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This seems dangerous, like people are going to spend 100% of their paycheck every month and get everything taken away from them if they go a week without a job.
On the other hand, what about people with lots of credit card debt?
In return i get complete peace of mind, free maintenance and the ability to update my furniture for no reason other than i want to.
I personally am pretty happy with renting most of this stuff but will be buying my own dtuff once i have my own house
This seems dangerous, like people are going to spend 100% of their paycheck every month and get everything taken away from them if they go a week without a job.
Or on the flipside, I've got some contractor/consulting buddies who regularly pull down $200/hr bouncing between Tech companies in the Bay Area and Seattle and big banks in NYC. Not owning anything allows you to go where the work is and keep your net worth in assets that produce actual income (like index funds and bonds), instead of sitting around collecting unemployment during a dry spell because you're encumbered b…
This seems dangerous, like people are going to spend 100% of their paycheck every month and get everything taken away from them if they go a week without a job.
I actually do this. I have rented 2 king size beds, a sofa, a 200l fridge, 40 inch led tv, small ac and a dining table for around $120 per month. In return i get complete peace of mind, free maintenance and the ability to update my furniture for no reason other than i want to. I personally am pretty happy with renting most of this stuff but will be buying my own dtuff once i have my own house
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I could make a case for the opposite -- consumers tend to buy something new at the store then throw it out a couple of years later. I can imagine these types of companies buying more durable goods so they can rent them out to multiple people back to back instead. I see it as almost automating the craigslist model.
Time will tell, of course. You might be right... but I’m pessimistic here. Renters and leasees take less good care of the items they let or rent. The clothes will have a faster velocity to the waste dump, etc. manufacturers and purveyors will cater to this increased velocity... People are worried about drinking straws. Imagine all the new plastic items to cater to this new usage pattern...
I know now that anything rented should maximize durability while minimizing cost. Time will tell which one weighs heavier, but I'm pessimistic also, and guess that minimizing cost is overall cheaper than durability.
This might be more interesting if there was more competition and prices were more inline with the cost of purchasing. It might be I don't understand the costs though. Is renting furniture or clothing like leasing a car, or is it more expensive (or less expensive)?
This seems dangerous, like people are going to spend 100% of their paycheck every month and get everything taken away from them if they go a week without a job.
Or on the flipside, I've got some contractor/consulting buddies who regularly pull down $200/hr bouncing between Tech companies in the Bay Area and Seattle and big banks in NYC. Not owning anything allows you to go where the work is and keep your net worth in assets that produce actual income (like index funds and bonds), instead of sitting around collecting unemployment during a dry spell because you're encumbered b…
However the example of a contractor who lives an unencumbered life and saves a lot of money is not at all typical. It's similar to using the example of an investment banking associate or corporate attorney who pay high rent in Manhattan for some years and invest the rest, as an argument against buying a home and having a mortgage.
In reality, many/most people are better off with a mortgage because it forces them to save money, which they behaviorally wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Likewise, buying something and keeping it around probably prevents a lot of needless repurchases and upgrades of the same item. If you are rational the rental lifestyle can make sense in some cases. But for most it just facilitates impulsive behavior. Hence the rush to capitalize on it.