Are Renting And Sharing The New Owning?

Are Renting And Sharing The New Owning?My lawnmower was manufactured when Ronald Reagan was still in his first term.  My grandmother bought it new and I inherited it after she passed, and I’m still using it today

It’s literally cut hundreds of millions of blades of grass across two centuries.  And my neighbor uses it too.  I’m not sure if he is aware of financial independence or FIRE, but he’s pretty frugal. 

He doesn’t see the need to own a lawn mower so he borrows mine.  I don’t see the need to own a weed wacker so I borrow his. 

It’s almost like a hippie commune isn’t it?

Sharing these devices among other things between households is way cheaper than owning them.  That’s a “hello Captain Obvious” kind of revelation, but how come more people aren’t doing it?

Think of all the stuff people own in modern America.  Besides mowers and trimmers there’s chain saws, drills, saws, ladders, shop vacs, and on and on.  These kinds of tools are unique because when you need them it’s typically only for a single job or a routinely scheduled job. 

And then you don’t need them for a long while.  For most of us they sit idle and gather dust. 

If every house on a given street has every one of these things that’s a ton of wasted money and resources for duplicate tools that mostly sit idle.  But in my experience that’s how most Americans do things. 

Maybe it’s because we barely even seem to talk to our neighbors anymore.

Being on good terms with your neighbors is good for your wallet and the planet.  Enter cars.  Millennials and younger folks have taken this share and rent ethic to the sacrosanct domain of the automobile by embracing ride-sharing services, bikes and bike-share programs, and even scooters.

And they’re foregoing car ownership more than any other generation.  In increasing numbers they’d rather rent a ride than own a car that sits idle most of the time and depletes their wealth.

Who said millennials weren’t smart?

A recent NPR article highlighted those on the bleeding edge of this sharing and renting trend.  One industrious young millennial highlighted in the article owns practically nothing and is even “homeless”, choosing to rent a bed for periods of time through Podshare. 

If you’ve never heard of Podshare, it’s sort of a mercurial mashup of Airbnb, a hostile, and WeWork.  Yes, it’s a bit weird, but it seems to have an audience. 

Who knows, Podshare could prove to be a disruptor in super expensive housing markets.  And I love disruptors.

 

An Experience Economy?

Are Renting And Sharing The New Owning?

Bike shares are growing fast, this is good

Whether it be driving or owning a home, the NPR article highlights what could be seen as a growing shift from an ownership economy to a sharing and renting economy.  Tons of entrepreneurs and gig-workers are using co-working spaces as an office or even a business headquarters. 

And as the NPR article points out there’s a growing number of businesses on the supply side of things that are starting or expanding rental programs for everything from camping gear to furniture.

This trend isn’t just a fad for the younger set either.  Most of us older folks used to own CDs and DVDs, cassettes, and records.  Now we rent music and movies through digital services.  Okay, your humble and music obsessed blogger will always own, but others do.

I think this trend of renting and sharing is the next manifestation of the minimalism and tiny house fads.  Like most fads those two started with the extreme – own practically nothing and live in a 200 square foot box where everything is white. 

Extremes get noticed and the attention of the media, and they serve their purpose in that way.  That sure happened with the tiny house fad judging by the endless Instagram accounts and mainstream media articles about it.

But as the fads progressed they morphed into more sensible and practical movements that better fit the real needs of people’s lives.  To me this is good news all around.  The less we own and the more we share, the less waste and impact on this planet. 

And the more we have in our wallet.

We have to face the facts, if all 7.7 billion people in the world had as much stuff as we 329 million in America do, the world would be doomed, and pretty quickly.  Contrary to popular opinion Americans do not have the highest carbon footprint per capita, the countries that lead in that metric are almost all Middle Eastern oil-producing kingdoms.  But we’re pretty high up there, and there’s way more of us than them.

 

I Wanna Rent And Share!

Are Renting And Sharing The New Owning?

Rediscover the joys of sharing
  credit license

How can you get in on this?  The easiest way to start if you live on a street with lots of neighbors is to start sharing and borrowing. 

Do you all have your own lawnmowers?  If so, approach one of your neighbors who’s a friend and say “Hey what if I sold my lawn mower and we just shared yours. And what if you sold your weed wacker and you just used mine.  We could each make a couple hundred bucks and we would have less stuff.” 

Depending on your neighbor, it might just sound logical enough to work.  If it does you can move on to other things like extension ladders to get on the roof, carpet cleaning machines that get used once a year, and other tools. 

A great way to do this is to start a private Facebook group for your neighborhood.  My street has one and almost every day someone posts something like “Hey does anyone have a torque wrench?” or something similar.  Why go out and buy a torque wrench to use once every five years? 

Pro-tip: This is a great use of social media.  Debating any controversial subject is not, and makes cute baby seals cry out loud.  

