Moving long distance on a budget

Moving isn't easy. No matter what circumstance it is under.
My family and I are now moving for the second time this year. Both times on a budget, this time it is actually a much smaller budget because this was an unexpected move.
I want to share with you all a few things that can help you stay on budget.

1. Purge - Yes, you heard me purge. Our move to Alaska was from Florida where we lived in for 7 years. There was a lot of stuff and I mean a lot of stuff. We still had toddler toys and clothing, now may I remind you that my daughter turned 9 this year? So, we got rid of a lot. We had 2 yard sales where we actually sold most of our stuff. For the rest that wasn't sold we called Goodwill out to pick everything up. After that we had a way more manageable amount.

2. Quotes - No, I'm not talking about quotes from Shakespeare or Gilmore Girls. I am talking about quotes from different moving companies. We were quoted anywhere from $3000-$5000 to have our stuff moved for us. PODS doesn't operate in Alaska and renting a U-Haul would have been around $5000 as well. So we opted to mail our things, with regular USPS and it was just under $1000. (For 15 boxes in various sizes) I have to add to this that we didn't bring any furniture. We started all over, since we moved in with my husbands uncle furniture wasn't a big issue. However, even with furniture I still stand by quotes and research. Don't let moving companies take advantage of you. Also try to find coupons if possible, I know in the lower 48 you can always get some sort of a deal. Don't just do the online quotes, I found out that if you actually call and talk to someone you can figure out what your need is, size wise. This can also help you get the lowest price.

3. Lists - Make lists of items that absolutely have to come. This will become your baseline. From there you can see how much you have left in your budget especially when mailing things.

4. Purge again - This may sound weird but make piles of Keep, Sell, Donate. Once you are done with round two, go through your Keep pile again. I have done that with both of our moves this year and there was more that I could donate the second or third time I went through. If you do that you really think to yourself whether or not you need that item and with clothes whether or not you are actually going to wear it. In my case, I was holding on to clothes from a very long time. I had gained weight and lost weight, and gained weight again. So, I knew there were pieces of clothing I wasn't gonna wear again or don't fit in. For my daughter it was more of a thing that things she wore in Winter here in Alaska won't fit her when we get a cold snap in Florida, so all our Winter items were donated.

5. Spare Gas- If you are driving yourself and not flying. I'd recommend taking two extra gas cans. As you go along and find cheaper gas you can always fill them up and have extra on hand. For us we will be going through the Yukon and rest stops and gas stations are quite far apart. Even in the lower 48's there are places with much cheaper gas. This will definitely help you out and you won't run out of gas either :)

6. Roadside Assistance-  Before signing up with AAA, call your insurance and ask about Roadside Assistance. We got Roadside Assistance with our insurance company and it is cheaper than AAA with the same benefits. Worth looking into.

7. Skip Hotels - This may not be feasible for all families but if you can skip on hotels. We are planning on maybe getting a hotel every other day IF at all. I have a small car and it will not be super comfortable but it will be worth saving money. Plus, this gives us the chance to just continue driving as soon as we are ready without having to worry about forgetting something in the hotel room. Also, for us we will have to find a pet friendly hotel on a low budget because we are traveling with a dog and 6 Guinea pigs.

8. Food- Pack food. Go to your favorite grocery store in Florida it would be Aldi, and purchase roadtrip food. If you have room for a small cooler you can also pack cold cuts and make sandwiches on the way. On our list is Protein Bars, Cold cuts, bread, Trail mix, slim jims or Jerky, and Crackers. There is probably a little more stuff but this is all I can remember as of right now. For me I also need to make sure that I have the candy Orange slices and Glucose tablets, just in case my sugar drops. You guys probably don't know but I have Hypoglycemia, so I always make sure I have "sugar" on hand.

These are 8 tips I have for you so far. As we are embarking on our journey Monday night, there might be more to come. I hope you found something helpful in this post. If you have any other ideas, tips and tricks feel free to leave a comment down below.

XOXO, Nicole