Moving Our Stuff Out This Weekend!!

Boy, things sure do go fast once you put your mind to things. Just over over 3 weeks ago we decided it was finally time to move to a new area, and then almost 2 weeks after that we find and lock in our new place – and now, 2 more weeks later, it’s time to move out! So cool how quick it’s all going!

And we’ve got an interesting game plan here to finish it all up, too :)

    1. First, we need to get everything OUT of our current house (happening this weekend)
    2. Then, we need to put it all in storage for a month until it’s time to move into our new home
    3. Then it’s off to renovating our current house to prep for new renters (which we still need to get!)
    4. And finally, we’ll be relocating to our next holding place until it’s officially time to move. Which I’ll be divulging more about early next week, along with our renovation plans and budget… One will make you laugh and the other probably cry. Or both at the same time, haha…

Needless to say it’s going to be quite the busy few weeks here. But all things that get us closer to our end goal of living a more fun and exciting life!! This time next month I’ll be down the street at our local coffee shop mingling with the locals and explaining how people blog for a living ;) And maybe even get some new beer friends too? I could use some of those again… been out of the social scene for quite some time. Maybe I’ll even join a nerdy coin club too! Woo!

Here’s how we’ll be saving money with all this moving btw:

  • Packing up everything *ourselves* – savings of around $1,000. We briefly considered hiring a crew to come in and take care of it all for us, but a) we can easily do it ourselves, even though it’s annoying and b) we had to sort through everything anyways because our goal was to get rid of 1/3 of all our stuff. Which I believe we just about did! Half of it all donated to The Salvation Army (yeah tax write off!), a quarter of it sold on Craigslist (yeah extra money!) and the rest all into the trash. I can’t begin to tell you how GREAT that feels already – we’re so much “lighter” now!
  • MOVING everything *ourselves* — Savings of $1,500. This one took more convincing for us to decide on, but at the end of the day we agreed that it’s better to put in the hard work and sweat now for a couple of days rather than cough up an additional $1,500 that we’ll be needing for our home renovations coming up. So we rented two 1-way U-Haul trucks (we’re dividing it up into two separate trips) and then took advantage of their current “1 month’s free rent” offer at any of their storage units :) Which only come with 1-way rentals.
  • Activating that FREE month’s worth of storage unit — Savings of $180. See above .

So instead of dishing out $3,000 to have someone move all our stuff for us, we’re gonna be doing it for less than $400 when all is said and done. About $150 for each of the U-Haul trucks (cheaper than getting only 1 btw when you factor in all the trips and gas and mileage), and then around $80 for gas and other miscellaneous packing items. And since we’re now getting the storage unit for FREE, that avoids an extra $180 cost as well. A total win-win all around, baby! (Although ask me how I feel after the weekend is over, haha…)

Everything’s moving along nice and smoothly so far :) Makes me a tad bit nervous that we’re forgetting something or we’re gonna stumble across some major road block here, but for now we keep pushing forward and inching closer to our mission: Getting our adventure back.

I’ll be blogging about all our renovation plans/costs, and where the heck we’ll be living for the next couple of weeks here in a bit, but right now it’s time to finish things up and then get the hell outta here… Clock is a tickin’!

Anyone else getting into “fun” like this over the weekend? I bet it’s hard to beat lifting heavy boxes in the dead of heat – don’t be jealous ;)

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(Photo by Scott Meyers Self Storage Investing, doodles by J$)

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46 Comments

  1. Free Money Minute May 31, 2013 at 6:28 AM

    We are in the process of selling out home, but we are seriously considering renting it out and buying a new home. Is this what you did? I am not quite clear (maybe I missed a post a few weeks ago?) Anyway, I can’t wait to go through all of that. We probably wouldn’t consider hiring anyone to move our stuff as we are pretty frugal and have lots of friends and family that would help. Enjoy the new place!

