Don’t buy - Rent!

My first experience with renting a household product was back when I first graduated from college. My boyfriend(now husband) enrolled me into a CD music program since he was going to buy me a CD player for Christmas. Well, that fell through and since I had these 12 CDs that I paid a penny for (plus shipping) I kinda wanted to listen to them. So I rented a CD player.

I took it back a few weeks later after I did some math and realized that soon I would have spent enough money that I could have bought one. I guess that has always been my mental block when it comes to renting household items is that over time I could have bought it for that price.

However, I do see how it could be beneficial to rent. I met a single mom with three kids and she rented furniture. After a few years you own it with most lease options, so this was a great way for her to get the items she needed and be within her budget.

Another reason to rent is items you don’t need but for a special occasion. We could use a second laptop on our trip Labor Day weekend, so we might check into a laptop rental instead of trying to scamper to buy one.

So, renting household items might not be such a bad option under the right circumstances.