The Costs To Consider In Your Interstate Moving Budget

Moving can be quite expensive, especially if you are moving long-distance. Failing to prepare financially can result in spending more money than you actually have. For this reason, it is extremely important to prepare your moving budget on time. When you have everything prepared on time, you can approximately see how much money you will spend on your relocation. This will help you tremendously not only to save money but also not to go over your budget. However, how can you prepare your budget? You need to know how to properly prepare your budget before you hire Best Long Distance Movers, pack your items, and send everything to your new address. Therefore, here are all the costs to consider in your interstate moving budget.  

What is an interstate move? 

There is a reason why an interstate move is more expensive than a local one. Every move that crosses the state lines is considered an interstate move. even if you are moving from New York to New Jersey State, it will be seen as an interstate move. In this case, you will have to hire the best long distance movers in New Jersey for your relocation. Even though these two states are close by, you still need to find long-distance movers. Of course, it is going to be more affordable when compared to some other states for example moving from New York to California. This is one of the reasons why it is hard to prepare for an interstate relocation. Since your belongings will be crossing the state lines, you need to pack everything properly. This is especially challenging if you plan to move your entire household. 

The average moving cost of a long-distance relocation 

As mentioned, the cost of a long-distance relocation will largely depend on where you are going and how many items you are moving. For example, if you are moving around 7000 pounds and an average distance is around 1200 miles, your move would probably cost around $5000. Of course, this would also depend on what type of moving services you plan to use. The reason why an interstate move tends to be more expensive than a local move would be the way they calculate the moving costs. Local movers tend to charge by the hour while long distance movers in New York charge based on the weight of your shipment when crossing the state line. Even though $5000 might sound a lot, this is the average price for a long-distance relocation. If you find something cheaper, it is probably a moving scam. 

How is the moving cost calculated? 

There are three main factors that will affect your final moving cost. These would be the following. 

• The weight of your household belongings 
• The distance between your old and new house 
• Labor costs 

It is not the same if you are planning to move a one-room apartment or a house with four rooms. It is almost impossible that a person living in one small apartment would have the same number of items as a person living in a huge house. However, it also depends on the number of items you plan to move. If you plan to move your entire household, it is going to be more expensive than just moving a couple of necessities. As for the distance, if you are moving to Los Angeles with the best long distance movers in California from Florida, it is going to be more expensive because of the mileage. 

Decide what you want to do with packing 

The next thing that will affect your final price would be packing. When you hire long distance movers in Florida for your relocation to Miami, you can choose to pack your items by yourself or have movers do everything. There is a huge difference if you do the packing or if professionals do it instead. First, most people believe that it would be less expensive if they do everything alone. This is not exactly false but only if you know what to do and how to do it properly. Since this is a long-distance relocation, you need to properly pack your items in order to ensure their safety during a long trip. If you fail to do this, you can cause huge damage to your items. Since you were the one packing your items, you will also be the one responsible for replacing or repairing all the damaged items. 

The costs to consider in your interstate moving budget related to travel fees 

One of the reasons behind your final cost would be the distance between your original starting point and your destination. The greater the distance, the more expensive your relocation will be. You have to consider your travel fees. When you contact the best long distance movers in Minnesota, you should ask them about the travel fees policy. Usually, before you sign a moving contract, you should read that document extremely carefully. Renting a truck for your relocation is also not the most affordable solution. You might think that you can save money if you rent a truck as opposed to using a professional driver and the moving truck. However, you will have to pay for gas as well as for other things when you rent a truck. In addition to this, you also need to know how to properly drive such a huge truck containing your personal items. 

Liability and valuation coverage 

You also need to consider getting moving insurance. Since you are moving to Austin with the best long distance movers in Texas, it is important to properly insure here items. There are several reasons behind this. First of all, if you are moving valuable and fragile items, it is important to have proper insurance. Then, since the distance between your two houses is quite big, you can never predict the weather and road conditions. For this reason, it is better to be prepared in advance. According to federal law, every Interstate moving company is required to provide customers with two different evaluation coverage options. The first one would be full value protection and the second one is released value protection. Full value protection is better since movers will need to either replace items or reimburse you with money for the items’ current value. 