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 2:52 PM

      Yeah, as frustrating and tiring as it all is, knowing that there’s a better outcome to it at the end is SO much more rewarding :) We wish we could sell our place instead, but we’re still too underwater to do so, so we’re putting it up to be rented while we wait for values to (hopefully) go back up one day. In the meantime we’ll see what it’s like owning an investment property! (And no – we’re not buying a new one, we’re going to rent for now)

      Reply
      1. Free Money Minute June 3, 2013 at 6:07 AM

        Why not just wait it ou in your current home? Do you need to move to a new location for a specific reason, need more room?

        Reply
        1. J. Money June 3, 2013 at 8:56 AM

          We’ll be updating all our floors in our entire house, plus our kitchen (and some painting), so we figured it would be a lot easier to be out completely while it’s all being done than trying to work around it with both a baby in the house, and me physically working from home.

          As for moving, we mainly just needed a change of pace and an area where I can walk to places from my home. We were all getting pretty antsy here, so just made the most sense to jump on it NOW than wait more years and keep complaining about it ;)

          Reply
  2. Lance @ Money Life and More May 31, 2013 at 7:19 AM

    I’m still working on renovating our townhouse this weekend… not the fastest, but I’ll be so glad once it is all done! It is a lot of work but it needed to be done…

    Reply
  3. Pauline May 31, 2013 at 7:55 AM

    good luck with the move! that is a lot of savings but a pretty tedious process overall. Thinking about the next step is exciting though!

    Reply
  4. Michelle May 31, 2013 at 8:17 AM

    Have fun! Moving is possibly my least favorite thing to do. :)

    Reply
  5. Johnny @ Our Freaking Budget May 31, 2013 at 8:41 AM

    This sounds exactly like our summer last year. We had the same random month or two that we couldn’t move in and needed to put it in storage temporarily which meant moving every last one of those stupid boxes and awkward pieces of furniture twice… I don’t envy you.

    BUT, moving is always exciting. The one or two miserable days are usually worth the excitement and change in the end. We also went the self-moving route and saved a ton of money. After every move, we always tell ourselves, “Welp, that’s the last time we’ll do that on our own. Next time we’re going to hire movers.” Six years and just as many moves later, we still can’t get ourselves to fork over that money for a few hours of sweat labor.

    Best of luck Money clan!

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 2:54 PM

      HAH! That’s what my wife always says actually :) I just nod my head in agreement, but deep down I know we’ll be doing it again sometime in the future, haha…

      Reply
  6. Carla May 31, 2013 at 8:52 AM

    I moved once without movers, and once with. They may be expensive, but I will be paying someone to carry my furniture from now until forever.

    Reply
  7. Your Daily Finance May 31, 2013 at 9:11 AM

    I just finished moving a few weeks ago. I did use movers for the first time but found myself packing and moving most of the things before they were scheduled to come. Save us a lot of money even though they tried the we have a four hour min crap. Not happening. Good luck with the move and with the savings. This weekend is the pre-teen’s bday so lots of fun. Hopefully the rain stops.

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:02 PM

      That’s a good idea. If we ever hire down the road we’ll probably do the same thing with packing a lot up and getting organized so it saves tons of time/effort for the crew (and thus money). The sucky part here is that we not only have to load/unload once, but TWICE! man….

      Reply
  8. Cait May 31, 2013 at 9:18 AM

    Eek! Sounds like crazy times over there. Can’t wait to hear more about your reno projects, etc. Good luck this weekend!

    Reply
  9. Jeremy @ My Financial Road May 31, 2013 at 9:20 AM

    Good luck with the move J! Can’t wait to see those renovation plans…I don’t watch DIY and HGTV because I have too!

    Reply
  10. John S @ Frugal Rules May 31, 2013 at 9:27 AM

    Great work on the savings, but I think I’d rank moving slightly above going to the dentist. ;) We have a lot of yard work to do this weekend and look like we’ll be selling a few things on Craigslist this weekend in our de-crapifying efforts

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:03 PM

      De-crapifying is always well worth the effort :)

      Reply
  11. Mike@WeOnlyDoThisOnce May 31, 2013 at 9:54 AM

    Packing often saves the emotional toll of worrying about adequate jobs; we have had awful experiences with company shippers.

