It was spring, and that meant one thing: cleaning. The siding on the house was looking a little worse for wear. Not “ew” levels, mind you. It just needed a good pressure wash.
The only problem? We didn’t own a pressure washer. And since this was the only time we would ever use a pressure washer, we didn’t really want to buy one.
Spend $300 on something you’ll use once a year? No, thanks. But then something magical happened. Okay, it wasn’t magical. But it felt magical. My parents, who happened to hear us talking, said, “Hey, we have a small pressure washer. Want to borrow it?”
To which we happily responded, “Yes, thank you!” That small chore just became easier and a LOT cheaper. (By the way, we ended up hiring a good friend to pressure wash our house and fence later, and WOW! But we weren’t at that point, yet.)
Fast-forward a couple of years. I was talking with a few friends about marriage. I had just read this wonderful book on marriage and was telling them about it. Finally, I said, “Hey, would you like to borrow my copy?”
Lending and borrowing are certainly not new concepts, and yet they have all but disappeared in some areas. We are so quick to purchase anything we “need,” as soon as we need it.
But what if we started borrowing? What would that look like? Could it possibly make our lives better? I think it absolutely can. Read on to find out why.
The Cost of Always Buying
Buying everything costs money. A lot of money. Let’s look at just a couple examples:
A lot of new hardback books on Amazon right now run anywhere from $11 to $18. Let’s lowball it and say you can snag a book for $10. If you bought one new book each week, you would be spending $520 annually on books. If you borrowed those titles from the library, however, you would save yourself $520.
DIY home projects sometimes require power tools like circular saws, miter saws, etc. The cheapest miter saw I found was over $100, and the most expensive was over $800. If you had one, and your friend was doing a one-time project, you could save them hundreds of dollars by lending them your saw.
The cost of always buying goes way beyond just dollars, though. There are some other real benefits to borrowing that you would miss.
The Benefits of Borrowing
Tighter-knit relationships
This is perhaps the best benefit of borrowing. The act of giving and receiving increases the bond between two people. It just does. It not only feels good to be able to help others, but it also feels good to realized how many people are willing to help you. Borrowing blesses the borrower and the lender.
Are there increased opportunities for friction? Sure. When someone keeps something longer than expected or if they don’t take care of your stuff, it can be frustrating. That’s a natural part of having relationships. But the benefits, in my opinion, far outweigh the negatives.
Something else? It forces you to get to know other people. You have to know what their needs are to be able to lend them something, and you have to have the courage to ask people for help when you need to borrow something. I don’t like asking. I loathe asking. But it’s a growth opportunity.
Forces prioritization of time and wealth
Is it wise to spend $500 on an appliance you’ll use once? You’re probably thinking, “Of course not.” But would $50 make you flinch? How about $10? But what about the repeated purchases of $10, $20, $50 on things we only use one time?
It all adds up quickly. For that reason, we have to prioritize. Borrowing allows us to do that. If I’m going to use something once, I might look at borrowing it instead of buying it. Sometimes borrowing an item gives us the time to decide if we really would use it.
A sweet friend recently told me how her 3-year-old daughter wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday cake. Since there aren’t many 15-year-olds out there begging for a Minnie Mouse cake, this was going to be a one-time thing. She went to the public library and borrowed the pan, saving herself money and the trouble of selling or donating the cake pan when she’s done. It was a great idea, and her daughter got exactly what she wanted.
Also, have you looked at how many types of items your public library has to check out? You should. I loooove the library.
One more thing to think about? Sometimes lending an item helps us realize how little we actually need it, too. It works both ways.
Increases collective resources & access
This is the concept behind community gardens, and I love it. People voluntarily join to plant and work a garden, and then they share in the harvest. Of course, the concept works best when there is mutual trust and clearly defined roles for those contributing.
By sharing our tools and goods with each other, we divide up the cost of a common endeavor. In the case of a garden, one tiller could be used for multiple gardens. If each person had to buy one, though, it would needlessly increase the cost for everyone.
Another example? Swimming pools. A pool would be a colossal waste of time and money for my family. We aren’t interested in caring for one and don’t want to spend the money to get one. My daughters, though? They LOVE the pool. It just so happens that my in-laws have a pool. By allowing my daughters to swim in their pool when visiting, my girls now have greater access to something they normally wouldn’t. We are very appreciative, and it’s a better experience for everyone involved.
Decreases waste
We’ve all sold items that were “like new, only used once.” I know this because of how many posts on market sites that uses that exact phrase. It’s ubiquitous.
When you think of how many of those items end up in the trash? Yikes. In two generations, we’ve gone from,
“Now don’t throw out that aluminum foil. I’ll fold it up and use it again.”
to,
“Ten pairs of jeans. Only worn once. If not sold by Friday, I’m tossing. Must pick up.”
I’m certainly not suggesting reusing foil for food, because I’d really rather not get food poisoning. But maybe there’s a middle ground? That middle ground could be borrowing.
A challenge: This week, think of something you’d like to use that you can borrow, instead of buy. And then think of something that someone needs that you could lend to them.
If you do the challenge, share with me in the comments what you borrowed or lent!