So, you're finally moving out of mom and dad's place? According to CBS News, more millennials are living at home than any other point in this century, so good for you for making the grand exit! Sure, affordable housing is next to impossible to find these days and there's nothing like having a parent give you financial and moral support. But you've decided to drag your old twin bed to the new place, grab some concrete blocks and boards for bookshelves and your posters of Panic! at the Disco and Florence and the Machine and start your new life. Deseret Industries didn't have any great selection of sofas or chairs and your new pad looks pretty sparse. Certainly you can't have anyone over if you don't have a place to sit for gaming, right?
For decades, people just like you have gone to places like Rent-A-Center to furnish their homes. There are more than 2,900 of these stores across the country and they're as popular as ever as an alternative to buying new appliances and furniture. With ads like "No credit necessary!" and "6 months same as cash" and "$15 for your first week!" it's easy to be wooed into one of their stores. Since 1986, young and old have found renting to own is a viable alternative to furnish a house fast and cheap. They are known to provide name brands like Sony, Whirlpool and Ashley Furniture and you can rent to own just about anything your household needs: furniture, computers, TVs, phones and all major appliances. Beware though, because by the time you end up renting to own just about anything in the store or online, you'll end up paying two or three times the price of what it would cost to initially buy the same items. But, hey, when you're broke, you're broke.
There are all sorts of rental companies popping up these days. Fernish and Crunchbase are designer subscription services that give you high-quality modern furniture to rent. Have you gone and priced a classic Eames chair at The Green Ant lately? Rent one. Hell, rent two fakes from one of these online furniture stores and your friends will be truly impressed. Folks just aren't collecting material items these days and lugging around U-Hauls full of furniture. It's so much easier to rent what you need if you're switching jobs every few years. And it's even cooler to get a new look every three months.
If you want to look like you just dropped a wad at Nordstrom, there's renttherunway.com where you can rent fashionista designer clothing for men and women at reasonable prices. You now don't have to play that "I'm-buying-this-jacket-and-wearing-it-to-the-wedding-and-returning-it-the-next-day-for-a-full-refund-because-it-didn't-fit" trick anymore. Now, just rent your clothes.