having everything while owning nothing

I've always been a media collector. Since I was a teen, I would spend a considerable amount of my income on cassettes, records and CDs. Between my car insurance, gas, and my music obsession, my paycheck was already spent each week. In fact, there was a time when I couldn't set foot in a record store without spending some cash.

As I grew older, my taste expanded to include movies and books. By the time I was thirty, I had enough items in my media collections to fill a small bedroom. For someone who likes to read, watch movies and listen to music, this seemed like a fair trade-off. Space for entertainment. But over the years, I've also relocated many times, and each time that collection of media has to be packed up and moved. And if our new home happens to be a bit smaller than the last, we have to find storage for that which will not fit, or pare down our collection.

I eventually managed to break my habit of spending too much on CDs and DVDs, with a little help from my wife and kids. Now I get my new media fix from the internet or the library. The library, in particular, has a wonderful collection of movies, and they consistently stock their catalog with the latest releases. The downsides? Not always getting the DVD that you want when you want it, and occasionally getting a DVD that won't play. Library patrons don't seem to understand the concept of holding a disc by its edges. But it certainly has saved us lots of cash (and space).