What is the fuss?
Nowadays, people change jobs every 2–3 years. Reasons for job change can be many — ranging from better opportunities, higher pay, personal reasons, or being laid off. More often than not, a job change requires a person to relocate to a new apartment. I remember myself, in my early twenties, when relocation means packing my laptop bag and one suitcase filled with clothes and basic cosmetics. That was it! I was done packing. I would book an auto (a three wheel open transport vehicle), and relocate to my new flat at the other end of the city.
However, as you enter into your thirties, you have more stuff to move. Furniture, electronics, decorative items etc. This post is a summary of money saving tips from my experience relocating recently in 2023 in Bengaluru, India. Lets get into it.
Tip 1: Go with reputed Packers and Movers
It is better to go with reputed packers and movers, who have been in the business for some years. You can find cheaper vendors in your city. However, engaging with them, negotiating with them, will be tough. And there is no guarantee that agreed upon payment terms will be honoured at the end. You do not want to be in a situation where all your household stuff worth lacs of rupees is on a truck, and the vendor ups the price for his service, else threatens to drive the truck away!
Personally, I like marketplace platforms, which allow vendors to list their services online. The marketplace platform manages payment, order processing, and any negotiation or disagreement with the vendor. There is bound to be a disagreement, because packing and moving is never an end-to-end standardised process. There will be debates on packing glass items, moving plants and pots, using lifts vs using stairs, allowing parking of truck or van near the lift etc. Every small discomfort to the packers and movers staff will lead to a demand for more money. It is better to have a professional moving manager take care of all these small stuff.
Do note that going for professional packers and movers does not mean paying high. This tip is just to avoid local vendors, as what would seem like cheaper price upfront, will turn out to be costlier later on.
Tip 2 — Discard Items you don’t intend to use
Relocating is a good opportunity to let go of stuff you no longer need. That fruit juice maker gathering dust, or that wall painting you hung just because it was a gift. Even useful items that have been partially damaged, or look old and ugly from frequent use, are candidates for being discarded.
Discarding all these items will reduce the stuff you need to move, and reduce your moving costs. Typically, you are charged for per carton of stuff you move. Less number of cartons means less cost of relocating.
This will also lead to something called de-cluttering. Decluttering means having less items in your house, only the ones you need and use. A decluttered house leads to peace of mind and focus. From my personal experience, de-clutter your house today!
Tip 3 — Leave behind plants
If you maintain a balcony garden, or have indoor plants, you will be disappointed to know that you will have to bid adieu to most of them while relocating. First off, packers and movers are not happy transporting plants and soil. They will typically refuse transporting heavy soil, which weighs more than 5 kgs.
Even if they agree to transport plants, and use extra care to bubble wrap them etc., these plants will reach your destination in a near fatal state. Their leaves will be broken, stems’ bruised, and the plant itself will be drooping as if its life was ebbing out. Some plants might still survive, but is this worth all this hassle? I would recommend to take a picture with these plants, say a proper good bye, and then move on to you new apartment.
I missed mentioning that transporting plants may cause their soil to spill over other items. Do remember why companies that sell plants ship them when they are small saplings, in tightly packed small individual boxes. If you have enough money at your disposal, you can buy these custom made boxes and transport your plants. Since this is a money saving tips post, I will recommend to leave behind your lovely plants, and plan to building a new garden in your new apartment. The only exception are artificial plants, which can survive the rough conditions of relocating process.
Tip 4 — Sell your old and used Air Conditioner
This tip might surprise some, so let me explain. Relocating an air conditioner (AC) costs a lot in India. Below costs are taken as in 2023.
Cost 1: Uninstallation cost of an AC is around INR 1k per AC.
Cost 2: Installation of an AC costs INR 2.5k.
Cost 3: The cooling gas in your AC will leak out while uninstalling and installing. So you will have to mandatorily refill the gas in your AC. This will cost you INR 2.5k.
Cost 4: Cost of additional copper wiring. While installing AC in your new apartment, you will need to purchase additional copper wire. Why you ask? Because each apartment design is different. And the connection of power point to AC usually requires some more wiring to be purchased. 1 meter of copper wire costs around 1.5k. You may also need a drain pipe, which is used to drain water coming out from AC to the nearest drain. Overall, copper wiring and drain pipe will cost you INR 2k.
Hence, your overall relocation cost of an AC will be INR 7k on the lower side. If you have used your AC for more than 2 years, it is better to sell it at 50% discount, and then relocate without it.
Tip 5 — Make use of Relocation Reimbursement
Typically, companies provide some form of relocation reimbursement. Know these policies in advance. This will help you prepare required bills and invoices to claim reimbursement. Throughout your relocation, always ask for tax invoice. Do not make any cash payment w/o an invoice. Do not settle for a handwritten invoice either. A tax invoice, which has seller details and registration number, is needed for reimbursements.
Bonus Tip: Managing tips during relocation process
In India, every person involved in the relocation process, expects a tip. Your old building security staff expects tip for allowing you to use lift for moving stuff. Your new building security manager expects tips for allowing you to use lift, allowing you to go beyond the society’s allowed hours for moving etc. And then the labour who actually packs, loads, and unloads your stuff. Expect this labour staff to ask for a hefty tip.
Do note, if the tip is not given, you might face some altercation, and threat as well. Example: the labour will refuse to leave your new flat unless giving a tip. For my relocation case, the labour went to sleep in my flat, unless given a tip. I had to call building security at 11pm in the night, to make the labour leave my flat .
Being mentally prepared for handing out these tips can help you plan your relocation cost in advance. Typically, a building society in India charges a moving out and moving in charges. These charges include usage of lifts, parking of truck inside society premises, and cleaning of common areas such as corridors and lifts after usage. It is better to pay these charges, and get a formal bill, rather than settle for cash tips to security person.
For tips to labour, unfortunately there is no workaround. You can plan to give INR 200–300 per labour per day of work. Usually a 2bhk relocation is done in a single day. For a 3bhk relocation, your moving process may spill over to a second day, and you might end up tipping for both the days. Or, just treat them to a lunch or coke plus snacks on one of the days.
Parting Thoughts
The relocation industry is big, and largely unorganised in India. Can you guess the monthly income of a relocation labour in an Indian metro city? It is INR 1Lac per month. Yes, you read it right. Average relocation costs INR 20K. This is done by 4 labour + 1 supervisor, which means INR 4K for each. Lets remove packaging material cost as it is usually provided by the brand. This labour gets average INR 300 tip per day. This tip can be netted off against food and fuel expense per day. If this labour works 25 days in a month, he will earn close to INR 1Lac per month. How do I know this? I discussed this with the labour who relocated my stuff! Now, that is a decent salary per month.
Hopefully, some entrepreneur mind will recognise this opportunity, and streamline/improve the packers and movers industry in India. Till then, happy relocating on a budget!
