To Lease Not Buy: The Trend Away From Ownership
For many reasons society is moving away from ownership and towards leasing and renting in many ways that you might find surprising. Most people first have the thought that they don’t like the idea and that we want our own! This is a very natural and understandable response but there are numerous good reasons to lease or rent, it saves tying up money in expensive resources, especially if they are for occasional use, it saves you cash outlay up-front, it can ensure you always have newer and more up to date thing and can save you the headache of replacing old broken items. Here are a few great examples of items you are better off renting.
Computer Software
The days of going to a computer store and purchasing software as a box full of discs or CDs are long gone, everything is downloadable these days and alongside that is a change in the way we pay for software too on our PCs and mobile devices. It’s very common to pay a monthly or annual subscription and this is very advantageous as you can get updates to the latest version and can use software as you need it, rather than say buying a video editing piece of software if you only do that once a year you can save money by just purchasing a month’s subscription as you need it.
TV & Music: Entertainment
Most of our entertainment has gone digital, and therefore online too, and the trend is definitely curving towards subscription streaming rather than digital purchases. With platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix & Spotify or Amazon Music services this is how most of us get our films and music these days as you can get a huge library of entertainment at the touch of a button for a reasonable monthly cost and this saves on a huge amount of clutter and storage space in your home as there is no need for racks or CDs and DVDs anymore.
Cars
Our vehicles are becoming one area that has seen a massive boom in leasing over purchasing in recent years, especially for new vehicles. You can even save yourself the hassle of repairs and servicing if you choose the right contract that includes this, it’s easy to compare online the deals available here there are a huge amount of different type of lease available and it will change if you choose lower mileage or different vehicles so you can find something to suit your budget and lifestyle.
DIY Tools
One surprising addition to the leasing market in recent years is DIY tools and it makes perfect sense when you think about it as you can easily spend hundreds on one tool and it may then sit in the cupboard or garage for years until you need it again. Why not rent a tool, then you get a better quality piece of kit, save yourself a packet and the job still gets done to the same high standard (depending on your DIY skills).
Sports Equipment
Another one that I have found quite useful is the ability to rent sporting equipment, I have to admit that I’m not the most active and so spending hundreds or more on the gear for that one biking or skiing holiday I’ve been asked on makes little sense, just rent it as a one off and keep the savings for myself.
