After recently graduating from university I have at least 3 years experience with moving from student place to student place. Of course everything was left until the last minute and by the time the summer came, and the dregs of my student loan were coming to an end, finding the cheapest methods to move was of the upmost importance. Here are a few handy tips I live by when trying to move fast and save money!

1. Throwing Away Waste
It sounds simple but this technique really does save you a lot of money! And can, in some cases, make you some too. The worst thing when moving is taking everything you own with you. As I student I know all too well how much is accumulated throughout the year. All the clothes that are impulsively bought when the first batch of loans comes through, all the books you needed over the semesters and all the general rubbish you pick up or find after a night out. If you don’t NEED them, BIN them. When it comes to moving, less is the key. You don’t want to be moving to a new house and finding you have no place to keep all the junk you don’t really need or want. A good idea here is to look into selling any items that are worth selling. Your junk might be someone else’s treasure. And more importantly, it could make you a few quid, which is always a bonus. So in the early stages of packing, don’t just throw everything into boxes. Sort through all your clothes and items and decide what is really worth keeping. And be hard on yourself; only keep things you know you are going to use again!

2. Don’t pay for storage boxes if you don’t need to
Over the years I have found it easier to keep all the boxes I move with for the next move. However, if you’re moving for the first time it might be an idea to go into a local supermarket and ask to use some of their old boxes. Most places are more than happy to give you them as a means of recycling them. This will save you some money on removal boxes which can cost up to £20 for a few boxes. For a student, saving as much money as you can, especially when moving, is key!

3. Transporting all your belongings
If you don’t have access to a car or have someone who can help you move, it might be an idea to hire a man with a van as a last resort. However, this doesn’t have to be costly. By looking on gumtree.com you can usually find some very cheap man and vans. This might even work out cheaper than making numerous trips in a car, depending on the amount of boxes and furniture you have. I would recommend using a man and van service if you are moving from one student property straight into another, within a 10-20 mile radius. Upon research, many man with van companies charge around £15-20 an hour with labour. This can work out cheaper than hiring and driving your own van for the day if the journey will only take you around an hour. To hire a van the cost could be around £40 per day, but if you know the journey will only take around an hour, give or take, a man with a van is the best option.

The main factor to a cheaper move is to minimise your belongings and minimise your costs. Recycling as much as possible and using recycled packing materials will reduce your expenses drastically. By getting rid of all the junk you don’t need, you will reduce the cost of packing and transporting and make room for all the new junk you can start to collect over the next year!