So this is the last full day in Birmingham. My truck is packed (Thanks Danny, Kevin, Tong and Brad). I’ve got some loose ends to tie up, I need to pack up my clothes, wrap up my TV that has been at my dad’s house, etc.

Again, I’m still waiting for the inevitable flat tire, dead battery, forgotten big something to happen. Things to this point have gone smoothly. Of course, it could be that in the last two years – four or five moves total – I’ve learned a thing or two about how to do this.

1 – Pick your truck up early, use discount codes.
I started pricing trucks and moving help weeks ago.  Rental trucks for long distance moves usually rent cheaper during the week and there are always discount codes available somewhere online. Budget gave me four days of rental, but I end up getting five because the return store in Illinois closes before my 96-hour window is up. Voila, five day rental. Scout out UHaul, Budget, and Penske for the best rate on the truck you need. I ended up saving over $100 by renting during the week and using a 20% off coupon I found online.

1.5 – If you are renting a truck, get one just a little bigger than you need if you afford it.
No playing an elaborate game of Tetris with your stuff. I’ve got room for anything I might have forgotten. A bigger truck at Uhaul is $14, a Budget is no cost when I just checked.

2 – Budget the time you need to move, then give yourself an off day.
I could leave right now if I wanted to. My truck is almost 100% packed and needs only my clothes and TV to go in it. Instead I’m enjoying my last day to go out to lunch with my dad and dinner with my best friend. If I needed to do anything else (like cancel my YMCA membership which I did yesterday) I have the time to do it. I know this isn’t realistic for some, but for me I’m not in a huge, huge rush to get up there. I’ve got a day to decompress and let the stress of packing and organizing dissipate before I have to move 700 miles away.

3 – No use in doing it all in one day
This will increase your cost by a hotel room, but the reduction in stress will be worth it. Consider driving a little more than halfway and spending the night. Regardless of when I could leave Saturday morning I would have been exhausted and it would have been late on my arrival in Chicago. Instead I opted for a hotel room in Indianapolis which leaves only 200 miles of driving (out of a total of 700) on Saturday morning. I get a full night’s rest (again search for discount codes, I found a corporate rate code for the hotel I’m staying in, 20% off), I don’t have to drag into Chicago, find a place to park the truck, and then have to move it in the morning. Instead I’ll be wide awake and ready to go as soon as I get in to town, and I’ll have all afternoon to move in.

4 – Emove.com or Craigslist for help
Hire, help. Hire, help. My brother pointed it out best to me the other day. Once you get past college and into your late 20′s it’s time to stop counting on your friends to help you move. I did so yesterday mostly because all it involved was moving stuff from a storage unit down a hallway and into a truck. There were no doors to negotiate, no stairs to climb or walls to ding. Hiring help (I’m paying $120 for two hours) is worth it mostly because guys who do it every day know the best way to get a couch up some stairs or get your chest of drawers in the front door. They do it five times a day. The cost of paying someone who knows what they’re doing outweigh the cost of your buddy accidentally ripping your couch or dropping your TV.
(Note: Many of these services are contract labor, no insurance etc.  You roll the dice, but I’ve never had anything broken. If you have extremely valuable stuff, hire those that have insurance)

5 – Take a deep breath and realize why you’re moving
For me it’s a great new job in a city I love near the one I love. Whatever stress and money it may cost, it will amost always be worth it.