Spend less on the things you barely use.
Add up what is sitting in a typical garage and you get a few thousand dollars of equipment that runs a handful of hours a year. We do the arithmetic on that: cost per use, rent versus buy versus share, and what actually happens when four households split one expensive thing.
$8,000 a yearRent the cabin to strangers or share it with cousins: $11,000 against $8,000
Renting the empty summer weeks looks like the bigger number. Take out the cleaning, the platform's cut, the tax and your Saturdays, and sharing with two cousin households comes closer than you would think. Here are both numbers, worked out.
5 min read
More articles
$236 a nightA timeshare week costs $236 a night once the maintenance fee is counted
Add the maintenance fee, the odd special assessment and the purchase price, divide by seven, and a timeshare week has a nightly rate. Here is the math, and what sharing the week with a sibling does to it.
6 min read
$140 an hourA jet ski costs $140 an hour on the water, which is more than the boat
A used jet ski runs about $2,800 a year and most get ridden around twenty hours. Here is the hourly math next to a boat, and what three households pay if they share one.
5 min read
$617 a monthWhat to write into a cabin co-ownership agreement, and what to leave out of it
Four friends buying a $320,000 cabin each owe about $617 a month. The clauses the agreement needs for that money, and why the calendar should not be one of them.
6 min read
$15.60 a stormThe snow blower is the one shared tool that fails, and what to share instead
A shared snow blower is the best deal on paper and the worst in practice, because every driveway needs it in the same hour. The math, the fix, and the four tools to share instead.
6 min read
$4,400 a yearThree siblings, one lake house: $4,400 a year each, and no family draft
An inherited lake house costs about $13,200 a year to keep. How three siblings split the bill, the chores and the summer weekends without a draft or a fight.
7 min read
$171 a nightOne campervan, two families: $4,450 a year each, and where it parks
A used campervan costs about $8,900 a year parked. The math on two families splitting one, where it lives, and the weekend budget that keeps the peace.
5 min read
$3,433 saved12 things your street should own once, not twelve times
Six households, one of each: $4,120 of equipment turns into $687 a head. Here's the list, the math, and how to get the first three neighbors to say yes.
3 min read
3 questionsRent, buy, or share? A decision guide for expensive gear
Rental counters hide the fees, ownership hides the upkeep, and sharing hides the scheduling. Three questions that tell you which one is actually cheapest.
4 min read
$23 per useCost per use: the one number to run before you buy anything
A four-part formula, an honesty rule that halves most people's usage estimates, and the threshold that decides between renting, buying, and splitting it four ways.
3 min read
$146 a dayFour families, one boat, and $7,875 a year each
A modest used boat costs about $10,500 a year whether it leaves the dock or not. Here's the line-by-line math on splitting one four ways, and the five things to write down first.
4 min read
$18 an hourThe drill you use twice a year is the most expensive tool you own
Sticker price is the cheapest part of owning a rarely used tool. The real cost-per-hour math on a typical garage, and why the mower you resent is the best deal in it.
3 min read
Reading about it is cheaper than buying another one.
Put the thing you rarely use on AllDibs, send the link to the people who need it too, and let credits keep the calendar fair.
Share your first item, free