Moving to a new house is always a hassle to a greater or lesser extent, even if you think you are well-prepared for it. With a task that is so complex, and oftentimes very stressful as well, it seems like there are tons of mishaps just waiting to jump on you. Maybe a box will fall open, or there will be hellish traffic along the way to your new home, or you will have major trouble getting that wardrobe in because it just refuses to fit through the bedroom door.

These things are downright infuriating, and when you think about moving to a whole other state, the annoyance multiplies with each mile on the way there. Moreover, giving things more time to go sour means more chances that your final bill will be far higher than your initial estimate. These estimates can be confusing in their own right, so if you would like to get a clearer understanding of what factors into your expenses, you can get started here.

For that reason, one effective way to cut down your costs in the roots is to select a moving company that will give you an affordable interstate relocation experience, to begin with. We have put together a little guide to show you how.

Start by searching the right way

When you are starting your hunt for the right movers for your interstate migration adventure, you should really take a moment to be clever about it. The first thing is to know how to effectively make use of your browser’s engine, because, let’s be honest about it, you are more likely to open Google than the Yellow Pages. So, search smart.

Make your browsing more effective by employing the principles of local SEO. This is the basic strategy that content, and service providers use to achieve more precise targeting of a specific area-based audience, and you can turn it right around and make it work for you.

Browse for key phrases like “top cheap movers in Austin”, “interstate moving services Austin”, “affordable Austin interstate movers”, and any variation thereof that can possibly pop up in your mind. These kinds of “regional markers” make your search a lot more efficient, excluding all the irrelevant results that generic search phrases will net you. You can further filter it through by choosing your words a little more deliberately: use synonyms, like “relocation” instead of “moving” or switch your prepositions – think “near Austin” versus “in Austin”.

To learn a little more about what local SEO is, how it started and how it works, check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_engine_optimisation

You can even get a bit creative and add narrower specifics like “Austin-based”, “up to [a given budget]”, or relate your key phrase to the season in which you plan to move, as in “best interstate movers near Austin for moving in winter”. Remember, the more specific you make your query, the more specific your results will be, which will save you tons of time.

Calculate your distance accurately

This is an immensely important item on your move planning list, because it influences a whole host of things.

Of course, the first and most prominent of these things is the likely cost that you can expect to be charged for services rendered, and even materials contributed by the company in question. But did you know that it also has an impact on the optimal medium of your relocation?

Now if you had to stop and take another look at that last sentence, you are not the only one. A lot of people have no idea about this, but you have other options besides loading your home into trucks. You can move by air or by sea as well as by asphalt road. Naturally, these alternatives are more expensive, but they can also be overall far more practical in some situations, so always take the time to look at different possible routes when you calculate your relocation distance. And if you do decide to go by road – always, always, factor in the traffic trends! All of these things will help filter moving companies based on their mobility and flexibility.

Come up with a budget plus some leeway

Budget planning is probably the first thing that pops into your mind, so you might wonder why we decided to put it in the last place on the list. The reason is simple. As much as budget planning is important, it is basically impossible to do it until you have figured out all the things we covered above: moving season, transport medium, distance, packing supplies, and so forth.

This becomes painfully obvious as soon as you check out the website of a professional mover. For example, one popular company in Austin, Apple Moving, does all kinds of moving business besides interstate, so of course pricing will vary with each since most of them depend on the services each company offer. The trick here is deciding exactly what constitutes “cheap” in your situation.

If you plan your budget right at the start, you automatically severely limit your thinking, and therefore you limit your options. People become extremely unwilling to compromise on their ideal imagined price, which is actually pretty unrealistic more often than not. The root of this problem is not being properly informed about all of the elements that factor into the moving expenses.

As you work through the phases of relocation, you will get a more realistic idea of how much investment is inevitable, what is optional, and you will be able to form a better idea of the service quality you can expect to get within a certain budget. This, in turn, will let you form a practical understanding of what is considered “cheap” in the professional movers’ circles.

Lastly, when planning your budget, always leave a margin for unforeseen expenses, and remember to reduce spending wherever possible. For example, if moving for work, your employer will usually fund an “allowance” to cover part of your expenses.