So get on board and join the renting and sharing economy.  You might just find it’s better for your neighborhood friendships, your wallet, and the planet.

Your turn readers – Do you think the renting and sharing fad is just that, a fad?  Is ownership losing some of its luster?  Chime in below!

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Dave @ Accidental FIRE

I reached financial independence and semi-retired in my mid-40's through hard work, smart living, and investing. This blog chronicles my journey and explores many aspects of personal finance including the psychological and behavioral factors that drive our habits.

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37 Responses

  1. Im convinced that to get away from the high consumerism, Renting and Sharing will have to become mainstream. Its means putting pressure on companies to make things that last and ultimately reduce the impact on the planet.
    Excellent – Thanks!

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Great comment Robin, but the trend of “cheaper and more fragile” has been going on for a long time. Maybe permanence will come back in style one day for environmental reasons.

  2. My old neighborhood had a “Tool Library” where you could check out items like this, as well as gather together to fix your own broken equipment with the library’s tools and other members’ expertise. I love community solutions like this, and hope to see more grassroots innovation in the sharing economy. Great article!

    • Katie Camel says:

      My city has one of these too, but I don’t think it’s neighborhood specific. It’s a great idea because most of us don’t have the space for tools. Philadelphia also has a very high poverty rate, so it’s an even bigger benefit to that population.

      My local Buy Nothing Project acts as a sort of lending community. Neighbors always lend things, which is great! I love this idea of sharing, though it certainly can have it’s down side. As Shakespeare said, “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend.” So there’s always that risk that something won’t be returned or returned in the same condition you lent it. But I’m still a fan of the sharing community.

      • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

        Space for tools is another issue and sharing solves much of that. But as SteveArk said yes there’s risk. My lawnmower is so old my neighbor said “what if I’m using it and it breaks”. I said “well then it breaks and I’ll get a new one, I know you won’t break it on purpose. Things happen”

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      What a great idea, we just do it by FB but a library concept is a great way to make it more formal. Thanks for the comment and kudos!

  3. You ever see those square carpet cleaners on the way out of the supermarket? Seems odd that is such a trend but other large “once and a while” use items don’t land next to those. That said, I am sure it would be cheaper for the street you live on to just buy one and store it in someone’s garage. I hear AutoZone also provides tools for borrow or rent relatively cheap. Take care, Max.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Yes, those cleaners work well and I often wondered that too. Like say a shop vac. Thanks for the comment!

  4. xrayvsn says:

    That really is an interesting idea Dave, especially the private Neighborhood Facebook group. You are right, I have some tools I have bought for one specific purpose and it just sits there.

    It is funny how you mention buying DVDs and CDs. I used to do that all the time (actually back when we had VHS tapes too). Utter waste of money as those movies are just sitting there now and essentially useless.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      I sold my cassette tapes last year (yes, I’m old. I had hundreds). But I still have my CDs. They sit. I’m a music junkie and just can’t let go yet

  5. Great idea, though I couldn’t do the Podshare thing. 😀

  6. mrs. smidlap lived in a $300 apartment above chi chi’s rentals for many years. chi chi had every tool under the sun available and one time i had to rent a giant industrial drain snake that i could barely lift with all my might. by the way, who the hell flushed a washcloth down the toilet?

    we own all this crap and one thing i never ever wanted in life was to own a lawnmower. we own one now along with all the other necessary junk to run a DIY household. we’ve been selling off the excess but it seems like a task that will never end. we have a rental unit on one side but the other neighbor and i always were helping one another out when he was well.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Living above Chi Chi’s, how awesome! Does that come with free margaritas?

      I actually need a snake right now to un-dork my shower drain. No one in my neighborhood has one. I really don’t want to pay for a plumber for something I can do, but I also don’t want to buy a snake. 1st world problems, at least I have a shower.

  7. I think the sharing/renting economy is here because people aren’t making enough money. Seriously, who prefer to share rather than own if money isn’t a consideration? Well, it’d make sense for environmental reason.
    Anyway, it’s here to stay so we might as well embrace it.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Yes, you answered your own question Joe, for environmental reasons. As I said in the post, if everyone in the world or even half the world lived like we do in America with our huge carbon footprint and tons of unused stuff, the world would be in a very bad place. Our way of life is unsustainable for the planet as a whole, but no one wants to deal with that gorilla in the room.

  8. Abigail @ipickuppennies.net says:

    I think environmental concerns play a part, but mainly it’s just an issue of money. Not just about wanting to save it but about potentially not having it to spend. Millennials are worse off than previous generations were at their age, so it makes sense that they’d want to buy as little as possible. Either way, it’s great that you don’t have to own a weed whacker. We got a cheap one at Sears for about $30, but it never got used once my ex-FIL’s health deteriorated. So it just sat there collecting dust while we hired yard guys. (Health problems for both me and my ex-husband kept us from doing it.) I eventually sold it for $5 just to get it out of the house and to stop taunting me. If only we’d been closer to our neighbors, maybe we’d never have had to buy one to begin with.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Money is personal so yes I agree. I’ve saved some good money by borrowing, as has my neighbor. It’s not the main thing that got me to FI, but all the little things add up to big things.

