Originally on http://aschindl.net/?p=2049

If you wish to spend your vacations in a unique and interesting way, try the home exchange facility available these days. As the name implies, you make arrangements to swap houses with others when you travel abroad for leisure or business purposes. Apart from saving huge amounts, you can even avoid the difficulties like booking the accommodation as the home swap option is a simple process and doesn’t require much time and efforts.
What is home swapping?
Home swap is something that a huge amount of people opt for these days. Earlier people were not comfortable with the idea of swapping their homes and letting other people stay at their properties. But with change in time, apartment switch has become a trend.
Make prior arrangements.
When you wish to achieve ideal and perfect home swapping, it is advisable that you prepare for arrangements in advance. Unlike the hotel and resort reservations in which you book the rooms at last minutes or just a day before your arrival, home switch refers to the abode of some other person or family and so it is crucial to make important arrangements in advance.
As it might be hard to see the living conditions and lifestyle of the locals when you stay at a hotel, you will see that when you stay in a home, you will be able to enjoy more real life experiences.
Decide on everything in advance.

After you make proper arrangements for home swapping, you need to carry out confirmatory talks with the other party to make necessary preparations. In the swapping process, the contact is started by either party to initiate a nice relationship. Just as other paper agreements and transactions, it will be nice for the contracting parties to be familiarized with one another before carrying out the swapping process.
Have a nice rapport.
When you have nice rapport and relationship with the party you wish to swap house with, you will be able to easily rest and relax as you would know that your home will be taken care of properly. Moreover, there will be no more worries about paying for the house sitter when you are gone.
Save hugely with home switch.
Apartment swap is not just a great way to experience other places and destinations, it can save huge amount of money as well. Also, you do not have to spend on the costly dining options in restaurants and there will be huge savings.
In case you are one of those who wish to enjoy the comforts of home even when you are far off from your own abode, house switch is a nice option. With amazing amenities and facilities, you will be able to easily relax at the home swapped and enjoy the “home like” feel. Just ensure that when you stay in the swapped apartment, you take care of the belongings carefully, without damaging any item or the property. You can save more pennies by cooking, washing and doing other chores at the home you stay at as you will not require hiring such services at costly rates in a foreign land.
So enjoy home swapping to the maximum and save greatly.

Originally on http://www.barter-blog.com/

Karen Morath of FlyingSolo asks, “Is it good to barter?” and concludes that barter, or as she also calls it “contra deals”, isn’t worth the trouble. Here’s part of her reasoning:

But that’s nothing compared with having to tell your would-be accountant that he or she needs to work for three hours at their rate of $85 per hour as a trade for one hour of your time at $275 per hour.
I’d have to suggest that if you’re having a hard time convincing any customer, barter or cash, that your time is worth $275/hour perhaps it isn’t. On the other hand, if you’re selling out your time with none to spare at $275/hour cash, then she’s right – barter isn’t for you or at least not at the apparently undervalued price of $275/hour.

Barter is great for a number of reasons, including selling excess inventory (whether it’s a product or your own time and labor). If there is no excess inventory and for whatever reason you are satisfied charging a less than market clearing price, barter probably isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you can’t sell your time for $275/hr cash at least a good percentage of the time, barter isn’t the magic bullet that will allow you to get a more than market price. What it can do is create a win-win situation where another business that will need your product/service will get it from you rather than another similarly priced provider.

And then there are products, another complicating factor. If you seek to exchange your products for someone else’s services or your services for someone else’s products, should the product price be at retail or wholesale or cost?
This is a little tougher, but again no reason to avoid bartering altogether. Gnerally speaking, if one party wants to price at retail, both should probably price at retail. But there are certainly situations where that isn’t appropriate. If, for example, you are in the wholesale business and are bartering a large lot of fairly low unit cost items (say 1,000 boxes of candy that retail for $2) and trying to purchase something where you are the retail consumer (say a new car), it may be appropriate to barter on a wholesale-to-retail basis. The points to consider are each parties end use and each parties business model. In other words, will your barter counterpart eat 1,000 boxes of candy himself or will he distribute them one at a time to consumers as giveaways at his car lot. If you want to dump 5,000 boxes of candy that are a month from their sell-by date, you may even barter below cost. In that situation, any return will beat throwing them away, especially if your car dealer’s giveaway puts your name in front of the public, too.

