Do you rent DVDs? We used to. At one time in my life picking out a DVD to watch on Friday or Saturday night was part of the entertainment ritual around here. The DVD rental store replaced going to the movies in the competition for our entertainment dollars for years.

Not so much any more. Now I just buy DVDs outright. I figure $20 is a bargain compared to the available alternatives competing for my entertainment dollars.

I used to rent them from the local grocery until they closed down their DVD rental shop. When they closed it helped me realize how DVD rentals were such a colossal waste of my time. I realized the time spent driving to and from the video store, times two - once for pick up and once for return, costs me enormously in terms of the dollar value of my time.

Of course that immediately ruled out any other physical rental experience. The drive to any video rental store would be even more wasteful than the grocery store rental because both pick-up and drop-off trips are out of the way. Even if they're "on the way" to somewhere, most times they're not really. If you've ever contrived a series of trips out of one necessary trip, and who hasn't, you know what I'm talking about.

On line rentals? I found they save you the time in travel and they're a decent price alternative. The reality is, however, your "cost" may be higher than the dollars you spend on the services when you factor in availability. Isn't getting to watch exactly what you wanted to see on Friday night worth more to you than watching your second or third choice? And what if your on line video rental didn't ship in time? You can always watch what's on your DVR, another way to get the most from your entertainment dollar.

I say just buy them and enjoy them as many times as you like, whenever you like. The $20 spent pales in comparison to the alternatives in terms of the value of your time. By the time the credits roll your investment will have paid for itself. But that's only the beginning.

Put your DVD back in its box and what do you have? An asset. The value of that asset is what you can get from it by putting it to work for you. Trade it or lend it to friends and family. Donate it to charity. Watch it again next week, or every year on your anniversary. Each of these possible uses of your $20 investment is an ROI alternative not available to you as a DVD rental customer.