The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Derek Sall. Derek is the owner of the blog, LifeAndMyFinances.com, where he teaches people how to get out of debt, save money, and become wealthy.
Do you realize how incredibly huge the self-storage industry is?
While it seems that no one talks about it, many of us own storage units to store stuff that doesn’t fit in our house very well. It seems logical until you begin to understand the mass of storage that is being funded each month. Believe it or not, there are over 2 billion square feet of storage units currently rented out in America, which is enough to fit each one of its citizens if they simply stood shoulder to shoulder in those very same units! Isn’t that just sick? Why on earth do we need so much storage space outside of what can fit in our house?
Here are my five top reasons why you should NEVER own a storage unit.
1) You’re wasting your money on rent
So what is the typical cost of one of these storage units? In my area (where everything seems to cost much less when compared to other parts of the country), a simple 5’ x 10’ space can cost $47 a month. This initially doesn’t sound like too much, but what if we extrapolated that out to a year? The yearly cost of this small storage space is $564. Over the course of a few years, this expense really starts to add up!
2) You’re wasting your money on stuff
A very small fraction of people are using storage units temporarily (many think their unit is temporary, but they soon become lifers as their stuff begins to pile up), which means that they simply have more stuff than they have room to put it! How is this even possible? How can we possibly accumulate more stuff than a typical house can hold? The very notion of this is ludicrous.
Did you know there is a movement going on called, “The Tiny House movement?” This is where people sell the majority of their stuff and scale down to a 150 square foot living space. Oddly enough, many people seem happier to live in that tighter space with less stuff than they did with their large house and storage units full of stuff.
You simply do not need all of that stuff and are therefore wasting your money.
3) You could be infesting your home
Supposedly, storage units are completely clean and you should have no worries when it comes to bringing those boxes back into your home. In my opinion, bugs are everywhere, and I am sure that there are plenty of people that brought some crazy stuff back into their homes when they opened up their storage box. You could be releasing spiders into your home, or maybe even mice or snakes. I think I’d rather just limit my stuff and reduce the odds of this from happening!
4) You’re wasting money on fuel
Storage units aren’t typically right around the corner. When you need something out of your unit, you have to hop in your car, drive a number of miles, and then return home. Each time you do this, you are burning fuel which is taking money right out of your pocket. If you could fit all of your stuff in your home like a normal human being, you wouldn’t waste any fuel at all! By renting a storage unit, you are increasing your expenses by more than just the unit rental fee.
5) You are wasting your precious time
I saved this reason for last, but it is (in my opinion) the most important reason to avoid renting out a storage unit. Do you realize how much time is wasted at these places? You first need to load up your stuff, then drive it over there, and then unload it. Then, at times you need to drive back to the unit to try to find something that you decided you actually need, and then good luck finding it amongst your boxes!
Each moment of our lives is valuable because once those minutes and hours are gone, there is no getting them back! Which would you prefer doing? Rummaging through boxes in a cold, damp, garage or hiking through the mountains, enjoying the beautiful scenery that will be etched in your mind for life? I could make a list of 1,000,000 things that I would like to do with my time, and sifting through a storage unit would still not make the list.
Before you go out and waste your money, fuel, and time on a storage unit, be sure to ask yourself if you really need it. Perhaps instead, it’s time to sell some of your stuff.
How about you all? Have you ever spent your money on a storage unit?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/14950689245/in/
