Moving has never been easy. Whether local or international, you must prepare early enough to avoid a stressful relocation experience.
Financial preparedness is one of the biggest challenges that most people face during relocation. That is why in this article, we will highlight the best moving tips to help you plan your finances for your next relocation.
❖ So, How Much Money Do You Need?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to quote an exact standard figure for everyone because of the many variables involved during relocation. Each experience is unique, and the cost varies depending on the individual factors involved.
Below are some of the factors you need to put into consideration to determine the exact cost of your relocation.
1. Type of Relocation
Is your relocation within the local boundaries, or is it an international move? These will determine how far you will need to travel to reach your final destination. Remember, distance is one of the major factors that can affect the cost of your relocation. The longer it is, the more costly, and vice versa. Local moves are shorter, and the international ones are longer. That means that you will need to pay more money if you are moving abroad than when you are moving locally.
If you are moving abroad, there are other additional factors you need to consider. These will also affect the cost of your relocation. Examples include but are not limited to;
● Passports- cost vary depending on the country of origin
● Visa- cost varies depending on the type of visa and the new country of residence
● Air tickets- cost depends on the new country of residence and the number of people you are relocating with
● Accommodation- cost depends on the new country of residence and type of accommodation Ie. Whether you are going to buy or lease an apartment
● If you have children, you have to find new schools for them- costs vary depending on their level of education and your new country of residence.
● Healthcare- vary depending on the country.
● Other legal obligations- vary depending on the country.
2. Hiring Professional Movers
It is always advisable to hire a moving company to avoid unnecessary hurdles during your relocating process. You can hire a local, interstate, or international mover depending on the nature of your relocation, and the cost will vary accordingly. Other factors that will affect the cost include
● The size of your move: big moves are more expensive.
● The type of goods you will be transporting i.e. valuables, specialized and delicate items
● The Individual Company You Hire
Different companies offer different kinds of services and at different prices. You must first figure out the types of services you need to identify the company that is best suited for you. Apart from that, there are so many fraudulent and incompetent companies in the market claiming to be professional movers. They are only out there to exploit you. By all means, avoid hiring such companies. Take your time to research the companies to identify the
best mover in Au. The moving company you choose will determine how high or how low your relocation cost will be.
3. Packaging Costs
Another factor to consider when it comes to your relocation cost is the packing. You can opt to do your own packing, whereby you will need to buy empty boxes along with other packing materials depending on the sizes and types of your belongings. Alternatively, you can choose to hire packaging services from your moving company. Some movers will treat packaging as a separate cost, whereas others will include it in the overall moving cost. The choice is yours. In any case, you need to plan for it.
4. What to Sell and What to Move
Depending on the situation, some of your belongings might be much easier and cheaper to replace than to transport. In that case, you will need to identify these items and sell them before relocating to lower your cost of moving. You can even decide to sell everything and get rid of the transportation cost altogether.
5. Time to Relocate
Like any other business, moving has season too. At peak, air tickets and transportation costs are usually high and much lower during off-peak seasons. Ultimately, the time you choose to relocate will affect your overall cost of moving.
6. Relocation Emergencies
There are so many things that can go wrong during the relocation process. Most of them you cannot predict. You need to set aside some money to cater for such emergencies in case they happen. It is the only way to try and
avoid stress during your relocation.
Conclusion
These are some of the most important things to determine your relocation cost. Once you establish everything you need and the exact price for each, do your math to find the total cost.
The most important thing here is to have all the right information for your process. Ideally, create a checklist to ensure that you capture everything and also refer to every step of the way.