Renting is cool.
At least, I think it is.
Of course, it’s a fine balance between what I can afford to rent, and what I cannot (*cough* rental cars *cough*), but if I had billions of dollars, I won’t have to worry about owning anything.
That seems like a strange attitude to many, especially in this day and age.
Heck, why would ANYONE rent instead of owning? Isn’t owning… better?
In some ways, yes.
Owning your own laptop, your own bed, and your own clothes (especially underwear) is really, really nice.
But BF once casually remarked that there are also rich folk out there who don’t own anything, and simply live by paying for services.
They live out of hotels, they pay for restaurant fare (anything they want), they go into a shop and rent expensive toys — boats, planes, jet skis, cars, instead of shelling out millions for it.
They are TRANSUMERISTS.
What is Transumerism?
The transumer philosophy is largely based on a “leasing lifestyle,” according to an analysis by Trendwatching.com, a global trend-spotting company based in the Netherlands.
Rather than spending your money on individual things, which you then have to keep (suddenly an old-fashioned idea), you purchase access to an array of objects and experiences.
It can save time as well as cash: after all, the more you own, the more you have to worry about, maintain and upgrade.
Via MSN Money
As for us, I think we’ll be apartment renters for life, just out of personal choice more than for financial reasons.
We will also keep owning our own cars (BF brand new, me with my secondhand cars), and to try and borrow and return as much as possible for things that aren’t going to be used for a long time.
Then again, never say never!
But still, why rent anything?
The Thrill Wears Off
Buying something new, gives you a rush, like scoring the most amazing deal on whatever it is you were hunting.
But sooner or later, the thrill wears off. With renting, you get the thrill of owning the item and using it.. and when you’re bored, you just return it.
Anti-Stuff People Love it
I tentatively put my toe into this bucket. I am anti-stuff, but if you only saw my wardrobe and shoes, you’d think I was smoking some crack.
BF is a better example. The guy LOVES to cook. But he said (and I quote):
If I had lots and lots of money, I’d just pay for someone to cook exactly what I want for me, and I’d only cook if I felt like it.
That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about buying or caring for all the kitchen stuff we have to make all of these dishes.
I could just pay, eat, not do the dishes (big point), and leave whenever I feel like it.
Huh.
No Hidden and/or Recurring Costs
Yes, ownership is supposed to be the key to building wealth (via assets).
But why don’t we ever talk about the hidden costs? Maintenance and upgrades on cars, boats and houses gets PRICEY!
You can free up your cash flow
Instead of buying a million-dollar yacht, you rent it for thousands of dollars when you need it, but ultimately in the long run, it costs less (unless you decide to live on it).
If you love changing out different designer purses every week, you can pay hundreds to rent a bag (Bag, Borrow and Steal or From Bags to Riches), instead of paying thousands for ONE bag.
Personally, I am not a fan of that — I’d rather own the bag, but then again, I am not really into the thousand-dollar bags thing.
NetFlix is another service — instead of buying and collecting all of those DVDs, just rent them, watch them & return them; all for the low fixed monthly price.
Or just simply renting a car
Think about the:
- insurance
- parking fees
- gas
- maintenance
- fees for driver’s license
- fees for the license plate
- repairs
- loan payments (if any)
- depreciation
- upgrades
…and whatever else I’ve missed that comes with a car.
According to AAA, most cars are only used 66 minutes a day, but cost $8095 a year on average.
66 minutes x 365 days = 24,090 minutes in total
$8095 a year divided by 24,090 minutes = $0.336 cents a minute
Per hour, that’s $20.16!
So if you don’t use a car that often, just rent it once a week, and it’ll be cheaper than owning one in the long run.
Unless of course, you bought one in cash, outright for a few thousand bucks, and pay under $500 in fees, gas, insurance and maintenance per year (*raises hand*).
I use my car quite a bit now, just to run errands during the week, or to drive to work when it isn’t in the middle of winter.
It’s saved me money, but only because I was lucky to have bought that car in such good shape for its years, for so darn cheap.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
It seems like there are two sides to transumerism, a financial and emotional side. There is a financial side where you can sometimes save money, depending on your long-term or short-term goal. And there is the emotional side where you get the feeling of freedom from possessions. I suspect that if owning something cost the same as renting many of us might still choose renting for that feeling of freedom.
