For years, you could rent apartments, cars and tuxedos, and that seemed to be about it. But over the years, the rental industry has really exploded. The rent-a-car industry alone was worth $98.4 billion in 2021 (and is projected to go up to $126.6 billion by 2028).
The next time you consider buying something that you don’t think you’re going to use often, it may be worth remembering that the rental industry universe is diverse: It may be better to simply rent it.
Michael Collins, who teaches a financial planning course at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, offers up an example related to the famed practice of renting a tux.
“When making the decision between renting or buying, the most important thing to consider is cost. For example, tuxedo rental generally costs a few hundred dollars, but buying a tuxedo can easily cost $1,000 or more,” says Collins, who is also a financial advisor at WinCap Financial. “If you plan to attend high society events regularly, it may be more cost-effective to buy a quality tuxedo. However, if you don’t think you’ll be attending these kinds of events often, then renting may make more sense.”
Collins also says that another factor to consider is convenience. Sometimes it’s more convenient to rent something you can take back than purchase something and find room in your home for it.
Ultimately, Collins says, “the decision comes down to what you need the item for and your budget.”
What’s out there available to rent? Plenty of things, including some things that aren’t actually things. Here are 10 ideas of things you can rent instead of buy.
[READ: 13 Things You Can Rent Out for Cash]
Chickens
Ever dreamt of raising chickens and collecting fresh eggs every morning, but suspected the startup costs would be too much? (Search for chicken coops to buy online, and you’ll find them for under $200 but also over $2,000.)
Well, you can rent them. You read that right: Services like RenttheChicken.com and RentaCoop.com allow you access to all the supplies and chickens you need to get going. Prices vary depending on the business and part of the country you live in, but often you’ll rent your chickens and supplies for a several month period, like four or five months, and you should assume that you might spend at least $100 a month.
But should you rent them? It’s probably smarter, in this case, to rent before you buy. Going this route will give you a taste for the lifestyle before you commit to launching your own operation and perhaps discovering you hate raising chickens. (Obviously, you may want to check with your city, homeowners association or another governing body before inviting live poultry into your backyard.)
Friends
Making friends is tough. It takes time to find quality people and to cultivate relationships. And sometimes it may feel like you have no time to spare. That’s where RentaFriend.com comes in. For about $10 bucks an hour you can get a date for a wedding or a pal to catch a movie with; some people will waive the fee, depending on the activity involved. After all, if there’s free food involved for them, and you’re going to pick up the movie tickets, waiving the fee sounds like a fair trade.
But should you rent them? If you’re in a pinch, and you really need a date for your high school reunion and like living your life like a sitcom plot, why not? But generally, it’s probably best to try and cultivate your own friendships.
Caskets
This may sound a little out there, but, yes, you can rent a casket. The body is in the rental during the funeral service but buried in a wooden box. Renting a casket still isn’t cheap, often ranging from several hundred dollars to a thousand, according to the numerous funeral websites out there. But buying a casket can easily run someone $2,000 and up.
But should you rent them? This is definitely something that only you and anyone else paying for the funeral can decide. But if your loved one loved a bargain and would want you to save money, it’s definitely worth considering. It’s also an environmentally friendly decision.
Dresses
Need a one-time fancy dress for that cocktail party or wedding but don’t want to make a permanent investment? RenttheRunway.com is probably the best known of these services, although there are a lot of stores that will let you rent out dresses. Prices are generally far cheaper than buying something new off the rack. RenttheRunway has a membership fee, where you can pay $69 a month and rent out 5 to 15 items a month.
But should you rent them? It’s a judgment call. But you could make the argument that it’s a good way to spend your money, especially if you have a career in which you really feel like you need to mix up your wardrobe — maybe you’re a TV weather forecaster — and would like to not hear people say, “Hey, I remember when you wore that last.”
[READ: What Are Junk Fees and How Do They Affect You?]