    Reply
  12. akilah May 31, 2013 at 10:09 AM

    Congrats on the move! I sold my home last week after only 10 days on thearker so i had to do the same as you now. I had already declutter and staged my home so I rented a truck and packed most things myself and with a couple of friends moved remaing to a 5×5 storage.

    It feels good not having a lot of stuff and a lot more money in the bank :)

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:04 PM

      I bet!! 10 days is CRAZY good too – way to go! loving your name too, so beautiful :)

      Reply
  13. E.M. May 31, 2013 at 10:54 AM

    Good luck with the move! I’m moving this weekend as well, but into an apartment, so hopefully it will only take a few hours. We have been transporting boxes and small things, so it’s mostly just furniture at this point. Still not really looking forward to it, but it’s exciting to finally have my own place. I’ll definitely be interested in your plans to renovate!

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:05 PM

      Hey, how cool! What are the odds :)

      Reply
  14. Kyle @ Debt Free Diaries May 31, 2013 at 10:55 AM

    Sounds like an action packed weekend ahead of you! Hopefully everything settles in alright and there’s no crazy bumps in the road.

    Reply
  15. Alexa @ travelmiamor May 31, 2013 at 11:14 AM

    oh yeah! Ever since we sold our house (45 day closing and 45 day lease back) we have been taking weekend trips to storage unit to unload our stuff. We’ve packed and are slowly moving it by the truck load (we live in TX and have a truck so no need to rent one). We only have about 20 items left to move and we’re out of there! We still haven’t decided if we’ll hire someone to move our stuff from the storage unit to our new house…

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:06 PM

      Haha, yeah – cuz we gotta load it all up and then unload it all later!! Lots of work for sure, but pretty cool you have your own truck :) I’m guessing you’d probably need to rent a larger one when it’s time than make another 15 trips, eh?

      Reply
      1. Alexa @ travelmiamor May 31, 2013 at 4:16 PM

        well we kind of all have trucks out here so we might just get a team together. My dad and brother have one and so do my father-in-law and brother-in-law. Plus my dad owns his own company and they have a delivery truck so there is that option if its available when we move in.

        Reply
        1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 4:49 PM

          Nice!! Tell them to come out to Virginia next and I’ll pay them beer in return for their truck usage ;)

          Reply
  16. Kristin May 31, 2013 at 11:51 AM

    I’m confused – why are you putting your stuff in storage for a month? Wouldn’t you want to put it in the new house you are moving to? Unless you plan to rent out your house as furnished and are putting it in storage for a month while you do rennovations, this seems kinda silly to me.

    Reply
    1. Kristin May 31, 2013 at 11:54 AM

      Oh, I re-read that you’re staying somewhere else for a month, I guess while you do the rennovations? Looking forward to hearing more about it.

      Reply
      1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:09 PM

        Yup :) That’s the plan – get our house all reno’d and ready to be rented (with no stuff/babies getting in the way) and THEN move into our new place. Which – luckily – is still a few weeks away helping it work out perfectly. Well, except for all the moving of stuff back and forth, but oh well. As long as everything gets where it needs to be in the end I’ll be happy :)

        Reply
  17. Mike May 31, 2013 at 11:59 AM

    Hey J,
    Have you actually repriced your house recently? The season I ask is that the housing market has really heated up over the last 6 months & you might be at break even on your house & not even know it. It might be worth looking into one last time before you sink $, time & effort into renters.

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:11 PM

      Nah, not really cuz it would have to go up a TON for us to break even after all the fees/etc. like, up by $100k or something :( It’s pretty bad. But I figure at the very least we learn what it’s like to own an investment property until we end up selling it altogether later, ya know? Maybe it opens up our eyes – and future plans – and we end up loving it! That would be some nice silver linings :)

      Reply
  18. Angella May 31, 2013 at 12:42 PM

    Good luck with the moving! That’s always the least fun part. I can’t wait to read about your living situation and renovation plans. We’re going through a renovation now, and oh my, $$$…never stays within a budget!

