See #113.
Yes, some things (car) may be necessary for vital purposes (job). Some things (refrigerator) are practically necessary (food storage).
But some things (car, refrigerator) are best obtained in a humble manner (fewer features, used). And some things (new couch) aren’t necessary at all, and the inability to set aside money for such things is a Red Alert that you shouldn’t obligate yourself to getting one at an outrageous price.
Get a dirt-cheap used car, and pay yourself the “payments” for the upgrade.
Get an inexpensive no-frills refrigerator/washer/dryer/etc. Craigslist has people _giving_ them away just because they’re a hassle to move.
Build the couch yourself if you can’t afford one ... because you can’t afford one.
I agree with you in principal, but I also know that there are times, as much as they seem silly to you, there are valid reasons to go the route of the rent to own option for some people.
If you are not handy and can’t fix something by yourself, and you are already paying $25 a week to go to the laundromat, renting a washer and dryer for $100 a month or less is a break even economics and you now have a product you can use, that if it breaks gets replaced/fixed without you spending another dime etc. So you can go get someones hand me down off craigslist and risk that it doesn’t work or has problems and be right back to square one... If you are handy, that’s not a problem, if you aren’t not so much.
I am not saying that rental places are the best solution, often times they are not, but to say that they are never a reasonable solution, or are only used because people want more than they can afford I think is a bit disingenuous. There are certainly situations where the rental to own option is not as bad to the renter as it seems.
I wholly agree its better to save up your money and buy something, but I can tell you, there are times when it does make financial sense within the context of individual lives.. is it ideal? Nope... but when you have bad credit and poor, at times it can be the best option available.
There is no argument that the best option financially is nearly always to save up and buy it for cash, but not everyone is in a situation they can do that, and not everyone is handy enough to repair something that is not functional. Hand me downs and second hand are fine, but again, not everyone can take the risk, or already has concluded the problems they can create are just not worth the time, money and energy and decide that even though it will cost them more in the long run to buy, its a better option for them at that point and time.
Reality is everyones situation is different, and yes, while some people will do some incredibly dumb things like rent to own everything they want, you can’t just blanket whitewash that there is never a situation for folks in this situation to say its never the right option for them.
I can tell you first hand, losing my washer for 3 weeks waiting for a part to come in, I would have happily traded the money I was spending going to the laundromat weekly during that time for a rediculous rental agreement that would have been at or less than the amount I was putting into the machines. I would regain 3-4 hours a week back to myself because I could do it when I was home and free instead of a dedicated trip and an expense.
Fortunately I am not in a financial situation where I would have to do that, and I could if I had to go buy a brand new machine for cash in a worst case scenario. However, to try to argue that had someone of less means decides to do so is making the worst possible move or is only doing it because the want the best and brightest shiny thing is silly.