do that. Moving is usually associated with spending money, a lot of money. Be it shelling out the majority of your life time savings for a down payment on a house you just bought, or having to pay several months worth of rent and security deposits when signing a lease on a new rental home. Most people are usually stressed out about spending an extra dollar by the time moving day comes around. It is in hopes to save money that many decide to go for DIY moving, because a price tag for hiring a moving company looks intimidating.
Moving Day Challenges
It’s pretty common for people to throw their belongings in trash bags and move smaller miscellaneous items themselves by doing multiple trips with their car even ahead of their actual moving day, while enlisting friends and family’s help to move furniture and larger items with a rental truck.
When you finally set down the last piece of furniture or last box on the floor of your beautiful new home after a long and exhausting day of moving, you still have to try to figure out what to feed the kids for dinner and how to gather the last few bits of energy to assemble their beds (assuming you still know where your tools are) so that they can finally go to sleep and this horrible day may be over. That’s when you promise yourself to never move again. Ever.
The next morning doesn’t get much better – your poor body is beyond hurting, yet you still need to assemble rest of the furniture, unpack essentials and prepare to resume your normal life in time when Monday rolls around and a busy new work week begins. We have all been there, haven’t we? At that moment you are probably asking yourself – so was it all worth it? Determined to prove to yourself that it indeed saved you money, you frantically do the math only to find out that maybe it was really not worth it after all.
DIY moving comes with some hidden costs that you might not know or think of until after the move, when you’re all spent and tired and it is too late to change anything.
Hidden Costs of DIY Moving
We have included 5 most commonly overlooked hidden costs of DIY Moving right here for you.
1. Cost of Renting a Truck Cost of truck rental will depend on the company you rent from, as well as the size of the truck needed to accommodate your belongings. Beware – you need to consider the truck size very carefully! You always have more stuff than you think you do, and never know just how much stuff you have until you are done packing and loading it on the truck. If you end up with a smaller truck then turns out you needed, you will have to make multiple trips and depending on how far apart your old and new homes are, that will take extra time out of your already long and tiring day.
2. Cost of Gas You will need gas for the truck and depending on distance, it might cost you quite a bit as trucks use significantly more gas than your regular car. If you’re also moving smaller items with your own car driving back and forth many times, count in the gas for your own car as well. Cost of gas is the most overlooked DIY moving expense, which can in fact add up.
3. Cost of Potential Injuries That could easily outweigh any potential saving benefits of DIY moving. Unless you are in a super great physical shape and have had some safety training in lifting and carrying bulky heavy items (and prepared to be doing that all day long), chances are you will put your foot down the wrong way at some point, strain your muscles or use your back to lift that armoire and injure your back. Endurance and safety training are extremely important if you ought to be moving furniture yourself. Back injuries are extremely dangerous and require lengthy and expensive treatment, which still won’t guarantee a 100% recovery and might warrant repeat treatments for the years to come. Think also of the stress that DIY moving will bring along, from having to beg your friends to help out to maneuvering the huge moving truck on the highway which can be quite challenging and tricky, enough to stress one out before the moving day is even over.
4. Cost of Repairs and Replacements If you and your friends are inexperienced movers, you may scratch and damage both furniture and walls/floors. Cost of repairing those items might far outweigh any potential savings you so desperately counted on. Reputable movers always adhere to best practice of furniture and property protection, using specialized rug runners, furniture pads and doorway covers to make sure nothing gets damaged.
5. Cost of Your Time Even when hiring professional movers, you will need to do some planning for moving day to go smoothly. Coordinating the whole move yourself is going to take a lot of planning. You’ll need to figure out the logistics of arranging for the rental truck and your helpers, find the way to properly load the moving truck so everything fits and nothing breaks etc. Moving itself can easily take up your entire day, especially since you probably won’t have handy moving essentials like tools, hand trucks, dollies, moving blankets and straps. And be prepared for unexpected like a bulky couch getting stuck in the doorway, which might leave you at a loss and waste a lot of your time. Trained movers assess potential trouble items and spots and use their skills and experience to address them before problems arise. Legitimate professional movers will be way more efficient saving you a lot of planning and moving hours.
Bottom Line & Our Advice
Deciding whether to hire professional movers or do the moving yourself will ultimately depend on your budget, distance between old and new homes, the size of your homes, involvement of stairs, the types of furniture you have, availability and willingness of your beefiest friends to help you out, as well as your own personality and physical ability.
While DIY moving might paint an attractive perspective of saving you some Benjamins, with lack of proper training and planning it might also easily turn into a huge regret, especially if it leads to injuries and property damage.
Our advice – do your homework, read reviews, check ratings and find a trustworthy professional local moving company. Avoid scams and rip-offs, make sure your movers are properly licensed and ensured before you hire them and hand over your precious belongings to essentially complete strangers. Do your research and find the best deal. Then stop worrying! When the moving day comes, spend time with your family and celebrate the excitement of moving into a new home and starting a new chapter in your life!
If you have any questions about your upcoming move, give us a call here at Potomac Moving Company at 888-505-3385 and get honest, straightforward advice from our professional, experienced and down right awesome team! Happy moving!
You can also check out the Frequently Asked Moving Questions Section on our website and browse the selection of our packing supplies. If you would like to know how much your move will cost, please submit the Moving Estimate Request and we will get back to with your personal quote right away!