What’s the actual cost of DIY moves?
DIY moves are usually cheaper than hiring professional movers. But how much cheaper are they? And what are the risks of doing it all yourself compared to hiring professionals? Moving is an expense, and we all love to save a dollar where we can, but before you decide to move everything yourself, consider these points. They will probably save you from unwanted expenses.
What are the direct costs of DIY moves?
The moving truck
Unless you have a heavy vehicle licence, you’ll need a small truck you can drive on a Class 1 driver licence. These vary in cost, but you’re looking at over $100 per day along with a per kilometre charge. If you have a three bedroom house or larger, you’ll likely make multiple trips, as small trucks have a small capacity.
Packing materials
To give your belongings the highest level of protection, you need to use good packing materials. Standard boxes aren’t as good as moving boxes, so free may not actually be free, as breakages are costly, but we’ll cover that soon. If you’re keen to use good packing materials and want to save a few bucks, we sell recycled boxes at our box shop.
Safety clothing and moving equipment
If you plan to do the heavy labour yourself, you’ll need safety clothing. The cost of an injury is an expense you may regret for a long time. We’ll also cover that point soon. You’ll also need to hire trolleys, dollys, lifting straps, moving blankets and any other equipment for moving large and heavy items.
Hiring a hand trolley or a dolly will cost you approximately $40 per day each. It all adds up.
What are the indirect costs of a DIY move?
Your time
We think we’re saving money by doing the work ourselves, but our time isn’t actually free. Are you taking time off work to manage your move? If so, you’ll have to use leave or leave without pay. Are you doing the packing, cleaning and disassembly yourself? This also takes a lot of time. What would you do with your time if you didn’t have to do these tasks? There’s an old adage in business: keep doing what you do best and pay professionals to do everything else.
Accidents and injuries
Moving is a big job. It’s also very stressful, physically demanding and a skilled profession. If you don’t know how to lift large, heavy objects safely, there’s a high risk of injury. Back injuries, sprains and strained muscles are common. Some injuries can be severe.
Accidents also lead to damage to your personal belongings. Then you’ll have the cost of repairs or replacement. Some accidents in DIY moves cost more than hiring professionals to manage the entire move. And then there’s moving insurance.
Moving insurance
If you have an accident and you don’t have insurance, you’ll have to cover the costs yourself. This can include third-party costs if your accident damages someone else’s property. Very few, if any at all, insurance companies will provide you with moving insurance if you have packed your own boxes and are moving yourself. Why? They know how many accidents happen in DIY moves compared to moves managed by professionals.
We can secure preferential rates for moving insurance, which covers you for accidents, damage and third party costs.
Weighing up the costs
When you compare the cost of moving yourself to hiring professionals to do it, you’ll see how your costs could easily become much more than you initially believed. If you want to weigh up the costs, get quotes for the truck, materials and equipment, and factor in your time to do the work. Compare that to the cost of hiring professionals. We can give you a fixed price quote for your move with no obligation to proceed. Then make your decision.