Saving on a Moving Truck

Last month when we got a rental truck to move Michael's large pieces of furniture into my place where we would live post-wedding, I found out a little savings tip. Trucks are often less expensive to rent on Sundays than on Saturdays.

We had waited until the last minute to book a truck. So, even though we wanted to move on a Saturday, there weren't any trucks nearby that were available. We had to do it on the following day instead. But we saved $20 on the truck rental at Budget by getting it on Sunday rather than Saturday.

In quickly reviewing the Budget website as I began to write this post, I noticed it seems that moving truck rental prices are much like airfare and hotel rates. They vary based on demand and the time (date/day of the week) of use. You can get the same truck today for $29.99 plus $.79/mile that goes for $69.99 plus $.79/mile next Saturday. Next Sunday, the price is $49.99 plus $.79/mile.

If you have flexibility in your dates, especially for a local move, it might be worth looking into the prices for different dates. If you are available today, you could save quite a bit by moving now. Or you might find that booking in advance will help you save.

One word of caution: like hotels and airlines, rental truck companies also overbook. We got to the pick-up place fairly early when we got our truck. However, the person just two spaces in line behind us was told that she'd have to go get her truck at another location because they had run out of all of their trucks that morning. Like the rest of us in line, she had a reservation. Get there early!

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