How To “Pay” Your Friends For Helping You Move

When you move, here is how you should pay your friends for their help.

Unless you have been living off the grid, you have probably noticed many residents of Illinois are moving out of state. It is breaking the record year after year.

Surprisingly, there are many more citizens of Illinois moving and opting to actually stay. here. Especially, in the Rockford community. I do not know if you noticed in your neighborhood but on my block, as soon as a for sale sign goes up, it pretty much immediately sells. The real estate market is hot now. Many people in Rockford are selling and buying homes.

Do you know what that means? There are a lot of people moving. Those people need friends to help them. Moving is a huge job. It takes a lot of time, manpower, and can get expensive.

The best and easiest option is hiring professionals. It will also cost you a lot of money. You can go as detailed as having them pack everything, move it, and then unpack it all. Another choice is just having them just move the boxes.

Do not worry if that is out of your budget. There are other ways to get it done. Depending on your situation, you may or may not need a big vehicle like a truck. How much stuff do you own? Is it too much for just normal vehicles? Even just renting a moving truck can be costly. Plus, many times the rental places are all out unless you reserve them way in advance.

There is a much cheaper way of getting it done. That is with the help of friends. It is the worst. You do not want to ask but you are kind of forced to. It is the phone call no one ever wants to get. "Can you please help me move?" I think I would rather loan someone money that they will never pay me back than help someone move. Personally, I do not want to move myself, so why would I want to help anyone else do it.

If you have the type of vehicle that comes in handy while moving, then you are definitely getting a call every time. Maybe, you have an SUV, truck, or work vehicle. Did you ever notice, you always have to start way too early in the morning, and then it takes all day. Plus, it is manual labor.

If you are going to call in that favor and you expect a helping hand from your buddies, you better be prepared to compensate them. They understand you won't be paying them, that is why you contacted them in the first place. You should give them something for the effort. Here is how to take care of them for their hard work and time.

• Food - Like I said, it is hard work and you are keeping them busy all day. The least you can do is feed them. A couple of meals if it is taking that long. They are not expecting steak and lobster. Pizza is standard.

• Beverages - Beer and or booze is the best. Of course, do not make the mistake of giving it to them too early. You could end up with a bunch of broken items and a job not finished. Plenty of water and soda is a good idea.

• Gas - If they are using their own vehicle at least offer them money for fuel. A good friend will probably turn it down.

Remember, if you have helped in the past, return the favor. If you always skip out, expect that same treatment. If you think you are going to be moving sometime in the future, it is a good idea to bank those favors for when the time comes.

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