Moving House? 4 Reasons It Pays to Hire Movers

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.