Money Management

If you can swing the cost, professional movers are well worth hiring. Read on for the why, from a reluctant moving expert. 

Moving is no one’s idea of a good time (and if it’s yours, please seek help). That said, it’s sometimes necessary — to go to school, to change jobs, and ideally, to grow your life. Analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau based on 2007 data suggested that the average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime.

You can certainly DIY a move, but if you’ve been considering whether to hire movers, the extra cost involved might be giving you pause. Angi reports that the cost range to hire help for a local move is $914 to $2,528. Hiring out for a long distance (at least 100 miles) move runs $2,700 to $10,000. This is clearly a huge range, so I recommend running your own numbers and calling moving companies for estimates — in moving, as in all things financial, it pays to shop around and potentially save yourself a huge credit card tab.

I’m at 35 moves and counting, so you can trust me. Here’s why hiring movers is worth it.

1. Less physical stress on you and your loved ones

Let’s focus on the most tangible benefit first. When you hire professional movers, you’ll be saving yourself and your loved ones a ton of physical stress, and let’s be honest, potential risk. It’s one thing to rearrange your living room furniture on a rainy Sunday, but that’s far different from risking injury by hauling heavy boxes and furniture up and down stairs.

Professional movers do this kind of heavy physical labor every day and are aware of their own limits. They also tend to come in teams, meaning more than one person will be on hand to muscle your treadmill or living room sofa onto a truck. Besides, do you really want to inflict the potential misery of moving on people you care about? Hire movers, preserve a friendship.

2. You can focus on other aspects of moving

Moving day is a whirlwind of activities both large and small, and if you have professionals to handle the actual moving of boxes and belongings, you’ll be free to tackle other tasks. Someone needs to clean out the fridge and make sure all the closets have been emptied. Someone needs to ensure that pets and small children are reassured and cared for (moving day will be loud and confusing and scary for them).

And chances are, you’ll have items that you might not want in the back of a moving truck, and will want to drive to your new home yourself, such as fragile electronics, important paperwork, and perhaps a suitcase with the clothes and toiletry items you’ll be needing that first few days. You can be loading these things into your car while the pros do the heavy lifting.

3. Why test your ability to drive a big truck?

I don’t know about you, but the prospect of driving a large van or truck that’s stuffed to the brim with all my worldly possessions does not sound like a good time to me. Even in all the moves I orchestrated without the help of professional movers, I was lucky enough to have someone else to drive the actual moving truck, if I used one (most of my 1,000-plus mile moves involved a trailer attached to the back of an SUV). I wouldn’t risk driving a big vehicle and would prefer to leave that to people who have the experience to do it safely.

4. Professionals are very efficient

Hiring movers might not save you money on a move, but it will certainly save you time. Experienced movers will be able to judge how large of a truck to rent (or even have their own!), and will know how to load it most efficiently and to ensure that everything fits. And they’ll be faster than you. Playing Tetris is a lot of fun, but it loses some of its charm when you realize that not as much will fit in the truck you rented as you assumed.

How to keep your moving costs down

As we established earlier, hiring movers can mean a hit to the ol’ checking account. So how can you save money on your move otherwise?

Do the packing yourself: It’s likely that you’re the best person to pack items in a way that’s convenient for you and to ensure fragile stuff is protected. Plus, Angi notes that packing services can tack an extra $1,000 onto your move.Get organized: If as many of your boxes as possible are in a central location in your home (say, a first-floor living room), it’ll be a lot easier for the movers and they’ll be able to complete your move faster, saving you on hourly costs.Try to move at an off-peak time: Summer is peak moving season, and if you choose a popular moving weekend, you might struggle to find movers to hire (or pay a premium). If you can move at another time of year, or even on a summer weekday instead of a weekend, you might save money and have your pick of moving companies.

If moving day is coming up soon, do yourself a favor and price out hiring movers. It could save you stress and make the day much smoother, which is 100% worth it.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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When Delta downgraded a plane for an international flight, they offered me $3,000 to give up my seat. Learn how I could have made more money. 

On Tuesday, May 23, I sat at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta anticipating what I thought would be a nine-and-a-half hour flight to Amsterdam, followed by a quick layover and three hour flight to Bucharest. By the end of that same day, I walked out of the airport with $3,000, a hotel voucher for the Renaissance, a $30 meal voucher, and a plane ticket for the same route to Bucharest scheduled for the next day.

Now, I’ve heard of travelers giving up their seats for $500, sometimes even $1,000. But never have I been personally offered to give up mine. I was shocked when Delta offered me $3,000 to give up my seat, but truthfully — I could have gotten more.

