How to Think with an Access Mindset Instead of Ownership?

Introduction: Is Your Wealth Neglected in Storage?

Imagine you open your home storage room door right now - what do you see? A tent you bought for 3,000 riyals and used once? An electric drill that cost you hundreds of riyals to drill one wall? Or maybe old electronics that were once "the latest model" and are now just junk collecting dust. This scene is the biggest proof that "ownership" might be the biggest obstacle to your financial growth.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in line with Vision 2030 which promotes spending efficiency and quality of life, we've started moving from "ownership obsession" to what we call the Access Mindset. The question is no longer "How do I own this item?" but has become "How do I get its benefit at the lowest cost?"

In this comprehensive guide, we'll teach you how to adopt smart financial thinking, and why using instead of owning is the strongest economic choice you can make today. We'll reveal the psychological secrets behind wrong purchasing decisions, provide you with practical tools to analyze your financial choices accurately, and help you understand how this mindset can radically transform your financial life.

This intellectual shift isn't a luxury or passing trend, but an economic necessity in an era where the pace of technical change accelerates, living costs increase, and financial flexibility becomes the real key to success and stability.

Expert Tip: Intelligence isn't in buying the product, but in using the best version of it only when you need it. Browse thousands of options on

Estajer platform to learn how to live in luxury without ownership swallowing your budget.

1. Defining the Access Mindset: The Intellectual Revolution in the Sharing Economy

The access mindset is the ability to separate "benefit" from "physical ownership." In the old economy, you had to buy a car to move around, and buy a camera to take photos. In the modern sharing economy, you buy "transportation" and buy "the photo," without needing to bear new burdens.

Adopting ownership alternatives means you now realize that money's value lies in its movement (liquidity) and not in freezing it in items that become outdated and lose value. This shift is the core of conscious consumption that gives you freedom and financial agility.

Roots of the Access Mindset in Human Culture

In reality, the access mindset isn't completely new. Our ancestors practiced it naturally through "community cooperation." Large tools and agricultural equipment were used jointly between families and neighbors. What happened in recent decades is that consumer culture and commercial advertising turned us into "hoarders" who buy much more than we need.

Modern technology brought us back to our roots, but in a more developed and safer way. Digital platforms like Estajer platform allow you to access the entire community's resources, with legal and financial guarantees that weren't available in the past.

The Difference Between Ownership and Access in the Digital Age

Ownership means complete responsibility for the thing: maintaining it, storing it, insuring it, and bearing its value loss. Access means benefiting from the thing's utility without bearing any of these burdens. In a world where technology changes every six months, access is the only rational choice.

Think about it: Do you really need to "own" a professional camera worth 15,000 riyals that you use three times a year, or do you need to "take professional photos" at those three occasions only?

2. Why Is Access Instead of Ownership the Best Economic Choice?

a- Freeing Cash Flow

Liquidity is the "oxygen" for business and your personal life. When you choose renting instead of buying for an item worth 10,000 riyals and pay it as 200 riyals for one day, you've freed 9,800 riyals. This amount could be an investment in stocks, capital for a side project, or even emergency savings.

Access keeps your money working for you, while ownership makes your money sleep in storage. The difference between financially successful people and those stuck in debt often lies in their understanding of cash flow value. Moving money grows, frozen money erodes.

Practical Application of Cash Flow

Take an example of a startup company with 100,000 riyals capital. If it spent 40,000 riyals buying office furniture and equipment, only 60,000 riyals remain for operations and marketing. While if it rented the same equipment for 2,000 riyals monthly, it keeps 98,000 riyals liquidity that can be used for expansion, hiring talent, and product development. At the end of the year, the first company has furniture whose value dropped to 25,000 riyals, while the second company grew and achieved additional revenues thanks to available liquidity.

b- Avoiding the "Depreciation Trap" and Item Value Decrease

Technical devices and equipment in Saudi Arabia lose between 20% to 40% of their value just by opening the box. Buying is a confirmed capital loss. While renting is an economic choice that makes you pay only for "working hours" or "days of enjoyment," and leaves the risk of value decrease to the owner.

