In our current world, we barter pieces of paper that are marked with a set value in exchange for goods and services that probably had set prices when you purchased them. That has not always been the case. It wasn’t so very long ago that bartering was how goods were exchanged and you may or may not be getting a fair trade at the end of the day by swapping two dozen eggs for a handful of buttons and two fish hooks. However, bartering can still be a useful concept to consider in today’s world when you are thinking about buying something from someone else whether it is an item or a service.
For example, my husband and I will need some trees removed soon. Tree removal is expensive if you hire someone and time consuming if you’re doing it yourself. An acquaintance of his has need of wood before winter actually decides to visit Texas. He cuts down trees as a side hustle. We have trees to come down, he has a need of firewood. If we were to propose a barter for this scenario, it could be that in exchange for his donation of time and equipment to bring the trees down, he will get to keep the wood. If one were to put an actual value on the service compared to the price of firewood, it may slant more one way or another as far as monetary value. However, in the grand scheme of things, if both parties in the transaction are satisfied with what they received in the bargain, then it could be considered a fair trade.
Bartering can also happen when two people exchange services. If two moms offer to babysit each other’s children for free, then they are bartering a free day to themselves in exchange for watching the other woman’s children for free. If someone has excess produce in their garden but don’t know how to make jam, they may offer that extra produce to a neighbor who knows canning. The neighbor with the knowledge could keep a certain number of jars of canned produce in exchange for offering that service to the prolific gardener. Maybe you can barter your knowledge of an oil change in exchange for getting some pants hemmed or fix an elderly neighbor’s rotten porch step in exchange for that wonderful dessert she’s known for.
With the advent of technology, it is actually easy to surf the Internet and see if there are bartering or swapping sites or communities you could join to become informed. A quick Google search turned up a post on moneycrashers.com that offers a wide range of bartering and swapping sites to their readers (https://www.moneycrashers.com/best-bartering-swapping-websites/). You may even have luck with your local social media page by offering your services or item in exchange for something you need.
So the next time you are looking for some work to be done or an item to purchase, think outside the box and see if you can barter your skills or something you no longer need to attain your goal. Getting that new roof may be as simple as offering your skills as a web designer to update that roofing company’s outdated site.
Go green, Texans, including with our finances.
Going Green In Texas 