Moving to a New State

Moving is inevitable for most. We know moving is stressful and emotionally draining, even under the best of circumstances. Moving is considered one of the top five most stressful situations. Animals too always know when something is amiss, even if they can’t understand exactly what is changing, or why. Moving is going to cost you, regardless of how you choose to do it. After looking at the cost of wear and tear on your vehicle, the cost of renting a moving van, and the cost of gasoline you may find that moving yourself is more expensive than you thought. Packing materials and moving boxes can be a substantial part of your moving costs. In addition to actually moving your own stuff, you will also need to figure in broken items and unexpected trips. Perhaps your budget allows the movers to move only the furniture. One thing to note is that you can deduct the costs associated with packing up and physically moving your stuff from here to there including truck rentals, moving companies, boxes and so on at tax time.

You want everything to go right and finding a reputable mover is a key step in the moving process. Choose moving companies that have been around for at least ten years. Ask the companies to come to your home and do an estimate. Beware of the scammers that raise the price of your move after your items have been loaded onto their vehicles. You should have chosen your final choice of moving company at least one to two months in advance. Let the mover know how much packing you intend to do. Of course the more flexible you are, the less expensive it will be. Once you've picked a mover, be sure to confirm the move dates and details. Remember that the mover's maximum liability is the amount of liability you declared. If you are moving to a different state, check to make sure the mover is licensed by the Federal Department of Transportation. A careful, professional moving company can be the difference between a smooth move and a disaster. There are a variety of reasons why you may have to use an auto transport service to ship your car, truck, van or SUV such as when it just is not practical or possible to drive it from your old place to your new. Open auto transport is the least expensive method, with enclosed car shipping usually a 25-75% higher premium, depending largely on the size of the car, truck or SUV. Some companies only transport certain vehicle types and refuse to handle very expensive cars or large trucks or trailers. If you use this service remember to make sure that the car is emptied of all personal effects before it is loaded onto the car carrier.