Is Moving Home Cheaply a False Economy or Not?

When is moving home cheaply a false economy, and just as importantly, when is it not?

In this week’s home moving blog, we look at every aspect of your home move and suggest when it is, and when it is not, a good idea to cut corners and save some money.

What is a False Economy?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the meaning of false economy as an action that saves money at the beginning but, over a longer period of time, results in more money being wasted than being saved. 

Is Not Hiring a Professional Removal Company a False Economy?

Hiring a good Removal Company is not cheap, so when is it a false economy to move home yourself, and when is it not?

Moving Home Yourself

Moving home yourself could be the cheapest option if:

• You are only moving a few boxes locally
• Have no furniture to move
• Have your own transport or hire a van
• You are physically fit
• Have reliable friends to help
• You have comprehensive insurance coverage in place

However, it may become a false economy should you:

• Cause any damage to the hire van or your car
• Get parking tickets when loading or unloading
• Injure yourself, resulting in unpaid leave from work
• Cause damage to your old or new home
• Not having the right insurance cover if items get damaged in transit (note that many insurance companies will not cover your things if you have packed them yourself)
• You need to take time off work to pack and move
• You need to buy packing materials
• Need to pay for childcare whilst you are moving
• Need to pay for boarding kennels whilst you move
• Although not a monetary factor, moving yourself is stressful and very hard work
• And if your friends let you down on moving day, it is going to be difficult and expensive to find some labour to help you move

Hiring a Full-Service Removal Company

Hiring a full-service removal company may at first appear expensive, so what do removal companies do, and what are you getting for your money?

• The skills to move your things safely and efficiently
• The packing will be done for you, which is faster and more efficient than you could do it
• Removal companies often give packing materials for free
• They will dismantle and reassemble your furniture
• They will place your furniture exactly where you want it in your new home
• Moving day will be completed far faster than you could do it on your own
• You are paying for them to take the risks, do the hard work, and have the stress
• Compared with most house-moving costs, removals offer great value for money

You may also like to read: Moving Home Yourself vs Hiring a Removal Company (the Pros and Cons). In this guide, we look at your moving options and suggest pros and cons to help you make the best choice for your home move.

Is Hiring the Cheapest Movers You Can Find a False Economy?

So we have established that in the majority of cases, hiring a full-service removal company is money well spent. But are all removal companies equal? Can you save money when hiring a removal firm?

The cheapest movers you will find are generally man and van operations, of which there are some excellent ones.

For small, local moves, man and van services can be very cost-effective, but they often come with risks and some disadvantages.

• You are likely to have to assist with the loading and unloading
• If they need to hire help, then they are likely to be casual labour and may lack the necessary skills to safely move your furniture
• Many will not even have the basics, such as moving blankets, to help protect your furniture
• You have to supply your own packing materials
• You still need to pack everything yourself
• They may not offer comprehensive insurance
• There may not be a contract, so if anything goes wrong, you will find it difficult to get recourse
• Beware of lowball quotes, which usually result in added charges on moving day
• If they do not do a visual inspection of the things to be moved, be very wary; again, they are likely to hike up the charges on moving day

Generally, you get what you pay for. A cheap mover will be cheap because they may cut corners to save money, which could result in damaged items for which you have no way to get compensation.

There are really good, cheap removal firms and really bad, expensive ones. Always research any removal firm you are thinking of hiring carefully, get recommendations from friends and family, read as many reviews as you can, and get a number of quotes so that you can compare them.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company: The Ultimate Step-By-Step guide. In this guide, we take you step-by-step through the process of finding a good removal company, with actual examples of what to watch out for, the red flags to note, and the signs of a competent removal company.

Is Not Hiring Professional Packers a False Economy?

Ask anybody who has hired a professional packing team, and they will tell you that it is the best money they have spent during their relocation.

Packing is probably one of the worst jobs that needs to be done; it takes a substantial amount of time, effort, and money to do it yourself. Added to this, you end up living amongst packing materials and packed boxes for weeks on end.

Choosing to pack your own things is usually a false economy.

• The time alone that you need to dedicate to this task is enormous
• You may not pack the boxes as efficiently and therefore will use more packing materials and ultimately more space on the removal van. This could mean hiring a larger van or making a second trip, wiping out any savings you have made
• You may not pack the items well enough, resulting in some damage
• Often, insurance companies will not cover items you have packed yourself, and just one damaged item could wipe out all the savings you have made
• You will need to buy all your own packing supplies, which are not cheap

A packing team will pack your entire home in usually 1 or 2 days. They supply the packing materials and will have the skills to give your possessions the best possible protection, as well as packing the boxes most efficiently.

You may like to read: Are Home Packing Services Worth the Cost? In this guide, we look at whether hiring a professional packing team is really worth the money, how much they cost on average, how long it takes to pack, and more.

Is Taking Everything With You a False Economy?

It may seem that buying new items of furniture for your new home is a false economy when you already have them.

However, if the majority of your furniture is flat-pack, MDF-type furniture, then that is rarely the case.

This type of furniture is not designed to be dismantled and reassembled, and often the edges get damaged during a move. In fact, some removal firms will not insure MDF furniture because it is so prone to damage.

It is usually more cost-effective to replace such furniture once you have moved rather than paying to have it packed and moved only to discover it is damaged beyond repair.

There is also a school of thought to just pack everything in boxes and sort it out as you unpack.

