Save bucks by bartering @ Saver Queen

Save bucks by bartering

Posted on October 23rd, 2008 Saver Queen 5 comments

A couple of weeks ago, Oprah Winfrey did a show on Money Saving. In case you missed it you can catch the straight goods at Oprah’s website. In fact, her website is loaded with money saving tips!

Unfortunately, most of the tips seem to be old news to those of us already enshrined in the money saving culture. However, one great tip that stood out to me was the usefulness of bartering with friends.

On the show, Cassandra and Stacy shared with Oprah how they swapped couches, and swapped services with other friends. For example, Stacy provides free dance lessons to her neighbors’ children, and in return, her family can eat at her neighbors’ restaurant for free.

Recently I watched a children’s film - the most popular children’s film in Japan, actually - called Kiki’s delivery service. In the movie, a young witch named Kiki leaves home at age 13 and is able to find a place to stay and enough food to eat, and she starts her own delivery service. She accomplishes all of this in part because she finds adults who are willing to barter with her - they provide food and rent while she takes care of their bakery part time.

It got me thinking why we don’t use this system more. Why are we so focused on accumulating new stuff all the time? There is enormous potential - we all have extra ’stuff’ that we don’t need or don’t use, and we all have skills that we could share. Meanwhile, we spend our time shopping and the stuff we no longer need ends up in landfills.

So here’s an exercise: think about what you currently want and need, and see if you can trade something with your friends to get what you need. Have a book you’d like to read, a movie you’d like to rent? About to go shopping for fall clothes? Need a babysitter? A plumber? Someone to help you fix your computer? Simply ask around and you might find exactly what you need - for free!

5 responses to “Save bucks by bartering”

Katelyn October 24th, 2008 at 19:18

Hey, this is smart!!
Now, let’s put this to the test… if I were to do your makeup for a special occasion, would you babysit Owen for a couple of hours?

I like this trading idea…
Saver Queen October 24th, 2008 at 19:51

Sounds great!
Spending Less October 28th, 2008 at 01:26

How would you go about doing this?? Put an ad up at the grocery store, on a website etc. I wouldn’t mind offering daycare services for a Mon-Fri stay at someone’s cottage next summer.
Saver Queen October 30th, 2008 at 20:57

Here’s what I would suggest. Instead of advertising to strangers, I would go to all of my FRANs - friends, relatives, associates, and neighbours. And then I would go to all of their FRANs. It’s best to stick with people you know first - that way you are more likely to trust each other, which is important both in daycare AND in renting a cottage. Don’t just think about your immediate friends and family, though - think about your extended family, your associates - the likes of people you chat with on facebook but don’t necessarily hang out with in person anymore - former and present work colleagues, etc. I’ve never personally done this before but it might be a worthwhile try! Good luck!
Collaborating for a more frugal, sustainable lifestyle @ Saver Queen March 31st, 2009 at 13:15

[...] But there are so many opportunities to share and collaborate with our friends and neighbors, by bartering, carpooling, sharing tasks like gardening or home repairs, babysitting and cooking. And living [...]