This is what accountants call "Depreciation," and it's the silent enemy of your wealth. Every day that passes, the value of what you bought decreases. The laptop you bought for 5,000 riyals, after two years you can't sell it for more than 1,500 riyals. You lost 3,500 riyals without feeling it.

c- Flexibility in Facing Changes

Life is volatile, and needs change. Maybe you need professional photography equipment today because you have a documentary project, but after three months the project ends. If you bought the equipment, you'll find yourself stuck with items you don't need. Renting gives you freedom to adapt to life changes without financial penalties.

d- Access to Higher Quality

When you rent, you can access equipment with much higher specifications than what you can buy. Instead of buying a medium camera for 3,000 riyals, you can rent a professional camera worth 20,000 riyals for 300 riyals per day. The result? Cinematic quality photos, without bearing the burden of ownership.

This principle applies to everything: from sports equipment to medical devices to construction tools. Renting opens doors to luxury and high quality that were reserved for those with huge budgets.

3. The Psychology of Ownership: Why Do We Insist on Buying Things We Don't Use?

We tend to buy because of the "Endowment Effect" - a psychological bias that makes us exaggerate the value of things just because we own them. Psychological studies proved that humans value something they own at two to three times its actual market value.

Deep Psychological Reasons Behind Ownership Obsession

Illusory Security: Many feel secure when they own things, even if they don't use them. This feeling is inherited from ancient times when storage was necessary for survival. But in an age of abundance and available services, this feeling has become costly and misleading.

Fear of Sudden Need: "What if I need it one day?" This question pushes us to buy things we don't really need. But the truth is that most of what we store "for emergencies" we never use, and it becomes a burden rather than a solution.

Social Comparison: We buy because others buy. We want to appear at a certain level, so we accumulate possessions to satisfy society's expectations. But the truth is that real luxury is in financial freedom, not in appearances.

From "Showing Off" to "Awareness"

In the past, luxury was measured by what you "accumulate." Today, luxury is measured by what you "experience." Smart financial thinking invites you to eliminate emotional attachment to things and focus on "efficiency." Why buy a four-wheel drive and store it all year for one desert trip? Using it when needed is the peak of intellectual and financial sophistication.

The new generation of Saudi youth understands this well. The goal is no longer to "own the most" but to "experience the best." Travel, experiences, continuous education - these are the real investments, not material items that lose value.

How to Free Yourself from the Slavery of Things?

Start by asking yourself before every purchase: "Do I need ownership, or do I need the benefit?" If the answer is the benefit, think of alternatives: renting, sharing, borrowing. You'll find that most of your purchases were unnecessary.

Try a simple experiment: Write a list of everything you bought in the past year and used less than five times. Calculate their total value. You'll be shocked by the amount of financial waste that could have been avoided by using the access mindset instead of ownership.

For companies and organizers: Do you need to equip your next conference with the latest screens and sound systems? Estajer platform provides you with "access" to the latest technologies without worrying about next year's model or storage costs.

4. Smart Financial Thinking: Calculating the Real Value of the Riyal

To decide whether to buy or use, use the "cost per use" equation:

Cost per use = (Purchase price + Maintenance costs + Storage value + Value loss) ÷ Expected number of uses

If you find that the cost of using a "drone" by purchase is 800 riyals per use, while you can rent it for 200 riyals from Estajer platform, you're facing a clear financial loss of 600 riyals each time. Here renting instead of buying becomes the real financial victory.

Detailed Practical Example

Let's take the example of an "electric drill":

1. Purchase price: 400 riyals
2. Average annual use: 2-3 times only
3. Cost per use by purchase: 400 ÷ 3 = 133 riyals (in the first year)
4. Rental cost per use: 30 riyals

Additionally, when buying:

1. You need storage space (worth at least 50 riyals annually from your home space)
2. It may break and need maintenance (100-200 riyals)
3. After two years, its selling value will be only 100 riyals (you lost 300 riyals)

So the real cost of ownership: 400 (purchase) + 100 (storage over two years) + 150 (possible maintenance) - 100 (selling value) = 550 riyals for 6 uses = 92 riyals per use

While renting: 30 riyals per use × 6 times = 180 riyals

The difference: You saved 370 riyals, plus peace of mind and space!

Calculations People Ignore

Most people compare only the purchase price with rental cost, and ignore:

1. Opportunity cost (what could the frozen money do if it were available?)
2. Space cost (every square meter in your home has value)
3. Worry and maintenance cost (your time has value)
4. Market value loss (inevitable depreciation)

5. Ownership Alternatives in Your Daily Life: Practical Examples

a- Electronics: Keeping Up with Technology

Virtual reality glasses, gaming devices, and professional cameras. These devices become outdated at lightning speed. Access instead of ownership ensures you always use "amazing specifications" today, and return them before they become "obsolete" tomorrow.

