There are really only two types of moving situation for most of us: a situation where you can get away with having a couple of friends help you out in exchange for a round of beer, and a situation where you really should hire a moving service to come and get the job done.

It really boils down to, well, how much stuff you have. If we can break it down:

Bringing Over Some Friends

If you're moving out of a studio or one room apartment and you have limited furniture and property to move around, your best bet really is to just bring over a couple of friends. If your apartment is pre-furnished and you're not even bringing the couch, bookshelf or TV with you, why hire a moving service just to move over a couple of boxes of books, clothes and your computer?

The bottom line is this: if you can easily move your stuff from your old home into your new home yourself or with a friend or two, then go ahead and do so.

Hiring the Movers

When you're moving your whole family, when you've amassed a fair share of furniture while living in your old home, it may be a better idea to hire a moving company than it is to just bring your friends over. There are a few obvious advantages.

For one, movers can often move over in a single trip what would take you several trips. They have the truck for it whereas most of us might wind up having to hold a bed to the roof of our car with our hands.

They can often move everything in a few hours where it would take you and your friends a whole day, or several days. Certainly if you're moving from town to town, you're really better served to hire a moving company with the resources and manpower to take care of it all in one trip than you are to spend your time and energy and break your back trying to haul all of that stuff yourself.