Third-party insurance 

If you are moving extremely valuable items away, you should consider getting third-party insurance. As mentioned before, moving companies are offering two types of insurance. Full value protection should be enough for most of your items. However, if you are moving items of great sentimental value, then, this might not be enough. Released value protection is not enough for sure since it will cover only half of the current value of your items. How to get third-party insurance? You can ask movers for suggestions. You should also check if your current homeowner’s insurance will cover your items during the relocation. This will be more expensive as you are getting third-party insurance. For this reason, you need to consider this possibility when you are preparing your moving budget. 

Do you want to store your items? 

Usually, when you’re moving long-distance, it can be extremely convenient to rent a storage unit. As you might know, there can be many complications when it comes to a long-distance move. For example, your new house is still not ready but you have to move out. In this case, you need to find a place where you can keep your items until you can move in. You can hardly ask your friends or family members to help you out with this. Almost no one has enough space to accommodate another household. For this reason, it is better to rent a storage unit. However, you need to consider this option as well when calculating your moving budget. It is also important to notify your long distance movers in Massachusetts if you plan to store your items. This way, movers can directly deliver your items to your storage unit. 

Be aware of subcontractors 

When you want to hire the best long distance movers in South Carolina, you need to ask a couple of important questions. First of all, you need to ask if they outsource certain aspects of their job. This means they will hire subcontractors along the way. Subcontractors are not full-time employees but rather there are sometimes higher by moving companies to handle a certain part of the move. Even though this doesn’t seem like it would be a problem, subcontractors are not bound by the same rules and policies as movers. For this reason, it is better to avoid a moving company if they are relying on subcontractors. It is acceptable in cases that you are moving items requiring special skills. However, if a moving company is using subcontractors for standard services, you should find another one. 

Moving scams are more common than you think 

When you need to prepare for an interstate move, you should be able to trust your movers completely. In order to do this, you need to hire a reliable moving company. Unfortunately, there are plenty of moving companies that are ready to scam you. The good news would be that you can check their reputation, reliability, and credentials before hiring them. Every single Interstate moving company needs to have a proper license. They also need to receive a USDOT number that you can use to check all the things mentioned above. Visit the FMCSA’s website and use the search engine located right under the “Search Movers & Complaint History”. then, you can also visit Better Business Bureau to check ratings and reviews for several moving companies that you are interested in. If a moving company has all the proper licenses and decent ratings, you can hire them. 

The costs to consider in your interstate moving budget and how to save money 

There are several ways how you can save money when moving long-distance. First of all, you can join AAA. Those with an AAA membership can receive moving and storage discounts. Then, you can pack your items by yourself. Hiring a professional moving company will certainly save time and energy since you won’t pack anything by yourself. However, it will not save you money. You will have to pay at least a few extra hundred of dollars. You can save money if you decide to pack your household items by yourself. In order to speed up the process, you can also ask your friends and family members to help you. The only problem with this would be your ability to pack your items. If something happens to your items because of your packing skills, you will be held liable. 

Decluttering would be your lifesaver 

The best way to cut down your moving costs would be to move a smaller number of your items. You can achieve this if you declutter your household before packing. You should move only items that you are going to use over and over again. Items that you haven’t used at least in the last six months should not be moved. there are several options when it comes to decluttered items. First of all, you can try to sell your items if you have enough time and energy. Then, you can also give certain items to your friends or family members. In addition to this, you can also donate your items. Make sure to ask for a receipt because you can be eligible for tax reduction. Lastly, you need to throw away all the items that are in bad condition or not reusable again. 

Choose the right moving date 

Your moving date can affect the final price of your relocation. This will help you when it comes to all the costs to consider in your interstate moving budget. It is always going to be more expensive to move during the summer. Since most people move during the summer months, there is a bigger demand for moving services. This means that you can hardly find a moving company to book unless you do it at least six weeks in advance. For this reason, you should move either in late fall, winter, or early spring. You can also get better discounts during this period. Contact us today to find just the right movers for you.