Bartering

This week I bartered out! What a great way to keep our OOP (out of pocket) expenses low. We have bartered out FREE hair cuts, FREE make-up, FREE babysitting, FREE chiropractic and FREE car repairs. My husband even bartered out with a friend this year that needed help laying tile in his basement (to speed up the project). My husband helped him for two days finish the tile project in exchange for him (an experienced, general contractor) spending a day helping my husband with putting in a new stairway off our two story sun porch. With more and more people keeping a close eye on their bank accounts we have found this to be a great alternative to spending. I would recommend having clear expectations up front. Have a limit or time frame to work with in. Possibly even a "test" period if this will be an ongoing barter or trade. After the day, week or month "test period" reevaluate if anything needs to be adjusted to make it fair. Bartering not only has allowed us to keep our OOP expenses to a minimum but we have built some great friendships along the way.