Did you know that there are no impossible things?
Moving to another state with no money does look like an impossible task but it’s not – it’s doable… as long as you plan ahead and make all the right decisions. That’s right, you can still make it work in your case by following the pieces of advice offered below.
Don’t despair if a house move catches you at a very bad moment from a financial point of view. The next tips for moving with no money will give you viable options, will offer you proven solutions, and will help you steer away from trouble too.
So, how to move out with no money? Read on to find out.
Assess your financial situation
OK, you want to move out with no money. Now, when you say NO MONEY, do you actually mean no money at all, like zero dollars in your savings account and an empty wallet? Or do you mean to say not enough money to cover the moving costs?
The first thing you should do is to know exactly how much money you have so that you can come up with some sort of a preliminary plan. You may have $50 in your pocket, or maybe $500 in your bank account, or maybe even exactly $0 – yes, zero. Either way, you’re going to need to assess your current financial situation so that you can approach the house moving project the right way.
Alright, do you happen to have a savings account you may have forgotten about? It’s worth checking, don’t you think? Jokes aside, you do have good options to move out without money – you just need to find them. Easy, right?
Advice: When you’re broke but you still want to move out, don’t hesitate to look at all your options.
20 ways to reduce moving costs
Postpone your move, if at all possible
Still wondering how to move to another state with no money? By that time you should be well aware that moving house costs money, so you’re facing an impossible task as it is. Even for a local move – a short-distance move within the same state – the American Moving and Storage Association claims that the average cost of an intrastate move is roughly $2,300. It’s still only an average value but what matters is that it’s still way above your current budget of $0.
Timing will be crucial when moving with little or no money.
Ask yourself if it’s possible that you postpone the house move until a later time. Do you really have to move out right now? Postponing the relocation will give you more time to save up some money while reconsidering the need to move out in the first place.
There are many reasons why you may have decided to move with no money saved and you’re the only one who understands how urgent your upcoming household move is. But it’s important to realize that moving with little or no money will put you at a great disadvantage right from the start and you’ll find it extremely hard to pull off a successful move when you’re penniless.
Advice: Do consider postponing your move to a later time when you’ll have saved enough money to move out.
Find a source of income (aka get a job)
One thing is clear – when you’re moving out without any money, you just have to find a source of income to make it work. And in most cases, finding that often elusive source of income simply means getting a job.
If possible, you should try to find a job in the destination town or city before you move out. Ideally, you’ll be moving out because you’ve found a good job in another place, often another state, which means that even though you’re currently moving with no money and no job, soon enough you’ll have both and things will be alright again.
If your move is not job-related, then getting that monthly income is vital. Do a bit of pre-move research whether your specific skill set is valued and sought in the place you’re moving to. If not, then it may be a while before you even get contacted for a job interview, which basically means that you may be forced to be flexible enough to work almost anything until you find a better-suited job.
Advice: When moving with no money and no job, your one and only mission should be to find one in order to secure that vital source of income.
Moving Checklist: Interactive and Printable
Ask parents or friends for a loan
Regardless of whether your moving budget is critically low or non-existent whatsoever, it’s time you weigh your options and see if there are any good ways to get some cash from somewhere or someone to finance your courageous decision to move out with no money.
It’s unfortunate that circumstances force you to move out during a period when, for some reason or another, you’re broke. The good news is that things will improve drastically once you secure that steady source of income but until then you’ll just need to perform some kind of a miracle.
Do you see yourself as a resourceful person?
One proven way to move out with no money and no job is to ask your parents for a loan that will cover the moving costs and maybe even the immediate post-relocation expenses until you get back on your feet. Of course, you’ll be expected to repay that loan as soon as you can.
If asking your mom and dad for a loan is not a good idea – after all, they could be the reason you’re moving out of your parents’ house with no money in the first place, then maybe a good friend of yours will be able to bail you out.
Advice: It’s never easy to ask somebody to lend you some money to move out, but, hopefully, your parents or your best friend will trust you enough to help you out.
Take (almost) nothing with you
To move away from home with no money sounds impossible… but it can be done. The real trick to achieving the impossible is to take nothing with you, or almost nothing. The thing is that the more personal belongings you choose to take with you, the more money you’ll need to pay for their transportation. And when you don’t have that money, then you’ve got yourself a problem.
Reduce the number to the things you’re taking with you to the absolute minimum, and if possible, don’t take anything with you at all.
-
That’s a great couch… that you won’t be taking with you.