Whether it’s a service or product, barter is more complex than simply calling a toll free number and giving them your credit card number. Indeed, that’s why most transactions aren’t barter. Currency is one of the great inventions of modern humans and a giant leap forward over having to barter in every single transaction. That’s one reason most barter experts recommend limiting barter to a fraction, usually around 10-20%, of total sales. Barter can’t and shouldn’t be expected to replace cash transactions, but it’s still a great way to turn excess inventory into cost savings. Handling the, relatively minor, complexities of pricing and negotiation and the somewhat more complicated problem of matching needs is just one way that the smarter business owner will compete with those who avoid barter. The question is whether the business owner who’s afraid or unwilling to compete in this playing field will do much better in others.

Originally on http://dangerouslee.biz/2011/12/12/tight-budget-barter/

As much as solo parents face emotional problems dealing with the absence of Dad (or Mom, if the solo parent is a widowed or custodial father), not all problems that challenge solo parents are of the interpersonal variety. Some are practical…like the shortage of funds that is frequently more severe in a one-parent family.

These days it seems that everyone is feeling the pinch…but, as usual, the problem tends to be more severe when there is only one wage-earner, and especially when she needs to also pay for child care while she’s out earning those precious dollars. But even if your kids are old enough that you don’t need daycare or after-school care for them, money is likely still an issue.

An old-fashioned approach to this problem still is very valid in today’s society: barter. And it solves not only financial issues but other issues as well, such as a shortage of time or talents.

Shortage of time? Yes. Suppose you feel you don’t have the time to clean the house thoroughly every week and work 9-to-5 and help the kids with their homework and cook nutritious meals and balance the checkbook and pay the bills and spend at least a little quality time with the kids…never even mind having some “me-time” just for yourself? What if you could get someone to clean the house for you? Or cook dinners? Again, money figures into the equation: Most any service is available for those well-heeled enough to pay for it, but you may not be related to Donald Trump or have access to Warren Buffet’s wallet.

You can barter for the services you need. Is there something you can do, create, or otherwise trade for the services of someone who can in return clean the house or make dinners for you? Now, of course it’s likely to take some of your time to perform the service you’re trading, but maybe that will take place at a more convenient time for you. Maybe it’s not that you lack time altogether to do the task you’re looking for help with. Maybe you just don’t have time to make dinner when you first get home from work, if the kids are little and you want them to be in bed early, but you have time later in the evening during which you could do some sewing on your machine for a friend in trade for her delivering prepared home-cooked dinners for you five days a week. Or maybe your workday ends at 3 PM and you could watch the kids after school for another friend, along with your own kids, in trade for her cleaning your house thoroughly on Saturdays while you go out grocery-shopping and doing errands.

Shortage of talents? Yes. Maybe your problem isn’t a shortage of time so much as a lack of skills at sewing the kids’ clothes, painting the house, grooming the dog, or doing some other task. Again, these are skills that can be hired if you have ample money at your disposal, but these days few of us do, especially solo parents. So rather than strain the budget, botch the job doing it yourself, or go without, see if you can barter.

Finding a bartering partner

How do you find a bartering partner? Start with the people you know. Who among your friends or acquaintances can create or repair those clothes, clean your house, install that new garbage disposal, paint your living room, groom your dog, or perform whatever other task you need? Be ready with an offer of your own in return: What can you offer to make or do for this other person? Have several suggestions in mind in case the first one is rejected. The person you tap to barter with may be amenable to a bartering arrangement in principle but not in need of the first thing you suggest trading for. If Sonja is willing to clean out your garage but doesn’t want an apple cake every week for four weeks in return, what else can you offer her in trade? Can you tutor her son in math? Can you help her write her résumé if she’s seeking a better job?