This makes little economic sense. You will be paying to pack and move things that ultimately you will be disposing of.

And keeping things just in case you may need them one day (even though they have been in the loft unused for the last 7 years) is a guaranteed way to skyrocket your removal costs.

It makes far more sense to declutter before you move. You will save time and money packing, will have fewer items to move, so the actual move will be quicker, less space will be used on the removal van, unpacking will be quicker, and your new home will not be full of things that you no longer need or want.

So taking everything with you, without decluttering, is definitely a false economy.

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering for a Home Move, in which we go room-by-room, decluttering in the most efficient way to help you save time and money during your relocation.

Is Not Taking Out Home Moving Insurance a False Economy?

Being underinsured is the number one home-moving mistake.

For what little it costs, and with the potential for so many things to go wrong, not taking out home moving insurance is definitely a false economy.

If just one of these things happened during your move it would wipe out the money you saved in an instant:

• Property damage
• Damage to the home
• Delays with getting keys released
• A cancelled home move
• Damage to the hire van

It is important to ensure that any insurance cover you are offered adequately covers the replacement cost of damaged items, or covers the full cost of any expenses you may incur as a result of a claim.

This is such an important topic that we have dedicated an entire guide to this subject: Home Removals Insurance – Do I Need It? In this comprehensive guide, we explain the various terminology you may come across in an insurance policy, explain the various cover options you have, and give you a rough idea as to how much insurance for your home move costs.

Is Using Second-Hand Packing Boxes a False Economy?

Good quality packing boxes are not cheap, so it seems an obvious aspect of your home move where you can save money by getting used cardboard boxes.

As long as you get undamaged, good strong boxes that are not too big and preferably of a uniform size, then it will save you money.

It becomes a false economy when:

• You use flimsy boxes that do not stack properly, resulting in crushed boxes and damaged contents
• The boxes crush or the walls bend when you lift them, often resulting in the boxes bursting open and damaging the contents
• The box walls are too thin and do not offer adequate protection for the contents.
• There are so many random-sized boxes that it makes loading the van inefficient and takes up more space than was accounted for, which could result in a second van run
• You are packing high-value goods inside the boxes. You want to give them as much protection as possible, and used boxes may not offer that level of padding.

Using second-hand boxes is not recommended for multi-stage home moves, for example, if things are going into storage, then they will be moved again, nor for international home moves, when the boxes may be handled multiple times.

But generally, if you can get a sufficient number of good-quality, undamaged second-hand boxes, it will save you money.

Is Using Cheap Packing Tape a false economy?

Using cheap packing tape is not only a false economy but can be extremely frustrating to work with.

The danger is that cheap tape does not adhere to the packing boxes properly, so when the boxes are moved, they burst open, and your things end up getting damaged.

Cheap packing tape is cheap because the tape itself is thinner and the adhesive is often of poor quality.

The rolls tend to be shorter in length as well.

It is also prone to ripping in long strips as you try to find the end and peel off a strip, and for this reason, it is worth investing in a tape gun to save yourself a huge amount of frustration.

Buy the best packing tape you can find because it is so much easier to work with and will adhere to the boxes properly.

Is Skimping on Packing Materials a False Economy?

By skimping on packing materials we mean not using proprietary packing materials such as bubble wrap® or moving blankets, but instead using things that you may find around the home.

Unless you are moving fine art and antiques, or extremely valuable items, there is no reason why you cannot save some money on packing materials.

Here are some suggestions of things you can find around the home that make great packing alternatives:

• Duvets will offer as much protection as moving blankets
• Linen and clothing can be used to wrap delicate items or fill voids in the boxes so that things cannot move about in transit.
• Scrunched-up magazines can be used as space fillers in boxes
• Glasses can be slipped inside thick socks
• Paper plates can be placed between items of crockery instead of paying for plate dividers

You may also like to read: Alternative Packing Materials for Moving Home. In this guide, we look at this subject in more depth and offer suggestions for not only packing materials but also what you can use to pack your things into rather than cardboard boxes.

Is Not Hiring Moving Equipment a False Economy?

If you are moving heavy or large furniture or appliances, then not having the right moving equipment is not only dangerous but is a false economy.

Moving equipment such as lifting straps, dollies, and gliders will make moving heavy and large items not only easier but may also prevent damage.

A back injury could keep you off work for weeks, a dropped and damaged piece of furniture, or damage to the flooring where it has been scraped by a piece of furniture being dragged, will cost significantly more than hiring the right equipment.

You may also like to read: How to Move Heavy Furniture. In this guide, we look in depth at not only preparing heavy items for moving, but also safe lifting techniques, moving equipment, and even how to measure furniture to determine if it will fit through a doorway.

Value for Money Home Moves

Ultimately, you want a safe and stress-free moving day, and there is no way to put a price on how valuable that is.

Value for money should always be your yardstick.

Spend money on hiring a good removal company to take away all that stress and offset that cost by selling things you will not be taking to your new home.

Maybe you could save money by getting pieces of furniture and household goods from free ad websites that you can recycle and upgrade.

There are plenty of ways to save money moving home without putting yourself or your possessions at risk. In fact, there is a whole library of home moving tips to save you money in our blog, so be sure to check it out.

Moving costs are a one-off payment, but if you injure yourself or damage an irreplaceable heirloom, for example, then the repercussions of trying to save a few pounds could have a long-lasting effect.

We wish you a safe and happy home move. Good luck!