{"id":967,"date":"2019-04-17T10:44:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T14:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/?p=967"},"modified":"2019-04-15T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T21:51:02","slug":"lease-vs-buy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/lease-vs-buy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lease vs Buy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/homeForSale-Pixabay.jpg\" alt=\"Image of house for sale\" class=\"wp-image-972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/homeForSale-Pixabay.jpg 640w, https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/homeForSale-Pixabay-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption>Photo from Pixabay. Used per license.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In today\u2019s rambling blog post, we\u2019ll cover the following topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Leasing vs buying<\/li><li>Phil Mickelson<\/li><li>Streaming music<\/li><li>Ongoing employee education<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Stick with me. They&#8217;re all related. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Lease vs Buy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you lease your cars, or buy them outright? I\u2019ve never been a fan of leasing. I tend to keep my cars a long time; 10 years is about average. I buy them new, take good care of them (mechanically, anyway), and drive them until they no longer serve my needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t completely drive them into the ground, but they are clearly a used car by the time I replace them. I love not having a car payment. Leasing simply doesn\u2019t make sense to me from a financial perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How about your home? Do you prefer to rent or buy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I much prefer to own my home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe you own a condo? Maybe when I no longer enjoy mowing the lawn this will be attractive to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, I prefer as much physical separation between my house and the neighbor\u2019s as possible. I also like to change things in my house to suit my tastes, without needing to negotiate with a landlord for permission. And I like the idea that what I put into the house I will likely get back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an owner, I feel I have more to gain from ongoing maintenance and improvements. When I rented apartments, anything I spent on improvements felt like throwing my money away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Phil Mickelson.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you don\u2019t follow professional golf, you\u2019ve probably heard the name Phil Mickelson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I live in Dublin, OH, a Columbus suburb. Dublin is the home of the annual Memorial Tournament, a regular stop on the PGA tour. As you can imagine, this annual event is the topic of much of the local news media during the weeks leading up to the event, through a final recap once it has ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of my favorite \u201cinterest\u201d pieces from years ago was about Phil Mickelson and his propensity to drive his rental cars through the car wash, usually every day. In the article, Phil said it makes him feel better to drive a clean car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve rented many cars in my travels. I have never once driven one through the car wash. I\u2019m not even that fastidious with my own vehicles.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Streaming music.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rumors abound that Apple is moving to a model of streaming-only for music that it sells. According to these rumors, there will come a day when they will no longer allow you to download music, only stream it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea, like Spotify, is that you don\u2019t own the music. Rather, you pay for access to it. I\u2019d call this leasing. If you stop paying, you lose access. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve probably guessed that I am not a fan of this concept. While I enjoy listening to the music I\u2019ve purchased on my phone, iPod, and other portable devices, I find comfort in knowing that the original CD is still available to me in a box buried in the basement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s something about having the tangible media. Like many audiophiles of my generation, playing a record was a ritual involving meticulous care of the record, cleaning on every use, and careful storage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike many of my more persnickety music lovers, I eagerly embraced the transition from vinyl to CD. However, I am strongly resisting any effort to remove the ability to \u201cown\u201d a copy of the music I love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am warming to the idea of that copy being only in the digital domain, with no physical media to back it up. But, I do require a copy that I can manage. I am not OK with a leasing model that only provides access to the music, and that only works with an active Internet connection. Maybe someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Ongoing employee education<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now the fun part &#8211; relating all of that to work and ongoing employee education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you lease or buy your employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(As an employee, how do you see yourself?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with a car, neither leased nor purchased vehicles are forever. Sure, some people drive their vehicles to the point where they have no useful life when they\u2019re done with them. But, at some point, most vehicles need to be replaced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Likewise, employees. Whether your employees leave to move on to other places, or retire, at some point that employee will no longer be there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people I know tend to maintain their vehicles better if they purchase rather than lease them. Same goes for our homes. If we own it, we tend to take better care of the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you lease your vehicle, do you still perform routine maintenance? I certainly hope so. Maybe you don\u2019t worry so much about minor dings and scratches. But, surely you keep up with oil changes and new tires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most employers I have experience with do a far better job of training and providing ongoing education for their employees when they view them as \u201cpurchased\u201d rather than \u201cleased\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In more typical business lingo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Purchased = Full-time permanent. Long term.<\/li><li>Leased = Contractor. Consultant. Temporary. Short term.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some employers I\u2019ve encountered treat all their workers as if they are temporary, only guaranteed until the next paycheck. They rarely provide ongoing education that would move people ahead. They often resist doing even routine maintenance that would keep their employees\u2019 skills at par. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oddly enough, these same employers tend to be the ones who are baffled by high employee turnover. And they are the ones who struggle the most to find what they consider to be qualified employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you view your employees as \u201crented\u201d, do you drive them through the car wash on a regular basis? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My philosophy has always been to provide as much ongoing education as possible. I enjoy working with people who are up on their skills, engaged, pushing themselves and those around them. It\u2019s more fun, like Phil driving a car that has been freshly washed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of my corporate job peers have gotten upset when they made an investment in training, only to have that person leave for another opportunity. Certain employers I\u2019ve worked for have suggested having employees repay the cost of education if they leave within some period of time after the training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reality is, changing jobs is a complicated equation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the manager\u2019s job to create an environment that is supportive yet challenging, that makes people want to stay. Ongoing education is simply one part of a supportive environment. It makes people better at their job. It makes them more fun to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you treat your employees? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does your employer treat you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than ask, \u201cWhat if we invest money in employee training and they leave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask, \u201cWhat if we don\u2019t and they stay.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In today\u2019s rambling blog post, we\u2019ll cover the following topics: Leasing vs buying Phil Mickelson Streaming music Ongoing employee education Stick with me. They&#8217;re all related. Lease vs Buy Do you lease your cars, or buy them outright? I\u2019ve never been a fan of leasing. I tend to keep my cars a long time; 10 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/lease-vs-buy\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Lease vs Buy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[6,7,47,16,15,9,10],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/WorkShouldBeFun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}