Let’s face it: during these shaky economic times, more people than ever before are interested in learning how to save money using Collaborative Consumption. From trimming the fat on household budgets to cutting down major expenses that can drain bank accounts, everyone is doing their part to protect their finances – and their families – from another potential economic downturn.
However, saving money doesn’t have to involve boring budget cuts and sacrifices; after all, how can you maintain your zeal for saving if you don’t allow yourself any fun in the process? Instead of gazing wistfully at your bare-bones budget, why not save money in a way that can make a real impact on your finances – not to mention help you maintain your current standard of lifestyle.
That’s right: we’re talking about collaborative consumption
Collaborative consumption might sound complicated, but it’s actually a pretty common idea – in fact, you may have indulged in a little collaborative consumption yourself. Recently named as one of the top ideas of our time by the Times, collaborative consumption is simply the name that’s given to peer-to-peer transactions.
Let’s break that concept down a little further. Let’s say you wanted to find an apartment in your area of town that’s within your budget. Rather than hiring an estate agent to help you look – which can be a costly investment – you decide to visit Craigslist, an online marketplace that connects landlords with potential tenants. You enter in the details of your postcode, look at the listings that pop up, and click on a few advertisements that interest you. Soon, you’re connecting with a landlord who has a great apartment. Within a few days, you’ve paid the security deposit and setting up shop in your brand-new apartment.
That is a classic example of peer-to-peer consumption
You see, collaborative consumption was developed thanks to the idea that there’s no need to constantly deal with middlemen in the quest to get services and products we need. Collaborative consumption connects consumer with goods, products and services to sell with the users who are willing to pay.
So now that you know a little more about collaborative consumption, how can you be sure that it will help you save money? Simple: take a look at our reasons below!
- Collaborative consumption allows you to haggle for your best price. For far too long, we have accepted the prices that are thrown our way by greedy corporations and profit-hungry middlemen. With collaborative consumption, you’re actually dealing with another human being – and this means you have more freedom to haggle and name a price that better suits your budget.
- Collaborative consumption gives you the freedom to shop around the goods and services that you need. For example, let’s say that you’re looking to buy a new car. Rather than visiting a car dealership – which will try to up-sell you at every given opportunity – you can compare listings for your favorite car models on collaborative consumption websites. This means that you can be confident you’re getting the best price possible, which gives you peace of mind when repairing your finances.
- Collaborative consumption encourages the kind of discourse you just can’t have with a profit-hungry middleman. Let’s go back to that car example again. Let’s say you had a question as to the specifics of the car itself; rather than sending your query to a vast help desk which promises to get back to you within days, you can send an email to a real person and get a response in hours. It’s the kind of difference in service that makes collaborative consumption the clear front-runner in the world of consumer spending.
- Think that collaborative consumption is only for people who are constantly on the lookout to buy the very latest products and services? Think again: collaborative consumption can help you save on the major expenses that really affect your finances. For example, you can find a cheaper apartment through collaborative consumption, in addition to a cheaper car than what you’d find at a car dealership. You can also find people who are willing to carpool with you to work, who want to swap vacation homes and even users who want to rent out their cars to you.
If you’re tired of paying through the nose for traditional car rentals that just aren’t worth the money, then it’s time to discover http://www.drivemycarrentals.com.au/ for yourself. DriveMyCar Rentals is a unique website that connects car owners with the consumers looking to rent them. Owners can name their their availability dates and even set a minimum age requirement for the drivers. Users benefit from much lower car rental prices than what they’d find at a local rental agency.