In the technology world, a new product appears every six months. The iPhone you bought today for 5,000 riyals, after a year a new model appears and your device's value drops to 2,500 riyals. If you rented the latest devices every six months for 200 riyals monthly, you'll pay 1,200 riyals annually and always use the latest technologies, instead of the confirmed loss by purchase.

Specialized laptops for design and graphics cost 15,000-25,000 riyals. A freelance designer who rents a professional laptop for 1,500 riyals monthly saves his capital for marketing and skill development, while the buyer freezes 20,000 riyals in a device that will become slow after three years.

b- Furniture and Spaces

With talent moving between Saudi cities (Riyadh, Jeddah, NEOM), buying furniture has become a burden preventing movement. Renting provides you with a luxurious and comfortable home in one day, and freedom to leave "light" the next day.

An employee moving to NEOM for two years - is it wise to buy complete furniture for 40,000 riyals? Or rent luxurious furniture for 2,000 riyals monthly (24,000 riyals for two years) and save 16,000 riyals plus avoid the nightmare of moving or selling at a loss?

c- Sports and Fitness Equipment

Professional bicycles, diving equipment, surfboards, climbing gear. All are seasonal or experimental hobbies. Renting allows you to try all these sports without investing thousands of riyals in equipment you might use a few times.

How many people bought a bicycle for 2,000 riyals with enthusiasm, used it for a month, then left it to rust in the garage? Renting would have saved them at least 1,800 riyals.

d- Party and Event Tools

Buffet tables, luxury chairs, lighting systems, wedding decorations. All used once then thrown in storage. Renting saves you thousands of riyals and gives you more variety in choices for each occasion.

e- Children's Equipment

Children grow quickly, and their needs constantly change. Baby strollers, feeding chairs, early education toys - all used for a few months then become useless. Renting saves families thousands of riyals annually.

For creators and suppliers: Do you have broken or idle equipment? Don't let it lose value. Turn it into a passive income source today through Estajer platform. Be the "supplier" and let your items spend on you!

6. Resource Management and Waste Reduction: Rental's Role in Vision 2030

Renting is the heart of the sharing economy. Instead of producing a million pieces to serve a million people, 100,000 pieces can serve a million people through exchange.

Material Waste Reduction: Reducing the amount of electronic and metal waste. In the Kingdom, we dispose of thousands of tons of electronics annually. If people rented instead of bought, this waste would decrease by over 60%.

National Resource Efficiency: Maximizing benefit from every asset existing on Kingdom soil. Studies indicate that household equipment is used less than 5% of its time. This means 95% of its value is wasted. Renting raises the usage rate to 40-60%, meaning huge economic efficiency.

Environmental Sustainability: Reducing the carbon footprint from excessive manufacturing. Every manufactured product consumes natural resources, energy, and releases emissions. When we use one product instead of ten, we protect the environment and achieve sustainability goals.

Impact on Private Sector and Companies

Companies adopting the "OpEx instead of CapEx" model achieve greater operational flexibility. Instead of buying equipment worth millions of riyals, they rent it as needed, improving cash flow and allowing rapid expansion.

Startups in the Kingdom especially benefit from this model. They can start with the lowest possible capital, and focus on innovation and marketing instead of freezing money in items.

7. Estajer Platform: Technology Serving Your Smart Decision

At [Estajer platform], we didn't build just a website; we built a "system" that ensures you apply the access mindset with complete safety:

1. Documented Contracts (Nafath): To guarantee your identity and rights legally.
2. Financial Guarantee (Waffy): Your money is safe until you verify service quality.
3. Contract Flexibility: Rent for a day, week, or month with a button click.

Conclusion: Your Financial Future Starts with the Word "Access"

In the end, the access mindset instead of ownership isn't just a way to save money, but a "philosophy of freedom." Ownership weighs you down with commitments and wasted spaces, while access gives you wings to reach everything the human mind has produced in technology and luxury with minimal effort.

In the new Saudi Arabia, intelligence is owning "the solution" only when you need it.

[Start your financial intelligence journey today... Browse Estajer platform and discover how life can be easier and cheaper with one click!]