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:12 PM

      It’s pretty scary, right? I’m kinda afraid to post up our new numbers here cuz it’s sooooo much money, but on the other hand I know it’ll also be well worth it in the end! At least in theory – which is all we can go with, right? :)

      Reply
  19. Grayson @ Debt Roundup May 31, 2013 at 2:15 PM

    There is nothing fun about moving. Maybe the excitement of a new place, but that is about it. I just helped a friend move into his first home and I was glad that it wasn’t me moving. Good luck with it J Money!

    Reply
  20. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans May 31, 2013 at 2:46 PM

    Just reading about moving makes me exhausted! :P

    Have fun! I moved last year and it was exciting and tiring at the same time. Can’t wait to hear more!

    Reply
    1. J. Money May 31, 2013 at 3:12 PM

      Haha…. it was exhausting writing it all up too :)

      Reply
  21. Shafi May 31, 2013 at 7:42 PM

    Searching and looking for a place to move in is the hardest part. The second hardest is moving to the new location.

    Reply
  22. M May 31, 2013 at 8:09 PM

    Great plan. Good savings.. BUT do you take into account what your time is worth? Calculate your hourly wage, multiply by the hours that you put in packing, tossing, selling on Craigslist and moving to really calculate what the move costs. Your time is worth something too.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 3, 2013 at 8:58 AM

      Oh, believe me – we’re accounting for that one in our *renovations* we’re about to do this week ;) The moving stuff is fine as it just sets me back a little while with work and what not, but the floors/kitchen/painting is a whole other thing… Will be blogging about there here real soon.

      Reply
  23. Daisy @ Young Finances May 31, 2013 at 11:49 PM

    Wow, you guys move quickly! I’m impressed! I never, ever pay movers. Both my partner and I are big DIY movers. We’ve had to move a few times in the past few years and while it’s a lot of work to haul stuff back and forth, it’s worth it. You can save a ton of cash.

    Reply
  24. Retire By 40 June 1, 2013 at 11:57 AM

    We moved everything ourselves last time too and it took forever. I don’t know what we would do next time. The missus said we’re not moving anymore though so maybe there won’t be a next time.
    Hope you get through it ok.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 3, 2013 at 8:59 AM

      NEVER? I don’t even think I could comprehend that, haha… I’m on move #25ish or something crazy like that, and don’t think I could stay in one spot forever ESP if someone told me that :) Now, if it happened to work out that way for some reason that’s totally cool, but knowing it’s permanent from the get go would just freak me out way too much.

      Reply
  25. Giddings Plaza FI June 2, 2013 at 12:20 PM

    So great that you’re living your dream. And great that you’ll be living in a fun neighborhood. I live in a really friendly and fun nabe, and am grateful for it every day. I hope you can walk to most places, running into neighbors along the way, and can forget the pain of driving and parking. Anyways, now that you’ve bought a new place, DON’T pay off your mortgage early. http://giddingsplaza.com/2013/05/13/part-2-get-rid-of-your-debt-today-and-buy-back-your-soul-except-for-your-mortgage/

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 3, 2013 at 9:00 AM

      Haha…. for sure – the mortgage killing plan is promptly on hold right now :)

      Reply
  26. Punky Coletta June 2, 2013 at 12:28 PM

    Awesome savings! Hope y’all have a great time in the new place.

    Reply
  27. Romanian June 3, 2013 at 5:39 AM

    Really great news! Preparing for this new step in your life is clearly exciting and for some reason I feel the joy and excitement you are feeling. Maybe it’s time for us to move somewhere new too, it’s also been 5 years now since we’ve been in the same place and we are starting to get itchy feet.

    But again, congrats on finally doing this and on the great savings!

    Reply

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