Toys
Kids tend to eventually tire of certain toys — and will certainly outgrow them. For a while, that idea led to a crop of toy rental services, though many of them have sputtered out. But there are still some toy rental services out there, like TinyEarthToys.com, which specializes in renting out baby toys.
TinyEarthToys offers subscription prices that vary from $35 a month for five toys to $65 a month for 10. You pay monthly but actually get the new toys every two months, to give your kid plenty of time to get tired of them (and if they don’t, you can buy them), and there is no charge for lost or damaged pieces. As the website says, “it happens.”
But should you rent them? Also a judgment call, and like Collins said, it depends on your budget. For some parents, it’s simply not in the budget to rent toys. For other parents, it may work out well for your wallets and to keep the playroom and kids’ bedrooms a little less cluttered.
Tools
Don’t aspire to become a carpenter? Only need a power saw for that one DIY project? You could rent one. It’s easy to forget, but your neighborhood hardware stores will typically rent out power tools. Just go in and ask if your store of choice has a rental program. And the big DIY stores have them for rent, too, including Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards.
But should you rent them? If you’ll truly only need it once and never again, absolutely. Still, as with all of these, it’s a judgmental call. Some folks really like to have every tool possible at their disposal.
Christmas Trees
Bookmark this one for the holidays. If you like real Christmas trees but are a Grinch when it comes to schlepping one into and out of your home, you can rent one. There are stores like Rent-A-Christmas, RentXmasTree.com and LivingChristmas.com all serving various corners of the country. You can rent an artificial tree, and you can rent live trees.
But should you rent them? Again, it’s a judgment call. But if you’re renting an artificial tree, it seems silly not to buy it, unless you don’t have the space for storage.
[READ: How Companies Trick You Into Spending More.]
Art
Generally, you’ll want to go to art galleries, which will sometimes rent out art. If you’re staging a home sale, for instance, you may want some nice art to dress up your house. How much you pay a month, of course, varies. Some libraries will also let you check out wall art, although you may be asked to pay a small rental fee.
But should you rent them? If you only need the art temporarily, such as a home sale or a really fancy party, this does seem to be the way to go.
Goats
Until robot lawn mowers really take off, this could be the next big thing for those who loathe the chore. Quite a few services will let you rent a goat to graze on your lawn for the day. Goats are cute, and this is an eco-friendly way to trim your grass (no gas required).
RentaRuminant.com may be worth checking out (serving four states). WeRentGoats.com is another popular site (in Southwestern Arizona). Prices vary depending on the size of the lawn, and some websites will even lend you their own goat wrangler for the day — if, for instance, your yard isn’t fenced in — to ensure the animals stay safe.
Typically, though, you’ll spend a couple hundred dollars a day, but you’ll usually get to rent a few dozen goats at a time. It may be cost-prohibitive if you’re the type of person who likes to mow a lawn every couple weeks, but if you have a lot of foliage that needs to be eaten, renting a goat may work out pretty well.
But should you rent them? This is a conversation for you and your gardener.
People to Wait in Line for You
Your time is valuable. Well, you could pay somebody to stand in line for you, if you have a really long line to wait in. As InLine4You.com’s website points out, maybe you’re standing in line to get concert tickets or you don’t feel like standing in line at Comic Con, or you don’t want to stand in line to get an iPhone. We all have lines we dread standing in. Expect to pay somebody about $25 an hour or as low as $14. InLine4You is probably the biggest brand in this space, but RentAFriend will allow you to rent a friend to stand in line for you and you can also rent people out to do this for you at the odd jobs website, TaskRabbit.
But should you rent them? If you’ve got the money to spend on a line stander, you’ll be giving somebody else a temporary job and doing some good in the world, so, sure, go for it. It also probably depends what you’ll do with the time you save. Will you spend the time you save with your family and make some nice memories? Are you going to use that time to work and make more money, so you can afford to pay somebody else to stand in line for you? You could go in circles debating this question.
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Things You Can Rent Instead of Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