MAKE a detailed list of all your belongings (a moving inventory) and then pick from that list only the absolute essentials – the things you do need on a daily basis.
- TAKE only the most essential items – essentials you will definitely need and actually use after the move, not just store away somewhere for months or even years.
- DO NOT take any large and heavy furniture pieces – this is not the right moment to do it. Moving furniture will increase substantially the final moving bill.
- DO NOT move any books either – books are heavier than you think. If you happen to be a passionate book reader, then using an e-book reader is a great idea.
Advice: Take only the absolute essentials – items you can’t live without even for a day. If you’re moving out of your parents’ home, you can always move the rest of your things when you have the money to do so.
How to inventory your items when moving
Sell whatever you can
Moving with no money is no fun at all. However, you can do something about it and earn some cash before it’s time to move out. How? It’s simple, really – sell all the items you no longer need but that still have good market value. And then, once you manage to do it, you’ll have some money to cover some of the moving expenses that you’re likely to incur during the house moving process.
- ORGANIZE a moving sale. Provided that you have enough time until the move-out date, you can organize a garage sale where you can try to sell your unwanted items for cash. The thing is that when you’re moving house with no money, every dollar you earn from the yard sale will help you achieve your ultimate goal.
- SELL all unwanted items online. This is a great option when you have plenty of time to prepare the things for sale, set up the online ads, including uploading good hi-res photos and providing detailed descriptions. And then, once you’ve priced those items correctly, you’ll need to wait until the individual online sales go through.
Advice: Moving out of state with no money is a true challenge. Try to sell your unwanted items and then use the profit toward your moving budget to have a fighting chance to pull it off.
How to get rid of stuff when moving
Find free packing materials
As a matter of fact, here’s a good rule to follow when moving out with little or no money: don’t spend money you don’t actually have on things that you can get for free.
The great news for you is that you should have no problems whatsoever in obtaining free moving boxes to pack up the things you are taking with you after all. To get cardboard boxes for free,
- ASK friends, colleagues or neighbors whether they have any cardboard boxes to spare. If any of them has recently moved to a new home, then the chances are that they will have some moving containers which they won’t really need.
- CHECK with local businesses – large supermarkets, shopping centers, home electronics stores, bookstores, etc. – if they can give you cardboard boxes in good condition just for the asking. The thing is, most of those businesses are required to recycle those boxes at the end of the day, so they should not mind giving them away for free.
- CHECK online – you can bet on Freecycle and Craigslist to try to score free moving boxes near you.
In addition to cardboard boxes in good condition, you should also be able to get bubble wrap, packing paper, and newsprint paper without paying for them. Bear in mind that when you’re moving out with no money, any packing materials you can have for free are worth the invested time and effort.
Advice: When moving without money, you should welcome every single opportunity to get something without paying for it.
Where to find free packing materials
Ask family and friends for help
Without a doubt, your best chance of moving to a new city without money is to receive invaluable help from friends and family members. The degree of help you get is likely to vary greatly but combine all those instances of friendly assistance and you’ll get exactly what you need during that tough transitional period.
-
You should appreciate all the moving help you can get.
ASK your friends if any of them has a pickup truck you can borrow – the perfect relocation scenario when you’re only moving a short distance away.
- INVITE your pals to a packing party – the perfect chance to see them one last time before you move away and to have your items packed quickly without having to hire professional packers – something you can’t afford to do anyway. Promise your friends that you’ll return the favor should any of them need move-related help in the future.
- BE brave enough to ask a friend who lives in your destination town or city if you can stay with them for a while until you get the money to rent a place on your own. This is a big favor so don’t assume that they will say yes. But if they do, you’ll be able to keep the costs at a minimum until you get settled into a new home.
Advice: It’s never easy to ask friends and family to help you move but you’re also out of good options. Be appreciative of any kind of assistance you’re offered.
How to get friends to help you move
It can be really, really challenging to move out with no money. You may still be able to pull it off using some or all of the hand-picked tips above, but it’ll be risky.
If you do reach the conclusion that it’s better to wait a while until you save up some money to finance your house move properly, then don’t hesitate to request a free cost estimate from top-rated movers near you. In the end, you may get pleasantly surprised by the good relocation deal you get from the pros.
Naturally moving should not give too much hassle when you got family or friends. Sure enough you would love their company and extra hand and moving would not be as time consuming and stressful. Unless you don’t have either of this.
Whether it's your home or office, moving can be one of the most time-consuming tasks. At Command Relocation Systems, we pride ourselves on getting you where you need to go on time and on budget.