Whether you are buying your first home, buying a bigger or smaller property or renting a new place, the fact of the matter (and one of the tallest hurdles to jump) is that we need to get all our belongings from where they are now to somewhere else entirely.

This can be an expensive process, and with the cost of vehicle fuel always on the rise, the price isn’t going to come down in the near future. If you are on a tight budget and need to bring the cost of moving down as low as possible, here are some questions you should be asking yourself to make sure you’re not wasting your cash.

1.       What is all this?

Often, when people think about moving, they worry most about the big things that need to go, such as wardrobes, sofas and appliances. However, by far the biggest space guzzler in removal vans is all the boxes and boxes of ‘things’ that we haul around with ourselves. Take a good look around your home and see what you can get rid of now, in order to save some money later. You might even be able to raise some cash by selling items online, or hold a good old fashioned garage sale and try to clear out the clutter.

2.       How big is the van?

Getting a cheap quote from a man and van service is fine, but what if you can’t fit all your things in? Similarly, if you decide to hire a van on a self-drive basis and do the move by yourself, you could end up paying much more if you need to keep it for an extra day or do the run twice.

3.       How far am I going?

Moving a few miles away to a neighbouring town will make a self-drive move a fairly appealing prospect financially. However, if you are moving a couple of counties away or further, then you really should look at doing the move all in one go. Extra diesel costs of multiple long journeys in a van as well as the amount of your time that will be sucked up will soon bring the cost of a self move close to the cost of having a big removal firm do it for you.

4.       Do you have any…?

Ask around for packing materials and boxes rather than buying them in, as the cost of brand new boxes and sheets of bubble wrap can soon have a significant impact on the cost of your move overall. Do check with your removal company what their standard requirements are, as some will refuse to take boxes that are not up to a certain standard.

5.       Can you do any better?

Whatever you are buying, do not be afraid to ask for a discount. Removal firms, cheap self storage and packaging suppliers are all worth posing the question to, as some do have the flexibility to offer you a better price.