When moving overseas shipping costs can be a minefield. Whether you are paying for your move yourself or have a lump sum payment from work, you will find that prices vary widely between shipping, air freight, full load containers and groupage services. Plus there are all the additional extras you need to pay for, such as health insurance, accommodation and car hire.

To ensure that you choose not only the cheapest way to ship personal belongings overseas, but the best relocation service for you, we’ve put together these top tips on the best ways to save money on your international move:

• Pre-plan
  

  Planning your move abroad as far ahead in advance as possible will not only give you the best possible rates, but also a choice of shipping dates. It will also allow time for you to budget for your move overseas.

• Take less items

  Carefully think about what you are taking with you, if you don’t use it -don’t take it with you! Larger items of furniture, such as sofas and chests of drawers, can be cheaper to buy new when you reach your destination rather than shipping them across the world.

  Also, think about your new home abroad. Is there space for all your personal possessions? If it is a serviced apartment you may find it is already fully furnished so you only have to take clothes and a few personal items. This will save a lot of money on shipping costs.

  If you are only moving abroad for a few months or a couple of years, storage can be a cost-effective way to keep the items you can’t take safe and sound.

• Choose the right shipping option
  

  The World Bank suggests that air freight is usually 12-16 times more expensive than ocean freight, and this is normally often the case. Airfreight is ideal for items you need quickly, but it can be much cheaper to send your items in an overseas shipping container on a ship rather than by plane.

  You can also save more money on your international move by choosing a groupage shipping option. This means you share a container with other people’s shipments.

  Discover our personalised and cost-effective international removal services here.

• Shop around for additional relocation services you need

  Health insurance
  

  Most countries will require expats to have private health insurance as part of their entry requirements so shop around for the best prices and plans for you and your family – get a free international health insurance quote here.

  Foreign currency
  

  Currency exchange is something you’ll also need to think about. Choosing the right foreign currency transfer company can actually save you money. We recommend to save money on your foreign currency transfers by using Global Reach.

  Moving your pets
  

  Again, this process is best to start as early as possible as vaccinations and quarantine periods may be required, as well as plenty of paperwork to sort out. There are various pet shipping companies that can help make sure your dog’s, cat’s or chinchilla’s experience are as smooth and stress-free as possible – discover affordable pet relocation services here.

  Car hire

  Get assistance from car hire specialists before booking a car, they can save you lots of money on your car requirements – find out more.

• Book your own flights in advance

  Don’t forget you have to get yourself over to the new country as well! Skyscanner suggests looking 7 weeks in advance for short-haul flights and 18 weeks for long-haul flights as that’s when the prices will be cheaper. Sunday can the best day of the week to book tickets and Wednesday the worst, whilst if you can fly on a Tuesday you will find flights are cheaper than more popular Saturdays.

  It may also be advisable to book a holiday to the destination you are moving to a few months before you move so you can see where you would like to live.

• Sort your tax out

  Make sure that you aren’t paying taxes in two countries when you move, inform the government of your change in circumstance so they can then change your tax code.

We know that there is a lot of information to go through, but we want to help make your international move as smooth as possible for you. The less stress and hassle you have the easier your move will be.

To save the most money when moving abroad, its cost-effective to use a single source provider, such as ourselves, to tailor together all the relocation services you need from shipping to accommodation – find out more and get a FREE no-obligation quote by calling +44 (0) 20 7097 5335.