A testimony from Laura
My husband was getting ready to graduate from college when we decided to move our family of four from Southern Oregon, back to our home state of Colorado — a 1,000 mile move!
Since we had been living on a college-student-sized budget, we didn’t have a lot of money to spend on moving, but we were committed to doing it debt-free.
I went to a do-it-yourself moving company to get estimates, and found that to move all our stuff would cost around $2,500, including gas and lodging. But if we chose to pare down and move our stuff in a trailer that we could haul, we could move for less than $1,000, including gas and lodging.
The largest trailer we could rent from this company was 6×12. Yes, that is six feet by twelve feet (the inside of the trailer is just 11.7 x 5.5, don’t ask me how I know that)!
Since we had been living on a very tight budget, nearly all our belongings had been purchased used and they were looking quite used. We considered that the amount it would cost to move everything was not equal to the value of our belongings, and that if we chose not to move those items (and get rid of anything we weren’t in love with), we could fit into the trailer. Besides, if the Oregon trail pioneers could move a household in a covered wagon, then surely we had no excuse!
Once we decided to move, we had a month-and-a-half before the big day. Here is what we did:
I dug through every room in the house and ruthlessly purged. I kept only the items that we absolutely used and wanted, and everything else was either listed on Craigslist or went in a garage sale pile.
I listed our furniture and nicer items on Craigslist.
Then we had 3 garage sales. At the end of these three sales, we had sold almost everything we wanted to eliminate.
Between Craigslist and the garage sales, we earned $1300!
Then came moving day. When my husband went to pick up the trailer, the trailer wasn’t ready on time, so we got $50 refunded to us. What a great way to kick off our money-saving adventure.
I packed breakfast, lunch, and dinner food in a cooler to save money on restaurants, and then we camped one of the nights.
By the time we paid for the trailer, gas, food, lodging, and even a visit to a zoo along the way, we only spent $900 on our move. That meant we had a whole $400 to get us started in our new home.
Even though it was challenging to eliminate so many of our possessions, we have what we need to get started. And though we will need to spend money to replace items we originally sold, I am confident that we will find a debt-free way to do this as well!
Laura Coble blogs over at Short and Sweet Moments and shares her journey as a mom, wife, and woman learning to stress-less and live in God’s grace. She is a mom to two boys and wife to her best friend. Her move taught her a lot about minimalist living and practicing Eccl 5:15 which says “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us”.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
That is similar to what we did when we moved to SE Oregon from Boise. We reduced our belongings, but instead of renting a trailer we chose to purchase an 18ft Camp trailer for $900.00. We were able to bring along all of our boxes, a couple of dressers and the kids bikes. Now that we are settled we have used the camp trailer to go camping at the beach.
That’s a creative idea!
I love hearing ways people move for less. My own family did an almost 3000 mile move 12 years ago and to keep out costs low my husband bought a 1970’s cube van, that had no side windows and drove it while I drove the mini van with a newborn, 2 yr old and 6 year old behind him. I totally thought his idea was crazy but when he then sold the cube van for the same price he bought it for after we were done with it I was very proud of my thrifty man.
Wow, I can’t believe you drove a van with three kids 3,000 miles by yourself. I don’t think I would be that adventuresome!
Well my husband was right in front of me and we had walkie talkies that we used to talk to each other so I wasn’t completely alone. It was quite the adventure. One we look back on and laugh but during it I got to say there were many times that I was so thankful that we had been to a marriage conference that year because boy did we ever use the wisdom they gave us over and over again. The journey took us forever! since we had a newborn who I was nursing and had to stop every 2 to 3 hours for her to eat. It was smoking hot that summer and we got lost numerous times (it was before GPS was popular) but looking back it made me a whole lot braver and my marriage a whole lot stronger. One funny part I remember was the day we crossed the American boarder (we are from Canada) and the officer asked me how many children I had with me, and my mind went blank and I had to turn around and count heads…He laughed so hard (thank goodness) and waved me through and told me to get some more sleep.