  9. I love the idea of renting/borrowing/exchanging so much more than owning. Honestly I’d love to live in an apartment/community where everything f is just pooled – it’d be fun to try!

    We recently rented a camera lens for our trip to Yellowstone – it was so much cheaper than buying. It made me think what else we have that could be rented/loaned out like your lawn mower.

    • steveark says:

      I hate to be Mr. Negative, but there are some risks involved with lending vehicles, power tools, ladders and lawn mowers. If your neighbor gets hurt because of using it improperly or because the item was unsafe then you could very well get sued for every cent you own. And if your home owners insurance limits aren’t extremely high or you don’t have a multi million umbrella policy you could be wiped out. In my old line of work we got sued all the time even when we were no way at fault. It happens.

      • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

        That’s not being Mr. Negative, that’s being realistic. I agree but here’s my response. Be friends with your neighbors. Rent and share with the good ones and know their character. I actually brought this up with my neighbor who rents the mower, I know he’s not the kind of butt-hole that would sue me if something happened.

        Another way around that is to have a legal stipulation that must be digitally signed to join the Facebook neighborhood lending group. Every member has to agree to not be a douchebag and forfeit their right to sue if something happens. You can also have language in there as to what happens if something breaks etc etc. It’s all workable but your point is a valid one and should be addressed. Thanks dude.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Never heard of renting a camera lens but that’s wise, those things are expensive!

  10. Sharing with people can be pretty great. The set up you have seems pretty ideal. I know there are Facebook groups out there of “buy nothing” groups where you can grab things from people for your use and then give it away again when you don’t need it anymore.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      By nothing groups are great. A waaaaaay better use of FB than shouting about politics and the outrage of the day.

  11. Freedom says:

    Great post Dave

    We indeed are heading towards a share economy that will bring us tons of benefits!

    Think about car sharing…who needs a car anymore???
    Or bikes, Internet or streaming TV or …your lawnmower?

    Stuff own us…and not viceversa…(and cost us money thus our precious time)

  12. pikiliving says:

    I understand the advantages of the sharing economy but I just couldn’t bring myself to share with most of my neighbours. We live in a relatively low income neighbourhood in Auckland and, coming from the Manila, I’ve learned to better be safe than sorry.

    I think the geographic location is important also in the feasibility of this type of economy. In some places, a strict structure must be placed for things to work out properly. Otherwise, people will conveniently ‘forget’ to return things.

    Although I do share tools with our next door neighbour. He’s a friendly guy who welcomed us when we first arrived.

  13. I love this idea actually and have been doing it off and on for years with various things. But I think I want to practice it even more. There IS so much that goes to waste. One benefit I’m finding with a roommate is that it’s been fun to share some things again. She lets me borrow her bluetooth speaker so I can have it to work out on my balcony, and i have no problem letting her borrow things from me.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Roommates are great for sharing. Back in the day I lived with 3 or 4 of them and we definitely shred lots of stuff, including the beer runs 🙂

  14. Mr. Tako says:

    In general I agree with many of your sentiments Dave. Solid points all around!

    But aren’t you forgetting pride of ownership? If you don’t own the mower, why would you bother taking care of it? If you don’t own your home or car why would you put in the work to take care of it. Some (not all) of these renters have a ‘use it, wreck it, and then move on’ mentality.

    Collectivism has been tried in the past to some pretty horrific results. Why will this time be different?

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      “If you don’t own the mower, why would you bother taking care of it?”

      Because what I’m advocating for as far as borrowing and sharing is doing so with your neighbors – not strangers. I like my neighbors, so I’d probably take better care of their stuff than mine. I agree with you that the local tool borrowing thing doesn’t scale to strangers because it just becomes collectivism at that point and regardless of what certain political candidates think that always turns into disaster. But if you’re friends with your neighbors and you care about them you’re not going to break their stuff, and you’re going to treat it as if it were your own.

      With regard to renting bigger things like cars etc, there are already consequences in place to prevent you from treating them bad. You will likely have to pay to repair them 🙂

      But your point about the pride of ownership is something that is important in some ways. To me, I have pride of ownership for important things, like a gift my Mom gave me. That I want to own. But hedge trimmers? Those are total utilitarian. Having pride of ownership in those to me would just be weird 🙂

  15. Keep putting out these insightful posts my friend. There are a few things that I couldn’t part with on my personal finance great purge but maybe I should sell them finally. Thanks for the facebook group idea though, I will put that out there in our local group.

    • Dave @ Accidental FIRE says:

      Yeah our FB group works well and it’s a great use of a tool that I despise overall!

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