Frugal February #19: Barter

This is a corollary of sharing.  Bartering is another old timey thing that shouldn't die out.  It's enormously frugal, and it can build community.  Bartering is where two people trade services or items even-Steven, no money involved.  There are endless possibilities.

I love to barter.  I often have more time than extra cash, so bartering is my favorite currency.  When my kids were small, I had several people I would barter babysitting with.  I would watch their kids in exchange for them watching mine an equal number of hours on a different day.  That worked great for another mom of four, and boy, what a blast eight kids had together!  For my sister-in-law with only two children, sometimes I would watch hers for double the time she watched mine, but sometimes not (sometimes her two were more trouble than my four, lol!). 

I once, back in the days when I used WIC, had a mom friend who also received WIC.  Back then, my family didn't eat many eggs, but loved breakfast cereal.  My friend's family didn't care for cereal, but loved eggs.  So, after we'd done our shopping with our WIC coupons, we'd barter my eggs for her cereal.  Not sure if this was technically legal according to the rules of WIC, but it worked fine for us (and I never told anyone until now.  I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out.)

Once, DH and I bartered tree trimming and brush removal for a used car.  We had a chainsaw and knowledge, someone we knew had an older car they didn't need and a yard full of trees needing pruning and/or removal.  So the three of us worked out a deal.  DH and I gave about 10 hours of tree care and hauled off the wood and brush, and we received a 14 year old car with low mileage in exchange.

We've bartered labor for knowledge and experience in several areas.  Car repairs.  Deer processing.  Home building.  Cement work. 

I've bartered hair cuts for groceries.  Baked goods for raw honey.  Rides for my children to or from school or sports practices with the same--you take my kids in, I'll pick yours up when I go to get mine.

You've got talents that others are probably looking for.  You've got time that maybe someone else doesn't.  Somebody you know has something you wish you had.  See what kind of barters you can work out.