Moving into a new house or apartment is usually not an easy chore. Unless you rented all of your furniture and have very few personal possessions, it’s going to take either a lot of friends or the help of professional movers to get you squared away. A lot of people dislike the thought of hiring professionals, as a move is usually not the best time to be throwing money around with wild abandon. At the same time, there are a lot of advantages to going with a company, rather than with whoever wants to act as a Good Samaritan. If you want to hire the pros, but don’t want to spend a fortune, here are some money-saving tips.

First of all, don’t be afraid to make some phone calls prior to hiring any movers. You wouldn’t buy the first car you came across on the lot, so take your comparison shopping to move companies when the time is right. Before you start calling, though, make sure you have the details of your move down pat. You’ll want to give the exact same information to each company so you can get price quotes that will be accurate across the board. Also, remember this: you don’t necessarily want to hire the company with the lowest quote. These companies don’t know they are all bidding on the same job. They are simply going to give you their standard price. A company that falls way below the average line might raise a red flag or two in your mind.

There are a couple of different ways of handling movers. One, you can let them come in, pack up all your stuff, and basically handle everything from A-Z. The other way is to do your own packing and simply let the crew take your boxes and move them from point A to point B. The latter method is much more work, but it will also save you a lot of money. It also has the added benefit of allowing you control over the packing, which might make things a little easier when it comes time to unpack at your new house.

Remember that the majority of costs in hiring movers comes from the mileage. If you’re moving from one side of town to the other, it’s going to cost a lot less than moving halfway across the country. This is when all other things remain the same. Of course, you can’t control how far you have to move, but you may be able to make some concessions. If you want to save some money, it might be beneficial to start deciding what can stay and what can go. A yard sale can even put some money back in your pocket at a time when finances are bound to be a bit tight.