5 ms·

I think it's more subtle than that. Needing less stuff gives freedom. Renting stuff instead gives less freedom... you have many of the same expenses as ownershi

by _ah 8y ago

I think it's more subtle than that. Needing less stuff gives freedom. Renting stuff instead gives less freedom... you have many of the same expenses as ownership, but if you ever stop paying your useful stuff disappears. Owned objects of utility provide insurance to ride out times with limited income.

EADGBE 8y ago
Agreed. As least there's an asset with owned items.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  But you had to buy them! It's not a fair comparison.
  - EADGBE 8y ago
    You're paying for them none-the-less. In nearly every case over time, you'll pay more to rent it than own it.
mud_dauber 8y ago
Agreed. That’s a fair rebuttal.
- keithpeter 8y ago
  When I read the OA, I thought of how many possessions a typical farm worker would own in (say) 1890 and compare that to now. UK: I'm just old enough to remember visiting a great-grandmother who lived in a cottage without electricity and who regarded the cold water tap and separate water heater as luxuries. And the great aunt who still cooked on a range. Their houses were dark and sparse. Both paid rent for their houses by the way.
freewilly1040 8y ago
| you have many of the same expenses as ownership You're free from the task of maintaining and securely storing the thing. My biggest personal switch has been selling my car. Granted I live in an urban area where the dollar and time cost of owning a car are greater than otherwise, but I REALLY don't miss worrying about parking tickets, breakins, this and that funny sound coming from the motor, etc. Dollar wise it's been a wash.
asdfman123 8y ago
Well, if you just rent your apartment and use Uber or public transit to go anywhere, while owning a minimal amount of furniture, you can get up and go anywhere you want, whenever you want. That's freedom. If you own a car and a house, you're pretty much stuck where you are. I think in any situation, if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck you don't have freedom. A prerequisite to any kind of freedom is the ability to live well within your means and save a lot so that you're insulated from financial setbacks.
ryanwaggoner 8y ago
It's even more subtle than that :) Renting the exact same stuff for the same period of time still gives more of one kind of freedom: flexibility. You can usually more easily get rid of that stuff, and you're usually less responsible for it if it breaks, etc. Yes, there's usually a higher financial cost for that, which is less freedom in another sense. But the reality is that renting often means just paying for the time that you're using an item, instead of paying for it forever even if your utilization window is small. So jumping in an uber for 20 mins a day instead of owning a car 24/7, or renting a movie for 20% of the price to buy it, which might make sense if you're only going to watch it once or twice, etc.
logfromblammo 8y ago
Having rented things, and owned things, I have learned that some of the things I "purchased" just traded in lease contract terms for state laws, local ordinances, secured loan contract terms, community norms, and covenants. If you can't do as you please with the things you buy, there is less advantage to owning over renting. The responsibilities involved in ownership start to look like rental contracts and terms of service agreements. If I stop paying the average per-mile maintenance and operations cost for my car, it runs out of gas or breaks down. It is sometimes cheaper for me, with my own car, to rent one anyway for a long road trip, because they rent it per day without a per-mile surcharge, and that's just money paid now that does not get spent at the mechanic later, and could be recovered on resale or trade-in. You really have to look at each rent-vs-buy decision on its own merits. It makes sense to own your DOCSIS modem, your underwear, and a cast-iron pan. All the other stuff is debatable.

by _ah 8y ago

EADGBE 8y ago

Agreed. As least there's an asset with owned items.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
But you had to buy them! It's not a fair comparison.
- EADGBE 8y ago
  You're paying for them none-the-less. In nearly every case over time, you'll pay more to rent it than own it.

mud_dauber 8y ago

Agreed. That’s a fair rebuttal.

keithpeter 8y ago
When I read the OA, I thought of how many possessions a typical farm worker would own in (say) 1890 and compare that to now. UK: I'm just old enough to remember visiting a great-grandmother who lived in a cottage without electricity and who regarded the cold water tap and separate water heater as luxuries. And the great aunt who still cooked on a range. Their houses were dark and sparse. Both paid rent for their houses by the way.

freewilly1040 8y ago

| you have many of the same expenses as ownership You're free from the task of maintaining and securely storing the thing. My biggest personal switch has been selling my car. Granted I live in an urban area where the dollar and time cost of owning a car are greater than otherwise, but I REALLY don't miss worrying about parking tickets, breakins, this and that funny sound coming from the motor, etc. Dollar wise it's been a wash.

asdfman123 8y ago

Well, if you just rent your apartment and use Uber or public transit to go anywhere, while owning a minimal amount of furniture, you can get up and go anywhere you want, whenever you want. That's freedom. If you own a car and a house, you're pretty much stuck where you are. I think in any situation, if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck you don't have freedom. A prerequisite to any kind of freedom is the ability to live well within your means and save a lot so that you're insulated from financial setbacks.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago

It's even more subtle than that :) Renting the exact same stuff for the same period of time still gives more of one kind of freedom: flexibility. You can usually more easily get rid of that stuff, and you're usually less responsible for it if it breaks, etc. Yes, there's usually a higher financial cost for that, which is less freedom in another sense. But the reality is that renting often means just paying for the time that you're using an item, instead of paying for it forever even if your utilization window is small. So jumping in an uber for 20 mins a day instead of owning a car 24/7, or renting a movie for 20% of the price to buy it, which might make sense if you're only going to watch it once or twice, etc.

logfromblammo 8y ago

Having rented things, and owned things, I have learned that some of the things I "purchased" just traded in lease contract terms for state laws, local ordinances, secured loan contract terms, community norms, and covenants. If you can't do as you please with the things you buy, there is less advantage to owning over renting. The responsibilities involved in ownership start to look like rental contracts and terms of service agreements. If I stop paying the average per-mile maintenance and operations cost for my car, it runs out of gas or breaks down. It is sometimes cheaper for me, with my own car, to rent one anyway for a long road trip, because they rent it per day without a per-mile surcharge, and that's just money paid now that does not get spent at the mechanic later, and could be recovered on resale or trade-in. You really have to look at each rent-vs-buy decision on its own merits. It makes sense to own your DOCSIS modem, your underwear, and a cast-iron pan. All the other stuff is debatable.