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6 Things That Make More Sense to Rent Than Buy
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Owning things is part of being a consumer. But perhaps too often, we buy before considering if we can rent instead and if it’s better financially. Sure, buying something can be easier in the moment, but in the long run, will you use the entire worth of a product? Read up on these six examples of things that might be smarter to rent.
A Home
Okay, so this one might be obvious. But the decision to rent or buy comes down to several factors. It’s very dependent on where you are in your life. Are you planning to move soon? Are you still looking to buy a home in the future but aren’t quite there yet? Is it a buyer’s or a seller’s market right now? These are all great reasons to consider renting a home. As a bonus, if you rent, you don’t have to worry about much of the maintenance and upkeep of your home.
Tools and Equipment
With the exception of tools you will use on a regular basis, most homeowners don’t use large-scale tools and equipment very often. If you are only planning to use a tool for one or two specific jobs, it doesn’t make sense to purchase it. Tradesmen should invest in their own tools. But for the average homeowner, a rented wallpaper steamer will do just fine.
A Wedding Dress
The wedding dress is one of the single most costly items in a wedding budget. What’s worse? You only wear it once! Many companies are now offering rented wedding dresses at a fraction of the cost. Beyond wedding dresses, you can also rent prom dresses and tuxedos, instead of allowing them to gather dust in the back of your closet.
Entertainment
With the abundance of streaming and subscription options like Netflix and GameFly, there is no need to buy your entertainment. Why buy a video game that you will only beat one time, when you can rent it? Pay for a Netflix account and watch as many movies as you want for a set monthly price!
Textbooks
Don’t buy your textbooks unless you absolutely cannot get around it. Textbooks are often too expensive for a student budget and can easily break the bank when piled on top of already sky-high tuition rates. Just rent. And save your money for pizza.
A Boat
Did you know that you could rent a boat? Or even better yet, buy a boat and split the cost between multiple families? Well you can. And it can be worth every single penny. Especially for those who plan on taking the boat out only a few times every summer, finding a few other families with the same idea can really make it worthwhile. Since boats can be extremely expensive to repair and store during the off-season, splitting the costs among multiple parties can give you the luxury of owning a boat, without the hassle of too many additional expenses.