Rent a Center

There is a short list of businesses I will never set foot in because I already know they are a rip-off.

They are actually in attached buildings: Check-into-Cash, Mac's Corner Market, Duke of Suds Laundromat and Renta Center. These are the anchor stores in the high cost of being poor mini-mall.

Buying stuff that you can't afford is usually found under the letter C for "credit card industry", but that's not an option for everyone. A much more exciting option is Rent a Center.

At Rent a Center, you can _buy_ rent:

laptops
tables and chairs
televisions
couches
recliners, and that's about it!

Instead of buying a TV and paying it off with a credit card, Rent A Center owns the TV while you are paying it off. And instead of paying a credit card bill one time per month, Rent A Center bills weekly or bi-weekly. 





Renting is Expensive
Cupcake Tray
Motorized Sewer Snake

If you are buying something at RentaCenter, the total price will be equivalent to having the purchase on a credit card with a 100% APR.

For example, in the case of a Sony 52" LCD TV, Paying cash would cost $1,704. Buying it with Best Buy credit card (11.9% APR) would cost $1802. Buying it off at rentacenter will cost $3839.04 over 22 months.