The real cost of a DIY move
The real cost of a DIY move to Balboa
As you’re getting ready to move, you might think that you can do it all on your own. You’ll just take a few days to pack, get some friends together to help on moving day, and go for it.
And maybe this will work for you. Some people can pull it off! But before you dive headlong into this path, take some time to consider the actual costs of making this choice. You might just decide, in the end, to hire a Balboa moving company to get you through the moving process, after all.
How much time will it take?
To start, you need to know how much time it will take you to pack and move all of your things. In economics, there’s a concept called opportunity cost. It basically means that every time you make one choice, you give up other choices. Putting your money into Stock A, for instance, means that you can’t put that money into Stock B or Stock C. Stock A might be the better choice, but you’re still losing the opportunity to invest in the other two. See how it works?
Opportunity cost is also something to consider when it comes to your time. When you choose to put your time into one thing, such as packing and moving, you can’t also put that same time into something else – like hanging out with family, getting your new home ready, or working.
That’s not to say that you can’t work packing and moving into your life around your other responsibilities. But the time that you invest in this process is time you won’t get back. And you might be surprised at just how much time the whole packing and moving process can take – from start to finish. So be sure you’re prepared to give up that time before you decide on a DIY move.
How long will it take?
So exactly how long is this moving thing likely to take? It depends, of course, on how much stuff you have and how experienced you are at packing and moving things.
But, for instance, it takes professional packers around six to ten man hours to pack an average three-bedroom house. That’s not long. But you’re not a professional! So it’s likely to take you more like twelve to twenty hours, at least, to pack a similarly-sized home. And that’s not even taking into account moving day itself.
How long will it take you on the day of your move? You’re looking at one full work day of eight hours at least. Though it’ll take even longer if you’re taking multiple trips on a local move, or if you just don’t know how to pack a truck properly.
All told, you can expect to take at least twenty or thirty hours, total, for your DIY move. But this might actually be an undershot, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time if you decide to go this route.
And then there’s monetary cost
So, bottom line there is that you’re expecting to spend a lot of time on the moving process. But what about the actual money you’ll throw at the project? Yes, doing it yourself can be cheaper than hiring someone else to do it. But there are still costs involved.
For instance, you’ll have to pay for packing supplies, even if you get hand-me-down boxes from friends or coworkers who have moved recently. Then, you’ll have to rent a moving van. And if you have volunteer help on moving day, it’s only polite to buy them pizza and beer for their help. So you’re looking at $250 to $500 or more to move if you do it all on your own.
Plus, there’s another potential cost to consider: broken items. When you hire professional Balboa movers for your move, they’ll likely insure your items so that you get reimbursed if something breaks or is damaged during the moving process. But if you do it all on your own, you’ll be on the hook for any costs that come up because of these issues.
What will you pay for a professional full-service move? You won’t know for sure unless you get a quote from a professional. But, on average, you can expect a local move to cost $1,500 to $2,000. Sure, that’s a chunk of change – but it’s also not much more than you’ll pay on your own in some circumstances!
So before you assume that a DIY move is the better option, be sure to look at all the costs so that you can make the best possible choice for your needs.