Is money extremely tight at your house? Maybe you’ve lost your job, or you’ve been hit with a major expense. You’re very worried.
Keep in mind that swapping your talents and skills, or items you don’t need, can be used as currency. Money isn’t the only tool to obtain goods and services. Bartering still works, if you get creative.
For example, if you’re great at servicing cars, cutting hair, cutting the lawn, editing documents, tutoring English or math, or outdoor painting, you can use these skills for “cash.”
Even in our times of social distancing, you can use bartering to give you a financial return.
“I just got laid off and my grass is a foot high,” says Sherry, a single mother of three who is a hairdresser. “My two sons are too young to use lawn equipment, and I’m allergic to grass.”
Sherry says, “My sister Allison asked me if I would barter haircuts for lawn mowing. Allison’s teenage son, my nephew, is very good at mowing. And, he’s so nice he’d mow for free. But, Allison knew we’d all feel better with exchanging services,” Sherry insists.
She goes on to say: “I have masks for everyone getting a hairstyle, and I’ll wear a mask and gloves as well.”
Other ideas for bartering include these tips: Swap car repairs for someone painting the deck on your house. Tutor a friend’s child in math or science via phone and Skype. In exchange, your friend could offer to pick up groceries for you once a week that you’ve ordered locally online.
Here are tips for bartering with less stress:
— Barter with people in your neighborhood or social circle only. This way, you know who you’re dealing with.
— Make a list of your talents and skills. For example: sewing, making professional phone calls, detailing cars, trimming shrubbery, writing professional business presentations, and bookkeeping.
— Make a list of items you own that are worth $500-$5,000, but you no longer need. For instance, do you have a used car or truck? An old bedroom suite that’s in good shape? Consider swapping the items for home repairs or detailed house cleaning.
“My neighbor is pressure washing my patio, long concrete driveway and porch in exchange for a nice stainless steel grill I’ve never used,” says a friend of ours we’ll call Ron.
“I don’t own a pressure washer, and my patio and surrounding areas really are grubby,” Ron adds. “My neighbor jokes that, once he owns the grill, he’ll cook for me every week. I thought I’d use the grill, but I won’t. I bought it four years ago.”
A single dad we’ll call Randy needed his roof replaced a couple of years ago. “I was very strapped for money at the time,” Randy explains. “But, my brother’s old Mustang was sitting in my basement. He’d passed away in 2011. I asked a friend of mine, who is a roofer, if we could make a swap. I ended up getting a great new roof on my house, and my friend got a valuable fixer-upper.”
Randy says his friend restored the Mustang, and he has displayed it in car shows in their region.
“What’s great about this bartering deal,” says Randy, “is that every time I’ve seen the car on display, I felt like my brother’s dream to restore it came true.”
If you’ve never bartered before, start small. Get used to making trades that are very comfortable. The true test of a good outcome is this: Are you both better off than you were before?
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(Judi Light Hopson is author of the stress management book, “Cooling Stress Tips.” She is also executive director of USA Wellness Cafe at www.usawellnesscafe.org
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