The Hidden Costs To Moving Yourself: What You Don’t Think About

For your upcoming move, you have looked into moving with a professional. After obtaining quotes from a couple of moving companies, you saw a sign to rent a truck at what seemed like a reasonable $19.95. You look at your quotes again, and decide, “hey, I can do this myself with help from some of my friends. After all, who doesn’t like helping friends move?” As moving day closes in, some of your friends get in touch with you, letting you know that they had actually made prior commitments that they forgot about. One had forgotten that he had committed to rubbing his grandma’s feet, another had forgotten about his upcoming exam. As you get closer to move day, you begin to see some of the hidden costs to moving yourself.

As you prepare for your upcoming move, make sure that you understand the hidden costs to moving yourself. Some of the hidden costs to moving yourself are:

Time commitment

One of the hidden costs to moving yourself is your time. While you not only need to pack everything up (which can take a couple of weeks for the average family with full-time parents), you need to prepare your home for the move (remove doors, railings etc.), you also need to disassemble furniture and other pieces that won’t move safely as they currently are. This could be things such as beds, desks, entertainment units etc. On top of that, you also need to load everything up, drive to your new home, and then unload everything and set everything up. After that is done, you need to return the truck, so that you won’t incur another day of rental fees.

Truck rental costs

This cost of renting the truck may not be a hidden cost to moving yourself, but the other costs associated with renting a truck aren’t necessarily advertised. Some of those costs include fuel, and mileage. Some of the other costs that can be added onto those are costs for not returning the truck clean, or with less fuel than you started with. Another factor to consider, is if you have underestimated the amount of things to move. After all, you aren’t a professional. You don’t necessarily know what you’re looking for. If you rent the wrong sized truck, it can amount to a longer rental period from having to make multiple trips, which can lengthen the moving timeline out to a couple of days instead of just one, as well as more fuel.

Time away from work

One of the possible hidden costs to moving yourself is loss of income, or vacation days due to taking time off work to deal with your move. This of course depends where you are moving from and to. If you’re moving to another province, this may be a real obstacle. You’ll need to factor in time spent pickup up the truck, loading the truck, driving to the destination, unloading, setting up, and then returning the truck. This is a factor that can be easily overlooked, but can certainly be felt.

Personal injuries

No one wants to get hurt moving, but if you haven’t moved someone before, or haven’t done it in a while your body isn’t used to it. While awareness to lifting techniques isn’t a secret, it can often be forgotten. During the chaos of moving, you aren’t necessarily thinking of the proper way of lifting articles of furniture or boxes. You are trying to grab things and go, and that’s when injuries can happen. Injuries can be an unwanted hidden cost to moving yourself, but can be a reality that you may be faced with.

Damage

Another one of the unwanted hidden costs to moving yourself is damage. Unlike a moving company, you cannot simply file a claim when something is damaged. The situation can become tricky if friends are helping you out and damage articles of furniture or the residence. You can’t really ask them for money to repair the items, or to repair your home, because they are helping you out. Once again, this is one of the unwanted costs to moving yourself, but can become a reality if a box is dropped, or if somethings slips out of their hands carrying it out of or into your home.

Reliability of labour

As with our example in the introduction, giving up your weekend to help friends move isn’t necessarily something that most people want to do. While you may think you have reliable friends, helping other move may not be at the top of their priority list. One of the hidden costs to moving yourself is certainly reliability. While you may have been in touch with and gotten confirmation from 4 or 5 people to help, they may not all show up on moving day, or they may come up with excuses why they can’t help out at the last minute. This can certainly take it’s toll on those helping out as well as your body, as you are left to move more.

While moving seems simple, and professionals may make it look easy, it is important to also remember that they typically have the right equipment to preform the job. You may not have access to a two-wheeler, a dolly, or moving straps. These items help make the move easier, and can expedite the moving process. For example, carrying an old fridge or freezer out of the basement can be tricky, especially if you don’t have the right equipment. Not having the right equipment can certainly be another one of the hidden costs to moving yourself, as it can not only take longer to move things, but also cause you to get hurt from lifting things awkwardly. As you prepare for your upcoming move, make sure to consider some of these hidden costs before deciding the best way for you to move. Make sure to check out these tips on how to make your move day flow smoother.

If you are looking for help on your upcoming move, make sure to give Palmerston a call. No matter where you are moving to, Quick Transfer can help. Whether you’re moving to the other side of town, if you’re moving to another province, or another country, Quick Transfer has the expertise and ability to help make your move stress free. Make sure to give Quick Transfer a call for any of your upcoming moving needs!

 

Origin : istanbulescort