Moving on a Budget?

[GottaLuvMickey]

My husband has been trying to get a transfer with his company to their Dallas office for the last year but nothing was happening. Well, he came home last night and said we're going in January!!! Problem is, I've been on unemployment so we're hurting for money. Anyone know of a good way to move from Phoenix to Dallas on the cheap? I've only moved (like, with a truck and stuff) once and it was from New Mexico to here, with a U-Haul. I am thinking maybe those companies that leave the storage box at your house and you load it and then they haul it? That way I can pack on my own time schedule... Anyway, does anyone know of any good, budget friendly, companies to use for a move like this?

Also, any Disers in the Dallas area? DH's office is in the north east part of town, near Richardson. We'll be looking for a house to rent. Anyone have suggestions of areas to look at or areas to avoid?

THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[Sarahlovy]

A truck to move it yourself (UHaul, Budget) is probably going to be your cheapest option. I moved with ABF (in a portable container) for a similar distance to what you are moving, and it was basically $1000 for one container. We only needed one because we had almost no furniture that we were moving with us. I think now with a not very full three bedroom house we would need 3 or more containers.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

That was going to be one of my other questions - we have a 3 bedroom house, but don't have much furniture. A queen size bed, a twin size bed, 2 dressers, dining room table, smallish entertainment center and 4 tvs. I plan to get rid of everything else before we move. I know we spent about $500 on the truck when we moved here and then spent a couple hundred on gas for it also... Luckily, my in-laws live between here and Dallas, so our overnight stay while we're moving will at least be free!

So you think I'd probably need 2 or 3 of those storage boxes? :-/

 

[Sarahlovy]

I would think you would still need two or three- we literally had 3 small book shelves, a kitchen table (that came apart) and just stuff on top of it and we were full. The second or 3rd unit would have been cheaper- I think $300 a piece after the first one. It really was super convenient, but for a house full of stuff not as cost effective if you can drive. Also, I think we only got 2 days to load it, then would have had to pay extra a day if we wanted to extend. We had to unload our cube at their facility because of where we lived, but I think we got three days of access on that end.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

FWIW, we moved some stuff from MN to ME. We had a size up from the smallest truck and it was around $1100 for a one week rental (shortest they had, though DH did the trip in 2 days.) Gas extra, of course. We had a piano, dresser, couple small tables in there with a bunch of boxes. (Roughly 2 rooms of furniture.)

Call around- Uhaul was the most expensive. Penske would have been the cheapest, but there was not a drop off where we needed to drop off. Budget was right in the middle. We got a discount from the change of address flyers at the post office. (We weren't moving, just used the coupon.)

 

[IUTBAM]

Plano (just north of Richardson) would be a good place to look for a rental.

 

[disneyofcourse]

My last move on the budget included selling everything I owned(Except the pets!) on craigslist. Put my clothing in the car along with the pets,electronics and some plants and went cross-country. I arrived at the new place and just bought new and bought from craigslist. I spent less than the lowest moving budget to move and buy everything new again.

 

[angierae]

I would think you would still need two or three- we literally had 3 small book shelves, a kitchen table (that came apart) and just stuff on top of it and we were full. The second or 3rd unit would have been cheaper- I think $300 a piece after the first one. It really was super convenient, but for a house full of stuff not as cost effective if you can drive. Also, I think we only got 2 days to load it, then would have had to pay extra a day if we wanted to extend. We had to unload our cube at their facility because of where we lived, but I think we got three days of access on that end.

We used ABF and between DD and I (and things like a dining room table and two beds and my desk and living room furniture) we only used up 10 square feet. The difference may be that we hired movers on the one end to pack it, and they were much, much better at using up all available space than I would have. I paid $500 for ABF to move my stuff from Nashville to north of Detroit, and then paid $150 on each end for Two Men and a Truck to load/unload.

 

[jedijill]

I've found that PODS are more expensive than renting a truck. I was looking into budget ways to move from Missouri to Colorado a few years ago. I got lucky and my new job paid me a moving allowance.

Get rid of everything!!!! You can buy new when you get there! Craigslist is your friend. Get moving boxes from Craigslist or stores. I bought two sets of brand new box sets from Costco for my last move and it was nice to have brand new boxes ($90 for two sets) and I augmented with some dishpacks from U-Haul since I have a large and heavy collection of dishware.

Don't rent something sight unseen! If you can afford it, either fly to Dallas for the weekend to house hunt or stay at an extended stay place so you don't rush into a house. it's worth staying in an apartment for awhile until you find a house. I stayed in an apartment here for 3 years until I really got to know the area and found the neighborhood I eventually rented a house in. I wouldn't have known about it at the time I was moving.

HTH and good luck!

Jill in Co

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

I've found that PODS are more expensive than renting a truck. I was looking into budget ways to move from Missouri to Colorado a few years ago. I got lucky and my new job paid me a moving allowance.

Get rid of everything!!!! You can buy new when you get there! Craigslist is your friend. Get moving boxes from Craigslist or stores. I bought two sets of brand new box sets from Costco for my last move and it was nice to have brand new boxes ($90 for two sets) and I augmented with some dishpacks from U-Haul since I have a large and heavy collection of dishware.

Don't rent something sight unseen! If you can afford it, either fly to Dallas for the weekend to house hunt or stay at an extended stay place so you don't rush into a house. it's worth staying in an apartment for awhile until you find a house. I stayed in an apartment here for 3 years until I really got to know the area and found the neighborhood I eventually rented a house in. I wouldn't have known about it at the time I was moving.

HTH and good luck!

Jill in Co

Problem is - We don't really own anything of value! It's of value to us because it's our furniture, but I can't see anyone paying more than $100 TOTAL for the stuff we could sell. That's what we wanted to do when we moved from Las Cruces NM to Phoenix 5 years ago, but the in-laws bought us a dining room table for Christmas!

We can't stay in a hotel or an apartment - we have 3 dogs and a 3 year old. That sounds like a recipe for disaster! DH is talking about possibly going out a month before DD & I and living with his cousin and finding us a place while I pack up here and then he'll fly back here for the move.

SO many things up in the air right now! LOL... I did just get a quote on the Penske site for a 16' truck for under $400. So even with gas, it'd be under $1,000....

 

[jedijill]

Problem is - We don't really own anything of value! It's of value to us because it's our furniture, but I can't see anyone paying more than $100 TOTAL for the stuff we could sell. That's what we wanted to do when we moved from Las Cruces NM to Phoenix 5 years ago, but the in-laws bought us a dining room table for Christmas!

We can't stay in a hotel or an apartment - we have 3 dogs and a 3 year old. That sounds like a recipe for disaster! DH is talking about possibly going out a month before DD & I and living with his cousin and finding us a place while I pack up here and then he'll fly back here for the move.

SO many things up in the air right now! LOL... I did just get a quote on the Penske site for a 16' truck for under $400. So even with gas, it'd be under $1,000....

Ah, that does make it tougher! Luckily, I was/am single and left my dog with my parents until I got settled. Made the move much easier.

Good luck!

Jill in CO