Whether it’s across town, or across the country, moving costs money. Even if you can avoid hiring professionals, and can handle most of the moving chores yourself, you can expect to put a fair dent in your bank account. When money’s tight (and when isn’t it), you may be tempted to finance your big move by taking out a short term payday loan, or hitting up your family for a bit of ready cash. But even with that support the moving costs are going to add up. One of the biggest expenses people face when they move is the cost of transportation. But there are ways to keep your moving day transportation costs under control. All it takes is a little forethought, and some attention to detail.

Call on Your Friends and Neighbors

Renting a moving van can be expensive, and one of the best ways to save a bit of money on your big move is to avoid renting a truck or van all together. That means calling on your friends and family for a bit of timely help. Friends with trucks and vans are a real boon when it comes to helping you move, although even a family hatchback can help to make the process cheaper and easier. Of course, calling on friends and neighbors only works if your move is local, and if you will only need to make a few short trips to complete the move. Remember, you have to figure in fuel costs. So if the distance is too great, or you will need a few vehicles to make half a dozen trips, it may be cheaper to rent a drive-it-yourself moving van.

Moving Van Rental

Self drive van rentals offer a significant savings over hiring a professional moving firm. Still, even rental vans can be expensive, particularly if you are going to need to keep the vehicle for more than a day. But there are a few tips that can help you save money on your moving van rental. First, most people move at the end of the month, to coincide with the end of their current lease. This is a high traffic time for rental firms, and they will have no incentive to make deals with their customers. However, if you can plan your move for the middle of the month, when the firm has a fleet of vehicles standing idle, you will have a better chance of getting a discount on the rental fees. Similarly, most moves are managed over a weekend. Try to plan your move on a weekday. Chances are the rental firm will have a greater number of vehicles to choose from, and may be able to negotiate a better rate.

Save on Fuel Costs

Whether you’ve rented a van or you and your friends are using your own vehicles, you will be responsible for all of the fuel costs. Depending on the distance you will be traveling, and how many trips you will have to make, that can add up to a fair amount of money. To keep your fuel costs down, plan your trip ahead of time. Use an online map service, like Mapquest or Google Maps, to plan the route you are going to take. This will help you find the shortest, and most fuel efficient route. Also, because most online map services are updated regularly, planning your route ahead of time will help you to avoid any road work that might slow you down or cause any unwanted detours.

There’s no way around it, moving house costs money. But it doesn’t have to break the bank. If you think ahead, and make the right money saving decisions, you can complete your move without emptying out your bank account.