If none of your friends or acquaintances is interested in bartering or is able to provide the specific service you need, enlarge your scope. Try advertising on CraigsList, on a community bulletin board (literal or online), using word of mouth (asking friends and acquaintances whom they know who might be able to provide the needed service), or you might even consider setting up a barter exchange organization in your community and becoming your own first client.

Too, if the service you want to have performed for you is something that might be performed by a business owned by a sole proprietor, try approaching the business owner with a bartering proposition. If a company is a Megacorp-type with a board of directors and stockholders (public or privately held), forget about it. But remember, some corporations and LLCs are simply legal protection sheltering a sole owner or, perhaps, a pair of partners or a mom-and-pop operation. So don’t let the fact that Pete’s Plumbing is owned by Plumbing Specialists, Inc. dissuade you from making your proposition to them. The sole stockowners in Plumbing Specialists, Inc. might be Pete and his partner or Pete and his wife…or just Pete himself.

In this tight economy, Pete’s Plumbing, Housepainters Deluxe, and various other service providers are likely struggling to make their own ends meet, and while they’d love a cash-paying customer, if you can provide a service (or item) in return for their services, and it’s one they want or need, they may be very happy to be able to get it without a cash outlay. Can you design or write advertising materials for them, clean their offices, write a commercial jingle, or provide any other service for their business (or possibly for their home), in return for their doing some work for you?

I have heard from more than one person whose father was a doctor in “the old days” and accepted chickens or slabs of bacon in payment for their fees. While it’s rare anymore to find a physician who’ll barter his or her professional service for other services, let alone for food, many other types of service providers may be agreeable to that kind of arrangement.

You never know till you try.

Bartering—it’s an idea from the past whose time has come again, and it can be a particular boon to the solo parent with just one household income and one set of skills (yours) in the home. Try it.

Originally on http://www.gettingmoneywise.com/2011/12/swap-share-and-land-bartering.html

Inevitably, the needs of the entire population are met by one means or another. Each day millions of people either purchase, exchange products or lend goods and services. Renting and leasing belongings between private parties is fast becoming the most popular way to save money, earn cash and help save the environment.

Bartering Goods and Services
Bartering is the exchange of services or goods between two or more parties. Historically, bartering replaced money in times of economic crisis. Bartering was usually a transaction between total strangers or potential enemies. These days history is repeating itself and the barter system is alive and well in cities and neighborhoods all over the world.

Most people have exchanged goods or services with family or friends. People who know one another lend or swap tools and other household items on a regular basis. Today’s barter system has reached new heights with organized bartering systems that bring complete strangers together to swap merchandize, time or other services. Entire communities unite to lend and share through organized networks; saving time, money and resources.

Thousands of systemized bartering programs have been in existence for many years. They have built huge membership bases that are linked together and allow members access to offer and request goods and services as needed. Most of these programs link people who live in the same neighborhoods. The neighbors barter for things like home and auto repairs and music lessons. Many offer monthly meetings for members to socialize and get help and ideas. Members report that association with the barter groups has resulted in lasting friendships.

Corporate Barter
Corporate barter involves much larger transactions and businesses than regular bartering. Commonly, businesses barter advertising or media exposure for what is called “trade credit”. For example, manufacturers may barter excess inventory rather than trying to sell it by conventional means. The manufacturer will often transfer title of the inventory to a corporate barter company that issues trade credits at wholesale value. Trade credits are used “buy” advertising or other needed purchases.

Corporate barter has grown globally for over 30 years. The majority of corporate bartering is done by huge corporations; most with annual gross sales of over $10 million. As such, many corporate barter companies operate very discretely; without providing details of the transactions or the corporations involved. Recently, the UK announced its first corporate barter system. Members of the London based barter pool pay annual fees based upon the size of their organization. They are then issued identification numbers which let them utilize the system in order to trade. The managing director views the system as a means for businesses to preserve their profit margins, increase sales and ease cash flow.

