You need to get out of your current home, but you have no money to be able to do so. What are your options? Are you completely stuck? The good news is you're not. Here are four steps to help you move with no money.
Barter Your Services
This isn't as dark as it sounds. The idea of bartering your services is likened to getting kids to work off their mistakes or earn their pocket money. You can offer to do everyday tasks in exchange for money or needs. Ask your parents if you can mow their lawn for a bit of extra change or talk to your friends about babysitting their kids for a nominal amount.
This may also work in business. If you have an employable skill, but the company isn't hiring, offer your services in exchange for their products or services to save yourself some money.
Stay with Friends Temporarily
If you're moving with no job to go to, you don't want to worry about the cost of apartments and rent. Ask people you know locally if you can stay with them temporary. Make sure this is just until you find a job, and hit the job search hard to get yourself on your feet.
This is easier when you have multiple friends, as you can ask to stay with each one for a couple of weeks and then move on to the next friend. Offer something as a thank you for their allowing you to stay, even if this is just cooking dinner one night.
Look for a Job Before Moving
Plan the move well in advance so you have time to find a job beforehand. This won't always work out, but you do stand a better chance of giving yourself a paycheck once you get there if you do this. Scour job boards and make it clear that you have a definite start date. Don't be too embarrassed about looking for the traditional college jobs, like being a fast-food worker if doing so means you have somewhere to start.
Save Every Penny You Can
Whether you're saving from unemployment checks or are struggling to live month to month, save up as much as you can. That could even mean saving pennies rather than dollars. Use the round-up method so when you buy something you round up to the nearest dollar and put that money into a savings account. To make this as easy as possible, each night sit down with the receipts and check the pennies that you would have left over from the nearest dollar. Put that amount straight into your "moving savings account" before you're tempted to spend it.
Moving with no money is possible, but it's not going to be easy. Take your time to plan ahead, and find people you can trust to help you. The round-up method is one of the most beneficial options because every little bit really does help.
Share30 November 2016
I'm going on a year of foreign exchange, so I am moving all of my stuff into a storage unit until I get back so I can save money on rent. I don't have much money so I am trying to do this for as little money as possible as I want to make sure that I know the best way to pack things to save space and get the smallest possible unit. This blog has some of the tricks that I have picked up in packing my household in the most space-efficient way and should be useful for anyone else packing up a household for storage.