How I got $3,000 from Delta

About 30 minutes prior to boarding, Delta announced the plane to Amsterdam had been downgraded and they needed 32 volunteers to give up their seats. They would give $1,200 to whoever volunteered, they said, which could be used to buy gift cards to various places, like Amazon, Starbucks, Delta, Uber Eats, Target, and more.

$1,200 was generous. But since the ticket to Bucharest cost about $1,700, I didn’t find it initially compelling.

Neither did anyone else, for no sooner had the Delta gate agents announced it than they returned with a higher offer of $1,500. Little by little people gave up their seats, but not enough to count 32, and Delta kept raising the offer by $300 increments to entice more travelers.

By the time the offer reached $2,500, I was ready to throw in the flag. But I was also traveling with a group of nine — including my mom — and didn’t want to separate from them. We had a tight itinerary and were meeting friends in Bucharest at a specific time. This tight schedule, however, was also a source of anxiety. Our flight to Amsterdam had already been delayed by a half hour, which was narrowing the layover time we had to catch the flight to Bucharest, and since no one seemed interested in staying in Atlanta for the night, it appeared the flight would be delayed even longer.

When Delta announced it was raising its offer to $3,000, my mom and I decided to take it. We were shocked it had gotten that high, but imagine our surprise when Delta boosted the offer to $4,000 to entice its final passengers to give up their seats. If we had waited only a few minutes longer, we would have earned $1,000 more.

How to get the most out of an airline offer

Many experts are predicting that the 2023 travel season will be busier and more crowded than last year. In fact, according to TD Cowen, cited by Bloomberg, roughly 275 million people are expected to travel between May 25 and Sept. 4, which is roughly 19% higher than 2022 and 7.4% higher than 2019.

Higher travel volume increases the likelihood of overbooked planes, or, as in my situation, planes that are downgraded a few hours before the flight. That means, if you’re flying this summer, there’s a chance you can find yourself in an auction for your seat.

Here’s my advice — don’t take the airline’s first offer. At the very least wait until the second, possibly the third or fourth if you notice interest is lacking. If the airline needs your seat more than you do, give them some time to offer a price that makes the inconvenience worth it.

In my case, $3,000 was plenty. Delta put us up in the Renaissance, and they paid for our dinners, too. I ended up exchanging the $3,000 for $1,000 at Delta, $1,500 at Amazon, and $500 at Uber Eats. It not only paid for my trip to Romania but gave my personal finances some extra breathing room this month.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com, Starbucks, Target, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Costco’s prices might seem unbeatable. But that doesn’t make it a wholesaler. Read on to learn the details of the business. 

Many people join Costco to get access to lower-cost goods, from groceries to apparel to household essentials. And often, the savings that can be reaped via a Costco membership are enough to justify the fees, which are currently $60 for a basic membership and $120 for an executive one.

But you may be wondering what sort of business Costco really is. Is it a retailer? A wholesaler? A combination of both? Here’s the scoop.

Why Costco is not a wholesaler

Investopedia defines wholesaling as, “The act of buying goods in bulk from a manufacturer at a discounted price and selling to a retailer for a higher price, for them to repackage and in turn resell in smaller quantities at an even higher price to consumers.”

Now that’s clearly a mouthful. But if you look at what that definition entails, you’ll see that it’s not what Costco does.

Costco doesn’t buy goods in bulk and then sell them to other retailers. Rather, Costco buys goods and then sells those goods directly to consumers. That right there makes Costco a retailer.

Now you may be thinking, “Ummm…but the name of the company is ‘Costco Wholesale,’ and it even says so on its website, so what gives?”

That’s a fair point, and one that’s apt to lend to a degree of confusion. But a good way to think of it is as follows. Costco is a retailer that sells many items in bulk, or wholesale, quantities. But because you can buy goods directly from Costco, it’s technically not a wholesaler in the classic sense of the word.

Don’t get too caught up in the details

Figuring out whether Costco is a wholesaler or not can be tricky. But remember, just because a given word is in a company’s name doesn’t mean that that defines the business itself.

Take Pizza Hut, for example. It has “hut” in the name, but chances are, your local store is, well, an actual brick-and-mortar store and not in fact, a hut. Think of Costco in the same light.

That said, what you should know about Costco is that the revenue it collects in membership fees is what allows it to offer its goods at such competitive prices. So if you’re wondering how it is that you consistently manage to rack up a smaller credit card tab buying food at Costco than at regular supermarkets, there’s your answer.

Of course, you can make the most of your Costco membership by checking out the warehouse club giant’s monthly deals and scooping up items when they’re discounted. You might also benefit financially if you upgrade your Costco membership to an executive one, as that will allow you to score 2% back on all Costco purchases you make. That could be a good route to take if you use your membership often.

All told, it’s easy to see why you might look at Costco as a wholesaler. But the fact that it sells goods directly to you makes it a retailer — and one it could pay to visit often.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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