5. Furniture. Renting furniture is a great way to inexpensively “stage” your home for an open house or to provide seating for an upcoming business meeting or party. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s office and home furniture rental company, Cort.com, offers temporary furniture including conference tables, desks, couches, chairs and lamps. Other national furniture rental companies include Rent-A-Center (Stock Quote: RCII)  and American Furniture Rentals.

6. Books. It may take your local library a while to stock the newest Patricia Cornwell hardcover and it costs $18.45 on Amazon.com (Stock Quote: AMZN). There’s a cheaper alternative.  At BookSwim, “the Netflix for books,” $10 a month gets you unlimited book rentals.  It’s so far the only web-based book rental company that offers newly-released hardcover titles, along with older books in paperback. College students can also rent textbooks here and at Chegg.com, saving an average of 60% to 85% on books per semester. Meantime, there’s also BooksFree.com, which offers plans also starting at $10 a month. 

7. Home. With so many people losing their homes due to foreclosure, and potential first-time buyers turned off by the recent housing debacle, renting living space may be a more suitable choice for some.  The timing couldn’t be better. Apartment rental rates are dropping across the country, as inventory skyrockets. That’s great news for new tenants and existing renters. It’s also a silver lining for folks who’ve lost their homes due to foreclosure and are desperate to find a new place to live. If you have a lease that’s about to expire in the next three to four months, call up your landlord to negotiate a lower monthly payment based on the current market rental rates in your neighborhood. For new renters, definitely ask for a deal, along with some concessions like free parking or discounts to a local gym. In New York City, where a majority of residents rent their apartments, rates have fallen five to six percent in the last year and there are anecdotes of people negotiating deals 20% less than the asking price.  

8. Cars. Maybe you work mostly from home or maybe everything you need is within walking distance.  Buying a car or leasing one for a few years may be more of a commitment than you can afford to make right now.  Companies such as ConnectByHertz.com and ZipCar, which operate pay-as-you-go car agencies, are becoming more popular.  Members pay $8.50 an hour for using a car at Connect By Hertz (Stock Quote: HTZ).  At ZipCar, share cars and pay roughly $10 an hour during the week.

 

 

 

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