Ride Sharing
The most common reasons people give for the need to ride share include the high cost of gas, less wear and tear on vehicles, lighter traffic and to decrease fossil fuel use to help save the planet. But another good reason to share driving is the benefits that socialization with others can offer. Global rideshare programs combine all of the above reasons with social networking in which members get to help others and receive help too.

These networks are popping up in countries all over the world because of the success of earlier programs. One network, in operation for over 12 years, has matched up over one million drivers and passengers willing to share a vehicle. Ride sharing networks usually require joining the website and placing a listing to either offer to a vehicle to share or request a ride share partner. Similar to social websites, users can search for potential matches based upon their needs. Members are required to keep listings current by renewing their listing each year.

Child and Elderly Care
Millions of people face the dilemma of providing care for their young children or elderly relatives. For many, the cost of such care is prohibitive and families are forced to make unfortunate sacrifices. The recent surge in swapping child and elderly care has proven to be the perfect solution for families around the world.

Swapping babysitting tasks saves money since payment is in the form of reciprocal sitting services. It also gives the children from both families a chance to get together and play. But the primary reason many people engage in babysitting co-ops is the security in knowing that their children are being watched by other experienced parents that are more likely able to handle the demands of taking care of children. The co-ops are operated much like other trade systems; parents sign up and place ads on the website. Members find compatible matches and interact through arranged meetings if both parties are interested. Several babysitting co-ops also offer pet care swaps on their website for pet owners to arrange care for their animals.

Cooperative care for elderly or ill relatives is very popular in the United States, Canada and all over Europe. The need for these services is a result of family members that need to take care of other issues in their lives while providing quality care to their relative. The co-ops join families based upon location and need. Because the caregivers themselves are owners of the co-op, they have the motivation to provide the best care possible. In addition to excellent care, all parties receive added benefit of making new caring friends.

Human beings will forever have the need for transportation, products and services and care. Generous people have always been eager to share, lend or swap what they have with friends and neighbors. The Internet and other technology have provided opportunities to extend the reach of this generosity using innovative programs and concepts in order to meet the needs of the human race.

by Nuria Almeida on 12/02/2011
orginally on: http://www.blog.smarttutor.com/bartering-learning-to-do-at-home/

Bartering has been making a comeback in our community- and many other places. In our homeschooling group, we all barter and it really helps keep our expenses down.
Bartering is simply the swapping of goods for services, goods for goods or services for services.Why pay for something when you can barter to absorb some of the costs associated with services you need?
For example, our homeschool group swaps babysitting duties with eachother so each person can each do their shopping without kids in tow.
A quick checklist to keep in mind when bartering is to:.

Know the value of what you want and what you have to barter.
For example, maybe you offer to clean a friend’s house in exchange for an item they are trying to sell. Once you pick the value of your cleaning service, you can negotiate.

Be Bold, But Don’t be Pushy
Set Specific Rules
These rules can be in the form of a formal document or a verbal agreement. Just make sure it’s understood by both parties.

Start Small
Bartering takes practice. To build confidence, start small and work your way up. After a little while, you will be an expert.

Be Fair
You will only get nothing for nothing. Make sure what you want and what you have to offer in trade are compatible.
Bartering is about creating a mutually beneficial transaction. It is an old art form, and by watching his parents bartering successfully, our son will learn from an early age a skill that is absolutely necessary during hard economic times.

Originally on: http://careertips.fullblog.com.ar/revenue-down-bartering-is-on-the-up.html

A drastic change in the economy calls for businesses to adapt in order to keep afloat, let alone make a profit. Redundancies, reducing overheads; you know the types of things! The great thing is, businesses can keep “open as usual” thanks to bartering. It’s nothing new, in fact, before a monetary value was put to note and coin, that’s how the world worked. So is it time for bartering to come back? It already is!

