Thursday, April 08, 2010

Owning the Wrong Things

As I read through this story on a laid off individual living off his airline/hotel miles/points what most struck me is that the guy doesn't really own useful things. Specifically he owns neither residence nor transportation.

There's a lot of sense to renting for many people, even for a lifetime. But in the end, most people are going to be better off if, by some point in their life, they own a residence and/or a car. It's one thing if getting laid off means having to cut back on electricity use and going out to eat, and another if it means burning through savings then sleeping on the street or in shelters. It is so much harder to get back on your feet from that far down.

The other end of this is that he does own stuff (keeping it in a storage unit). This is, to me, a major issue. We own lots of stuff, but the big things, we don't. We rent or take out massive loans for residences. We lease or take out loans for cars. Hell, lots of people make payments on appliances and large electronics.

Housing is expensive, and it takes time to purchase (whether saving for years and paying cash or getting a mortgage and paying it off for years). Cars, while still pricey, are, however, easy enough to own, and if you can't afford either, maybe having tons of shoes/clothes/electronics/etc. is not the right way to go?

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