This is a guest post.
Moving can be a drain on the pocket, particularly when it’s a long-distance move that involves criss crossing state lines.
While the actual figure you part with will depend on the size of your move and distance being covered, cross-country moves average north of $2,000 when hiring professional long distance movers, a figure that could even rise to $5,000.
Good thing is, as with most things in life, there are always cheaper alternatives at your disposal.
Provided it’s convenient for you, here are the 5 cheapest ways to move across the country.
- Using a portable moving container
A portable moving container provides for one of the most cost effective ways to move across the country, and it comes with a myriad of benefits to boot.
When you hire a moving container, you have the choice to keep it on-site for an extended period as you load your possessions at your own pace and unpack slowly when you get to your new place, allowing you time to settle in.
That reduces the anxiety of moving as it eliminates the mad rush associated with a move, which is a benefit in itself.
Add the fact that a cross-country trip could set you back $2,000 in total on average (for a full month) and you have a good reason to opt for this option. Plus, all you’ll need to do is load the container and leave the rest to the transport company.
- Hire a moving truck
Renting a moving truck is another option that allows you to make an interstate move on the cheap.
This is a more hands-on option that involves doing the packing and driving yourself after you rent the moving truck from one of the many providers across the country.
By so doing, you save the money that could have gone into labor were you to be accompanied by the company driver – and even more savings on packing costs had you opted for a full-service move that sees the mover handling the packing on your behalf.
With a rental truck, it’s possible to budget as you’ll have a fixed price to work with, and there are many tips you can borrow from the web on how to accurately budget out your costs.
What’s more, if you love a good drive, there are few better options than a cheap truck rental.
- Ship your items
You’ll find plenty of shipping providers online who are willing to bid on your shipment once you’ve established what needs to be shipped, the number of boxes and so on.
This option can save you a considerable amount of money by making the cost of the shipment transparent if you have the time and flexibility to wait on bids.
However, also worth noting is that this choice is more ideal for when you don’t have that many possessions to ship as it is not the best for transporting large furniture and fragile items.
You can also opt to use the likes of USPS, FedEx, or UPS if you’re talking a small amount of belongings.
- Use a freight trailer
A freight trailer is a hassle-free option that gives you plenty of wiggle room, minimizing not just the stress of moving, but also your moving expenses.
The freight company drops off a trailer at your place, upon which you have three days to load it up with whatever items you intend to move, before they come to pick it up and haul it to your new place.
The loading will be subject to the freight company’s guidelines – for example, ensuring the weight is balanced, making sure the freight is fastened securely etc.
The average cost of using a freight trailer will vary from one company to the next, but expect to fork out in the region of $3,000 or thereabouts.
- Avoid peak times
Look, just because you’re opting for a moving company doesn’t mean you should expect to pay through the nose. In case you didn’t know, moving company rates tend to fluctuate depending on the time of year (and days of the month and week).
The warmer months are peak moving season and costs tend to be high during this time as families are trying to get settled before the start of the new school calendar.
Same case goes with end months – leases expire around this time so there are more people searching for movers. The same applies to weekends as well, particularly towards the end of the month.
Avoid these times and you can expect to pay significantly less in moving costs. Much less.
Great tips for a move across country or across the street. I definitely will keep this in mind if I ever want to move and sell my house.
It definitely could be hard I’d say, but nice to see some great tips for sure.
We’ve had to do this a few times being a military family. You have some great advice here! We always used movers since the military pays for it.
That’s nice that they’re able to pay for that. Every bit helps for sure.
I’ve never thought about transporting anything with a freight trailer. That’s a really good idea! Great options here.
Right! I thought so too.
I hope I never have to move across country because it seems very expensive. I do like the freight trailer option.
Agreed too. I’d love to move down South though.
We are thinking about moving down south and wondered about shipping. That part seems so stressful and daunting because that’s like my whole life on a truck!
I agree. I am thinking of moving myself. I want to be where it’s warmer.
All suggestions are valid. All depends on personal situation and the amount of “stuff” they’re wiling to leave behind and take with them.
Yes, for sure.
I love using portable container. It’s so useful.. Thanks for the tips.
I agree. They’re nice.
Great article. These are really some of the factors that may affect how much we could spend on moving in or out. Thanks for sharing!
Of course! Glad to be of some help.
It helps to read these tips to find ways to save money when moving across the country. I might be doing this although not for a few years yet.
Yes, I agree. I thought they were really helpful too.
I moved a lot as a kid and it was never very organized. These days I plan everything and these tips would be very much appreciated for our next move.
I’m glad they are helpful.
These are great tips! I moved across the country before and it can be taxing on not only your wallet but on you as a person.
Yes, it sure can. Very expensive.
Those are some great tips to keep in mind. Wish I knew some of these before we moved few months ago.
Yes, for sure.
Great advise! This would be such a stressful move! Saving yourself some financial stress would help so much!
I completely agree as well.
We used a portable moving container when we did it & that worked really well!
That’s great! Glad it worked for you.
These are such great tips! We have moved across the country 3 times. Hire movers was super helpful.
Glad to hear they were helpful.
These are really helpful tips! Moving across country is such a huge dilemma but thank you for giving us these idea.
Yes, for sure.
We are moving partially soon, my son and husband will move across the country and I will stay until I find a job there, so this is so useful for us, thanks for sharing
Of course. I’m glad it could be useful.
These are good tips to consider. We had relatives move cross country and it was so expensive. Plus, when they got to their new home, they ended up getting rid of a ton of furniture.
Yes, it definitely can get expensive for sure.
These ae great tips, yes we moved 3 states in the country from east to west and then to south.
It sure can be a lot when moving.
These are all great tips for moving. Thank you for sharing them. Thank goodness I have never done a big move however my husband is in the military so we may have to one day!
No problem. I’m glad they can be helpful to some.
Great tips. I actually hadn’t realized there was a seasonality to moving until I moved recently. Moving can be expensive and these tips help reduce the costs. Thanks.
Yes, it sure can get expensive.