You wouldn’t know it, but bartering is big, on a world wide scale. There are barter networks full of thousands of businesses, all looking for the next good trade; but why!? Barter makes use of something that almost every business has; idle resources. If a business has idle resources, there is room to make or save money using bartering. By thinking outside of the box, businesses can start to get their revenue figures back on track. Idle resources could be anything; it really depends on the business. A web design firm may be paying staff 8 hours a day, but only have enough work for 6 hours a day. A camping wholesaler may have gone a bit crazy with the whole “economies of scale” approach and been left with 1,000 extra sleeping bags; items they might never sell! Using the barter system, they could do a two way exchange and swap goods/services they don’t need, for ones they do. Sounds simple? Not always!

Barter networks are great things. One of the main problems with the barter system is a business may find another business offering what they want, but the feeling is not mutual. The transaction will never happen without a facilitator.
Most barter networks have something called “trade dollars” and this is what helps them become the facilitator. So if a business charges $50 per hour for their time and barters 10 hours services, they are gifted 500 in trade dollars. They then use those trade dollars to purchase goods/services in the barter network that they require. A lot of businesses barter their goods/services out at a lower rate, to ensure they are running at full capacity. They pick up extra business (possibly even long term clients), but this has no direct affect on the consumers that pay the sticky prices they offer on a day to day basis.

Business is changing. Cash sales might be down for the majority, but this can be easily compensated by getting involved with bartering and making use of those idle resources!

Originally on: http://blog.dollardays.com/bartering-in-order-to-save-money/

In these difficult economic times, people are looking to save money in a variety of ways. One of the best ways to live frugally is to barter for goods and services whenever possible. Bartering is the act of exchanging goods and services without using money.

During the Great Depression in the 1930?s, bartering was common. Many people would pay their doctor’s bills with eggs and milk from the family chickens or cows. Other people paid their bills in produce. For a time, bartering fell out of popularity. However, the practice is making a comeback. How would you barter with someone for goods and services? For example, you may want to have your lawn cut, but you cannot cut it yourself. You may also not have the money to pay someone to cut it either. In such a case, you might think about trading services in exchange for having your lawn cut. Perhaps you would be willing to make and decorate a cake instead of paying money. In this case, the cake is what you are willing to barter.

If you have a tight-knit community or a support network of family and friends, you may not have any problem-finding people with whom to barter. In fact, you may have already been bartering and not actually known it! If you do not have a support network or if you do not live in a tight knit community, it may be more difficult to find people who are willing to barter with you. However, it can be done.

One of the best ways to find people willing to barter is to search online. There are actually many different bartering forums that exist in order to help introduce people to each other and to educate people about the practice. One such site is called SwapAce. Here, you can trade goods and services, learn more about bartering, and learn how to improve your negotiating skills. Another way to find people willing to barter with you is to advertise on Craigslist or other similar sites. If you own your own business and want to barter with other businesses for goods and services, you may want to join a group like ITEX. Bartering for services can actually help you to get your business up and running without using a lot of capital.

Of course, it is important to mention that you should take precautions and be careful when joining any online group or participating in a group online. Before joining the group, it is important to read over the rules and to obey them.

Although it may take you some time to find a person will to barter for goods and services, most people who barter say that the effort and time is well worth it. Take some time to look into bartering and join the ranks of those who enjoy living frugally.

Bartering an airplane

by: Arthur Noort

Our co-founder – here at BarterQuest – Dr. Paul Bocheck is a huge fan of two things: bartering and airplanes. You can imagine he could not believe his eyes when he visited an air show in New Jersey and read the story about how Joe Shepherd, owner of an award winning 1936 Lockheed Electra junior, acquired his airplane.

The discovery of a classic plane

When he first came across the Electra Jr. in 1988, Shepherd owned a Cessna 195 which was a perfectly fine airplane. The Electra Jr. however was in a poor state. It had been sitting on a ramp in Texas for over a decade. Shepherd wanted to have the plane and the owner of the Electra Jr. happened to want a Cessna 195. So a deal was made and they traded planes! Shepherd asked friends and family to fly out to Texas with him and help get the classic aircraft home. This proved to be a huge hassle due to the state the plane was in. However they somehow managed to fly the plane to Fayatteville, Georgia and the plane would stay there for some time.

