Moving is an inherent part of being in the military. Most military families make a permanent change of station (PCS) every 2 to 3 years and that does not include temporary duty assignments (TDY) or deployments. Members of the military and their families get very good at moving. In fact, many of them successfully make do it yourself (DITY) moves for many of their assignments. With proper planning and tools like a DITY move calculator, doing a move yourself can actually make you money.
If you are in the military, the government will pay a professional moving company to pack and move you. For most assignments, you could alternatively choose to handle the move yourself. That means you could either hire a professional moving company of your choosing, or utilize portable storage containers, a rental truck or your personally owned vehicle (POV) to do the move yourself. The government will reimburse you for 90 percent or more of what it would have cost them to move you. Get out your DITY move calculator, because your wallet could benefit if you are willing to do the legwork involved.
The first thing to do before you start plugging away with an online DITY move calculator to find out how much you could be reimbursed, is to make an appointment with your transportation management office (the name differs from service to service) on base. During that counseling session, your moving options will be discussed. The government will not reimburse you if you make an unauthorized DITY move. Additionally, you will find out what your maximum allowable weight limit is. That limit, which is based on things like rank and number of dependents, is key when you start working with figures via a DITY move calculator. The government will not pay for anything above that weight limit. You can either work with the counselor at that initial appointment or use an online DITY move calculator to estimate what you would be reimbursed for a DITY move. Take those figures from your DITY move calculator and compare them with the amount of work involved with handling a move yourself. If you and your family are up for it, start planning.