Borrowing instead of buying is always a good choice, but for many it has been a problem finding people who would willingly let you borrow from them or people you trusted to lend to. What if there was an organization in your area where all the people listed the things that they had to lend out and you could borrow from them without any hesitation? That organization is in the development process at this very moment.
You have probably heard of FreeCycle.org where you can get rid of items you no longer need by giving it away for free or requesting items that you need. There is another interesting site that is currently in it's pre-launch that looks quite promising and is attempting to address some of the major problems people have with FreeCycle. The site is called Borrow Me where you can form groups in your community to borrow and lend items amongst one another.
What this service will do is give you the opportunity to borrow items from others in your community and develop a circle of trustworthy borrowing and lending counterparts which can significantly reduce your costs each year. There won't be a need to purchase a tool for a one time project (or to put off that project because you don't want to purchase the tool needed so that it doesn't get taken care of and cost more down the road). In addition, many of the items that you have that sit around your garage or stored in your attic or basement can help others save money. It's a win-win situation all the way around.
The site is currently in the alpha stage of collecting interested members. To be part of the beta (trial) launch you need to
sign up at the site by this Thursday (4/20/2006) - after that date they will not allow new members in until August when the officially launch for everyone. This will allow you to be part of the beta testing which includes "special offers" and more importantly, "A chance to shape the future of BorrowMe with your feedback and comments." Best of all, the people that do the beta testing will likely be fairly serious and allow you to make a solid group of partners for borrowing and lending (swapping is also going to be allowed) in your area before the site becomes quite large.
By becoming a part of the group and getting in a position to borrow items you need instead of purchasing them, you will likely save hundreds of dollars a year over what you would have had to spend by yourself.
BorrowMe - Borrow and Lend Community
