How Much Will that DIY Huntington Beach Move Cost You?

How Much Will that DIY Move Cost You?

When many people prepare to move, they often think that they’ll be able to handle the whole packing and moving process on their own, from start to finish, with no problems. Sometimes, you’ve got the time and energy and expertise to pull it off. Other times, you might be better off just hiring the best Huntington Beach moving company – and that could be more affordable than you’d think.

DIY moves can be a good idea for some people. But before you decide to go this route, be sure to take the time to think through the costs – both opportunity costs and real costs. Here’s what you need to know.

The Opportunity Costs

Opportunity cost is a term from economics, but it’s applicable throughout your life. Basically, it’s the notion that any time you choose one thing, you’re saying no to other things. Those other things are opportunity costs.

So if you want to invest $50 in Stock A, you can’t also invest that same $50 in Stock B and Stock C. Stock A may be your best investment, but the others are opportunity costs. The same holds true for your time. If you want to spend hours packing up your home, you can’t also spend that same time doing other important things.

When it comes to moving on your own, opportunity costs might be things like a day off of work, missed time with family, or even just lost leisure time. Whether these things are worthwhile to keep from paying for a full-service move is up to you. But definitely be sure that you think about them as you get into the process.

How much time, exactly?

How long it will take you to move really depends on a number of factors – the size of your home, the amount of your stuff, your own experience with packing and moving, and how much help you have. But here’s an idea: it takes professional packers between six and ten man hours to pack a three-bedroom house. You should give yourself room for about twice that – so up to twenty hours, just to get the packing done.

And what about moving day? On moving day, you can expect to put a full eight to ten hours, if not more, into getting everything out of your home. That’s if you’re doing a local move and not making multiple trips, of course.

All told, you should expect to spend about 30 to 40 hours of your time moving, at the least. That’s why most moving companies recommend that DIY packers get started at least four to six weeks before moving day. After all, if you’re going to spend nearly a full work week on a project, you’d better spread that time out over several weeks!

What about the money?

You’re going to spend a lot of time on the DIY moving process if you choose to go that route. But what about other costs? DIY moving may have a smaller bottom line, but you’ll still have to put some cash into the process.

For instance, you’ll need to buy boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and other packing supplies. Yes, you can get some boxes secondhand if possible. That reduces some of your costs. But other packing materials will need to be bought from the store. You can expect to pay at least $50 for packing materials, but possibly more like $100-$150, depending on your particular needs.

Then you’ll have to rent the moving van. This can cost another $250-$500. If you’ve got friends with trucks who will help you move, you’ll still be on the hook for a good bit of gas.

Speaking of friends, if you have volunteers coming to help on moving day, that’s great. It’ll definitely help ensure that the process goes more quickly! But don’t expect them to move you completely free! Tradition is that you’ll at least buy a meal for your volunteer movers. Depending on how many people you’re feeding, that could easily be another $100-$150.

Bottom line here is that you’re going to pay between $450 and $800 if you do a DIY move, most likely. That’s less than a professional full-service move, but is the difference worth all that additional time you’ll spend working on the moving process?

It depends, of course, on your situation, and on how much that full-service move will cost you. But you never know how much it’ll cost until you call your Huntington Beach movers to get a free, in-person quote. Knowing that a DIY move has monetary costs – and major opportunity costs – associated with it, it’s worth your while to at least get a quote for a full-service move. It could save you time and sanity, for sure.