I think that’s amazing that you can look back and see how you grew through that experience. Thanks for sharing that testimony!
That’s how we had to move too…only furniture that came was the crib and dresser that we used for both our daughters’ nurseries. It was actually the worst time in our lives so I don’t look back so fondly! That’s bc we had to make the move as a last resort and we were bankrupt thanks to hubby losing his job and being out of work for two years cutting our income in half. The same two years we brought our girls into the world. It was so hard…BUT I can bet if you are doing it bc you want to it is a great method!
Wow, that sounds like a really difficult time. I hope that things are more settled for your family now.
I would like to add that in addition to selling items, also contact your respective state tax offices and find out what your state limit is for charitable tax donations shelters, crisis centers, and mission homes are always in need of actual furniture, stockpiled toiletries, and the like year round, and most by appointment will be able to appraise and write you tax slips on the spot and even pick items up from your home. This compiled with the IRS having no limit on the amount of items, and how much you can declare for items on their approved charities listing (501-C3), you will be able to get a substantial amount back! Thought this may not help you move per se, in six months when you file, you will be glad to have those extra funds available to help with Spring cleaning and redecorating!
Thanks for sharing that tip!
I love this article – so inspiring!
Thank you!
12 years ago, my husband and I moved from Chicago to Columbus, OH. We rented a Budget rental truck for 2 days and it cost $300 plus fuel. While we had the truck, we went and bought our queen size bed so as to not have to pay a delivery fee.
I love stories like this–I did the same thing just a couple of years ago with my husband, and was smart about it. We moved from Michigan all the way to Oregon with cash we’d earned from working round-the-clock and being thrifty for a few months, taking advantage of the affordability of small town life while we could. No Uhaul, no trailer, just our cars. We sold and donated almost everything we had.
There’s a book called “Throw Out Fifty Things” that made leaving it all behind easier. It really teaches you how to let go of *stuff*. Anywho, great story. Thank you so much for sharing! ~Brenda
Wow, just cars?! That is REALLY pared down!
I know! It was really scary starting from scratch in a new area with nothing to fall back on but, well, our savings. It was also very freeing, to only have what we could fit in the trunk and backseats. We got lucky though, and have filled our house with new memories. But we’ve learned a lot about ourselves in the process. In particular, to only surround ourselves with things we need and love, not just stuff. ~Brenda
Good for you guys! We moved eight and a half months ago with about 3 weeks notice so we didn’t have time to “save up” but we signed a one-year apartment lease and are now looking to buy a house (made an offer yesterday) and will be able to pay cash for a min. down payment, closing costs, and moving expenses so I’m happy with how far we’ve come!
Congratulations on your new home!
Moving is so expensive! When my husband and I moved from Missouri to Maine 14 years ago, we were newly married and really living on a shoestring. We took just a few things with us and packed everything in our boat, which we towed behind our car!
What an adventure! Thanks for sharing! Those “poor newlywed” memories are precious.
Very timely post! I was just considering this! We will be completing medical training and moving over 1,000 miles in about 10 months to begin our first “real” job. The cheapest pack yourself option we were quoted was almost $4K. Ouch! The 6×12 u-haul trailer: only $500 (plus gas to tow, hotel, ect. but we’d have to drive our cars anyway). We can afford the you pack option, but we’ve been very seriously considering if any of our old, less-than-ideal belongings are worth $4K to move. It seems crazy (and a lot of work!) to get rid of most of our things and start fresh when we get there, but honestly, I think I’d rather spend that $4K getting some new things I actually like 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what others think about this as a moving option and their moving tips!
It was A LOT of work and a little crazy, but I’m really so glad that we purged, our home feels so fresh and light. I don’t have any junk laying around!
This was excellent! Good for you, Laura!
Thank you for sharing my article, and thank you also for how you’ve encouraged me to live debt free!
So many great ideas on how to save money when moving! I would of never thought about camping instead of staying in a hotel.