Renting isn't an alternative to living within your means

These days you can rent anything from a handbag to a dog, meaning that people can rent a life they can’t afford to buy outright. But renting a lifestyle because you can’t afford to actually live it is quite simply ridiculous, says Ruth Jackson.

A crumbling economy is no reason to stop enjoying the best things in life, reckons The Sun. "If you can't afford to buy that must-have item, why not just borrow it?" And it seems that plenty of consumers agree Erento.co.uk, an online rental marketplace, says that the number of people visiting its site is up 20% since it launched just over a year ago.

These days you can rent anything from a handbag to a dog, meaning that those "who, bombarded by the cult of celebrity, aspire to their own millionaire lifestyle" as the Daily Mail puts it, can rent a life they can't afford to buy outright.

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.