How Rent-to-Own Furniture Stores Trap the Poor cover art

How Rent-to-Own Furniture Stores Trap the Poor

How Rent-to-Own Furniture Stores Trap the Poor

Listen for free

View show details
In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack the rent-to-own furniture industry, focusing on companies like Aaron's and Rent-A-Center. They explain how a couch with a $500 cash price can end up costing over $1,200 when paid through weekly installments — an effective annual percentage rate often exceeding 100 percent. The hosts trace how these contracts exploit thin credit histories and target low-income neighborhoods, comparing them to payday lending. They also discuss a 2023 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report that found over 75 percent of rent-to-own customers never actually own the item. Luna shares a story about a single mother in Atlanta who paid $2,400 over two years for a washer-dryer set that retailed for $800. Practical listener takeaways include how to calculate the true cost of a rent-to-own deal and where alternatives like community appliance banks exist. #RentToOwn #Aaron #RentACenter #ConsumerDebt #WealthGap #PredatoryLending #FinancialInclusion #Economics #IncomeInequality #ConsumerFinance #CFPB #InterestRates #CreditAccess #PovertyCycle #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #InequalityConversations #EconomicJustice Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet