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The Cheapest Way to Move Out of State: Don’t Do It Yourself

What is the absolute cheapest way to move out of state or move your stuff out of storage? The answer is simple: Choose a professional, reliable moving company that actively
competes for your business.

You might think renting a U-Haul or Penske truck and spending a couple days on the road is the cheapest option for a cross-country move. But as I’m about to show you, that’s usually not the case. Contrary to traditional logic (“Why pay someone when I can do it myself?”) – the DIY moving option becomes prohibitively expensive when you factor in the cost of a truck rental, fuel, insurance, moving supplies, food and lodging. Professional moving services can actually save you both time and money.

The Almighty Infographic: Those that rent a truck to save a buck usually don’t.

To explain how hiring a cross-country moving company can save you money, I priced out three different moves ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 miles.

Penske and U-Haul prices are based on Summer 2012 rental rates for a 26-foot truck plus basic expenses: cheap hotels, insurance and basic moving equipment. This doesn’t even include intangibles like time off from work and school.

Why is uShip less expensive?

Since customer-reviewed moving companies compete for your business on uShip and often combine deliveries, the exact same relocations are hundreds of dollars cheaper— even including similar road trip expenses like hotels and fuel.

The Austin to Bend price is an actual uShip move from June, 2012. Chicago and Hartford are both uShip shipping estimates taken from a weighted average of several hundred three-bedroom moves between those cities. All examples include personal expenses.

So make it easy on yourself – relocating state to state is stressful enough as it is. Leave moving to the pros.