Preparing for a Personally Procured Move Across the Country

I love PCS season! After 10 moves in the last 19 years, I still thrive on turning my type-A, task-driven mind into a weapon of mass organization. Last spring, my dear husband came with orders for a cross-country move. Due to the logistics of having to coordinate multiple travel plans over five weeks, we chose to do a full Personally Procured (or do-it-yourself) Move. This would give us the flexibility we needed to make a door-to-door move, avoid waiting on delivery appointments, make a little extra money and have more control. This was especially helpful due to the summer peak moving season!

If you are new to PPMs, let me explain. As an incentive for conducting a PPM, you are allowed to receive 100% of the Government Constructed Cost (GCC) for a partial or full PPM. The GCC is the cost the government would have paid for the move and/or storage done by a Transportation Service Provider hired by the government. The PPM reimbursement is based on mileage and weight, so it changes depending on how far and how much you are transporting.

The upside is that you get to receive the payment and keep anything that is left over minus taxes! It is a lot of work, but it can pay off in the end.

Initial planning

I enjoy planning. Give me a task, and I will color code, tabulate and package a planning binder before you can blink. It reduces my stress and lets me feel that I have control. We used several DoD and Army planning resources, and they made the difference in having the most up-to-date information:

• MilSpouse Money Mission PCS section
• My MilMove
• Defense Travel Management Office for regulations and BAH lookup
• Military OneSource and Defense Personal Property Program’s factsheet and website
• Transportation Brief on our installation
• Digital Garrison App: Google Play and Apple
• My Army PCS App: Google Play and Apple
• Financialfrontline.org

Knowing all the benefits and entitlements of a PPM, we could book a moving service, purchase plane tickets and schedule one of our cars to be transported. They say knowledge is power; however, I would say that knowledge provides you with options and flexibility — two necessary things when you are trying to reduce moving stress.

Here are a few tips for a smooth PPM:

1. Start planning as soon as you get your Request for Orders (RFOs). The earlier I start, the less stress I feel along the way.
2. Be realistic about how much “stuff” you actually have. Can you manage to pack it all yourselves or will you need to hire movers? We had a great help when we were leaving but ended up having to move everything out of the trucks ourselves when we arrived at our new duty station. I would suggest investing in moving straps!
3. Confirm all allowances, including any advances, prior to travel. Remember, there are rules around the use of the Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) to pay for expenses. It is important to ask all questions at your counseling appointment with the local transportation office. They will provide you with a useful PPM Checklist and Expense Certification form.
4. Save.Every.Single.Receipt. I am talking weight tickets, forms, vouchers and receipts (gas, rentals, moving supplies, food, etc.). Receipts for expenses are required to file your request for reimbursement and must be retained for tax deductions. Your profit will be taxed, so it is important to know how much you spent overall, especially when you have to file taxes.
5. Confirm your insurance coverage. Make any needed updates to your auto insurance and ensure it covers your travel between locations. Consider purchasing a separate liability policy to cover any loss or damages to your household goods, regardless if you are using a u-pack truck or contracting a moving company.
6. When your moving vehicle(s) is ready, calculate the total weight of what you are moving. You or your hired moving company should weigh your vehicle both fully loaded and unloaded. This is extremely important as your PPM payment will be based on these weight tickets. Pro tip: I scanned the receipts with an app on my phone just in case they got lost.
7. Make your move and submit your claim for settlement. Once you complete your move, you have limited time to submit a claim for full payment of your PPM allowance. Confirm details on what you need to submit with your transportation office. Keep all original documents and provide copies when filing your PPM request for reimbursement.

After we all arrived at our new duty station, I made copies of all of the receipts. Then, I packaged everything together and turned it over to my husband to take to the appropriate offices to settle the move. He had everything organized and was able to pull everything out as he received questions.

We had a few hiccups along the way, but our careful documentation ended up saving the day. It took a few weeks to get all of the compensation for the move, and we had to make some corrections to get the full amount reimbursed. Yes, moving over 2,800 miles, on our own, was a headache. But it was worth it for the flexibility that it offered. In the end, we made a healthy profit, and we are enjoying our new location. I encourage each of you to take on the challenge of a PPM — with a little planning and free DoD tools/resources — you might find a new way to move!

Robyn Mroszczyk is an Accredited Financial Counselor® who has worked with soldiers and families for over 15 years. She is also the spouse of an active-duty service member and is stationed in Washington state.

MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!