If you live in a 3-bedroom home, you’re likely to spend up to a few hundred dollars on packing materials. That’s on top of hiring movers, professional packing, move-out cleaning services, and all the fast food you’ll likely eat after packing your kitchen.
Common advice for easing any financial strain while moving includes reducing what you spend. Recommendations to look for great deals (moving in the off season or using pre-owned packing materials) and to do some of the work yourself are ubiquitous. But what if you could also get some of that money back? Here are four ways to recoup some of your moving costs.
1. Selling Unneeded and Unmovable Items
You can start by using your decluttering process to help pay for the move. Start selling off things you don’t need, like old clothes, and things you can’t take on the truck (like garden fertilizer and houseplants). Some items that can’t go on the truck may fit in your family vehicle, but others will need to be disposed of before the move, so why not make a little money on them?
To maximize the chances that these items will sell in time, follow these tips:
- List on multiple local online marketplaces.
- Consider selling on larger (non-local) marketplaces for items you can ship.
- Start several months in advance.
- Keep prices at bargain levels for most items.
- Consider participating in a community yard sale as well, if possible.
Remember, don’t get rid of things like cleaning chemicals that you’ll probably actually need for the move-out process.
2. Using Apps
You can use apps for recouping your moving costs in multiple ways. One is by using apps such as Letgo to sell your unneeded items. Another is by installing apps that pay you for scanning receipts. If you plan to buy supplies and equipment for moving, you might as well get cash back for those receipts.
Some of these apps focus on groceries, but others such as Receipt Hog accept any receipts. You won’t make tons of money from each app, but if you use several different apps, you can get several payouts for the same receipts.
3. Selling Moving Supplies After the Move
Once you really get into the swing of planning your move, you may be surprised how much you end up buying, especially if you pack all your belongings yourself. Some things you can’t resell, but you can sell some of the materials and tools you buy for the move.
For example, if you buy sturdy bins for packing your belongings in, or even if you just have a huge collection of sturdy cardboard boxes in great shape, you may be able to sell them to someone local after you’ve unpacked.
Other examples of materials and tools you may be able to get a few dollars out of include:
- Unused packing tape, masking tape, and labels
- High-quality packing materials such as bubble wrap
Some of these don’t have much value individually, but you could try listing them as a lot.
4. Using Your Job for Reimbursement or Tax Deduction
Even the federal government acknowledges that having to move can be a financial hardship. If you’re on active duty in the military, you can use any expenses you cover yourself as a deduction on your taxes.
If you’re not in the military but still moved because of work, you may be able to get reimbursement from your employer as a nod to the extra work and expense they’ve put you to.
These are just four methods you can use to get back some of the money that you’ll inevitably spend on your move. For more information about our moving services, give Island Movers a call today.
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