Our Top 8 Money Saving Tips For Moving House On A Budget

Moving house can be one of the most financially and emotionally stressful times in your life. Though there are plenty of ways to save time, money and ultimately move house stress-free and for cheap. At Moveall, we’ve seen the impact a poorly organised move can have on your wallet, so we’ve put together a quick guide with our top eight tips for keeping things cheap when you’re moving house (or office!)

Let’s jump straight in. 

1. Make A Thorough Moving Plan With A Timeline And Budget (And Do It Far In Advance)

As professional removalists, we’re all about organisation and planning. Call us biased and dramatic, but developing a thorough moving plan with a timeline, task list and a budget for your move is 100% necessary. 

It’s never too early to start developing your plan, and the earlier you get going, the better. 

Start by simply making a list or brainstorming all the considerations associated with your move. Start big, with the obvious things like packing, booking a removalist and connecting utilities at your new house. Then work your way down to all the small details, like defrosting the freezer, redirecting your mail or collecting spare keys from friends or family.

Now you’ve brain-dumped your every thought, organise them chronologically into a timeline and attach an estimated (or better yet, exact) cost to each task. Then use this to put together a budget. When it comes to budgets, the more detailed the better - remember to think about the little one-off costs like a replacement shower curtain for example, all those $5 will add up! 

Having this all laid out in advance allows you to find your bigger financial commitments and see if you can shop around or find an early-bird deal or a couple cheap items and save yourself a few bucks.

2. Book An Early-Bird Moving Day (For Cheap)

When it comes to moving house, it’s never too early to start planning, seeking quotes or packing. In fact if you’re reading this, you probably should have already started. Even if your move is a month, six months or a whole year away, getting organised early can save you hundreds, if not thousands. 

For example, if you’re planning to fill your new house with new furniture, hold off until purchasing until you’re able to have it delivered to your pad. Then donate or sell your current furniture before you move. That way you’ll save on removal costs as you won’t be requiring so much space on the truck. 

Getting organised early means you’re also more likely to secure a removalist for a week-day or off-peak period, which will also save you some dosh.  

3. Make A List Of Everything You Own

We know this one sounds a little neurotic, but make a list of everything in your home, garage and garden. 

When we say everything, we mean it. 

Beds, mattresses, bedside tables, bookshelves, artwork, chairs, chests of drawers, desks, dressing table, lamps, mirrors, pram, TVs, tallboys, toy boxes, wardrobes, dishwasher, fridge, kitchen table, microwave, dining table, dining chairs, lounges, bean bags, coffee tables, entertainment units, speakers, home offices, filing cabinets, office chairs, rugs, picture frames, brooms & mops, clothes baskets, clothes horse, dryer, ironing board, sewing machine, washing machine, vacuum cleaners, BBQ, outdoor tables & chairs, bikes, eskys, ladders, lawn mower, tool box, wheelbarrow, whipper snipper, treadmill, books, shoes, clothes, computers. 

Making an extensive and comprehensive list of all your belongings will achieve two things:

4. Declutter And Sell Your Unused Or Unwanted Items

There’s nothing quite like packing up all your earthly possessions and relocating them from one place to another to highlight just how much stuff you have that you perhaps don’t need. 

Moving house is a great opportunity to sort through your belongings, both in the house and the garden and remove anything you no longer need or use. It’s best not to kid yourself, you’re only rediscovering your card-making kit after five years as you’re packing it into a moving box, chances are you’re not going to use it once you arrive at your new home. Same goes with the treadmill or pool table in the rumpus room, which since the kids moved out they both just collect dust. 

As you sort through your things, create three groups - items to sell, items to donate and anything that just needs binning. When it comes to donating, remember that coats, blankets and baby clothes are always in high demand at your local charities, no matter what the time of year.

With anything you think might be good enough to sell, try posting an ad on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree or Ebay - just remember to give yourself plenty of time to sell the items before you move. 

Alternatively, if you have a fair bit to sell and want to go a little more analog, why not have a garage sale! 

 5. Make A Meal Plan For Moving Week

Wasting food is one of the quickest and easiest ways you can burn money. Making a simple and cheap meal plan for the 7-10 days before you move, using things that are already in your kitchen is a great way to save money and avoid unnecessary waste when you’re moving house. 

By running your cupboards and your fridge-freezer empty, you’ll save money by not having to throw away any food that gets defrosted or a little too warm during your move. Depending on how much you can run down, you might end up saving a little space on the moving truck - which we all know is going to help you with your bottom line! 

6. Source Cheap/Free Packing Materials

If you’re not careful, purchasing all-new packing materials like bubble wrap, moving blankets, scrunch paper and moving boxes could add up to become one big expense. Instead, think cheap and try your hand at sourcing free packing materials! This works especially well for packing resources such as moving boxes or packing paper.

We’d recommend asking for free packing materials from: 

• Supermarkets, like IGA or Woolworths
• Green grocer
• Home improvement / DIY stores, like Bunnings  
• Friendly tradesman
• Your local school
• Shout-out to friends on social media
• Fast-food restaurants
• Recycling centre

Always ask first and be polite when sourcing free packaging materials, you might feel a little shy or awkward, but just remember free packing materials are likely to save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars! 

7. Compare Utilities And Redirect Your Mail

Moving house is an opportunity to reassess what you’re spending on bills and shop around for your utilities at your place. By starting early and doing proper research, you’re likely to find a cheap deal on things like electricity, gas, internet and home insurance. There are experts who can help you find the best deal out there or you could use a comparison site like Compare The Market to help with your search. 

Get ahead of the curve and save yourself from potential fines for delayed payment or missed bills and redirect your mail with Australia Post for the first 6-12 months while you change your address across the board. 

8. Start Packing, Now

Okay, this last tip might be a bit of a cop-out, but starting packing straight away is a great way to save money. The quicker you get on top of sorting through and packing away your non-essential items the easier moving week is going to be. An easy moving week means less time and money spent on removal fees = a cheap house move.

If you’re unsure about what you pack away in advance, think about seasonal items like Christmas decorations and your summer wardrobe or unused counter-top appliances buried in the pantry. Any headstart you can give yourself is bound to save you and your removalists time and money when it comes to the big day. 

Time To Move House For Cheap

Now we’ve empowered with the knowledge of moving house on a budget, it’s time to start putting these eight easy tips into practice. If you’re unsure about anything you’ve read in this article or have any questions about how to make your upcoming relocation a little easier, please Get In Touch with our friendly customer care team, we’d be delighted to help.