I can agree with this to a degree. Like Netflix–duh, it seems like a no-brainer to me. I think there is a certain pride factor to owning something–owning that designer bag, nice car, or your own house. I would love to see more statistics on this, such as what percentage of people actually live by this lifestyle.
I think it’s because when it comes to renting(especially for accommodation), people forget that they’re paying for a service and not merely flushing money down the toilet. I don’t own a car and I pay for the occasional taxi to get from A to B. Friends with cars that literally spend AUD$4500+ on every year for gas, insurance, repairs and parking ‘tsk tsk’ at me when I tell them I paid AUD$50 for a taxi fare home. The AUD$4500+ figure is for those whose cars are already paid off – for the ones that still have car loans, it is easily AUD$8000+! Parking is incredibly expensive in this city.
Meanwhile, it costs me AUD$2500 per year in train tickets/bus tickets/taxi fares to get from A to B, and I can take naps during my journey as well, unlike my car driver friends 🙂
This post is a bit frustrating. Yes, it’s probably better to rent a boat a couple times a year than buy one. It’s also probably better to rent a car than own one if you live in a city with good public transportation or you have other modes of transit. However, in the car example, you listed costs that would still occur even if you rented one (you would need to carry insurance, license, etc if you ever planned to rent a car).
What’s the purpose of all this? To live care free or to save money in the long run? Sure, then renting might be easier, but in the long run (for some products), it’s more expensive. That’s why rental (car/property/etc) companies make money.
Renting an apartment is a perfect example. In the long run, if you rent for your whole life, you end up paying more and you end up with 0 assets from the transaction. Sure, you may have saved a few bucks from repairs/insurance, etc, but you lose in the long run. If someone weighs convenience over money, then sure, they will go the rental route. Of course there are a few areas that are cheaper to rent than buy (i.e. Los Angeles 5 years ago), but that’s another topic. Netflix etc are good examples of how it probably would pay off if you use it enough, but it’s a different pricing model than renting a car or leasing an apartment (obv)
Right now I’m a renter because the city I live in is not someplace I want to settle down in. A lot of my friends feel the same way but are buying homes here anyway as “investments”. I would rather save my money and then eventually buy a place that truly speaks to my heart. The idea of home ownership is very important to me. I am a big homebody and love everything to do with making a house a home. As a child I would bed my parents to take me to the Seattle Home Show every year! I also like the idea of having a comfortable, humble home one day as an old lady that is completely paid for. The idea of having to continue to pay rent until I die is a scary concept for me.
If I could I own a home (or townhouse/condo), but only if I had enough money to get it decorated and fixed how I like. I wouldn’t want to be house poor. But I don’t see that being a possibility in the foreseeable future where I currently live.
Car ownership sounds like a lot of hassle. And when you have one, you tend to use it instead of walking, cycling, or taking public transit. Stick to one of these three modes of transportation but sign up for a car-sharing service such as Zip Car or Auto Share for when driving truly appears to be the best option. This lifestyle is much healthier for the environment, and in turn, your body.
Other good items to rent: prom dresses, special occasion gowns, and wedding wear. Considering they are typically worn only once, I am appalled by the hundreds, and even thousands, people spend on them.
My boyfriend and I rent a car for him pretty much everyday, usually doing monthly rentals to save money. All the vehicles he owns get about 8 miles to the gallon. Given the financial stress of owning two businesses in a recession, both of which barely break even, if we’re lucky, renting makes more sense. I signed us up for some bonus points promos last year, so about three months of this year, we’re using those points to rent for free. Rewards rentals can only be a week max, and it’s a pain to renew every week, but it’s worth it to rent for free for a quarter of the year. His rentals all get about 30 mpg. He drives a lot for work. As a small business owner, he can deduct the car rental fees (I think).
This completely makes sense. It’s similar to borrowing stuff from your neighbours if you don’t have what you need. There’s no reason to own a lot of stuff that you will use fairly infrequently, but then must store and keep somewhere.