The arrival in Georgia heralded a long restoration process. With the help of family and friends Shepherd spent over 19 years bringing the Electra Jr. back to its glorious original state. It flew for the first time again on the 13th of April 2007. Since then it has won many awards but the real climax came when Hollywood filmmakers asked Shepherd if they could use his plane in a movie.

Amelia

Amelia Earhart was an American aviation pioneer. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and has set many other records. She was a member of the National Women’s Party and an early supporter of equal rights for men and women. Amelia disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island in 1937 and it is still not clear what happened exactly on that 2nd of July. The stories about her life and disappearance inspired and fascinated many people, including Fox Searchlight filmmakers. They decided to make a movie about her.

When in pre-production, the filmmakers were looking for models of planes which Amelia Earhart flew in her days. They did not have to search for long when they encountered Shepherd’s fully restored Lockheed Electra Jr. One phone call later and Shepherd’s plane was about to become a movie star. He actually flew the plane himself when they shot the scenes including his classic airplane. Dressed with a wig and a concealing scarf he even fulfilled the role of stand-in for Hilary Swank, who played the leading role.

This story proves how exciting and interesting life can be when you barter! Opportunities can come from the strangest and most unexpected places. This, of course, is one of the most amazing events that followed from two people trading two items. Joe Shepherd and his family and friends put in huge amounts of efforts to restore this old plane. But who could ever thought this would be the outcome?!

Sources:

Joe Shepherd’s official website
Wikipedia
Fox Searchlight official website

Originally on: http://ezinearticles.com/?Revenue-Down?-Bartering-Is-on-the-Up!&id=6519536
By: Karl Craig West

A drastic change in the economy calls for businesses to adapt in order to keep afloat, let alone make a profit. Redundancies, reducing overheads; you know the types of things!

The great thing is, businesses can keep “open as usual” thanks to bartering. It’s nothing new, in fact, before a monetary value was put to note and coin, that’s how the world worked. So is it time for bartering to come back? It already is!

You wouldn’t know it, but bartering is big, on a world wide scale. There are barter networks full of thousands of businesses, all looking for the next good trade; but why!?

Barter makes use of something that almost every business has; idle resources. If a business has idle resources, there is room to make or save money using bartering. By thinking outside of the box, businesses can start to get their revenue figures back on track.

Idle resources could be anything; it really depends on the business. A web design firm may be paying staff 8 hours a day, but only have enough work for 6 hours a day. A camping wholesaler may have gone a bit crazy with the whole “economies of scale” approach and been left with 1,000 extra sleeping bags; items they might never sell!

Using the barter system, they could do a two way exchange and swap goods/services they don’t need, for ones they do. Sounds simple? Not always!

Barter networks are great things. One of the main problems with the barter system is a business may find another business offering what they want, but the feeling is not mutual. The transaction will never happen without a facilitator.

Most barter networks have something called “trade dollars” and this is what helps them become the facilitator. So if a business charges $50 per hour for their time and barters 10 hours services, they are gifted 500 in trade dollars. They then use those trade dollars to purchase goods/services in the barter network that they require.

A lot of businesses barter their goods/services out at a lower rate, to ensure they are running at full capacity. They pick up extra business (possibly even long term clients), but this has no direct affect on the consumers that pay the sticky prices they offer on a day to day basis.

Business is changing. Cash sales might be down for the majority, but this can be easily compensated by getting involved with bartering and making use of those idle resources!

Originally on: http://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2011/09/29/107785_master-bartering-strange-ways-to-save-money.html
By: Jennifer Derrick

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about how to master haggling to save money. This week I’m giving tips on how to barter successfully. Like haggling, bartering isn’t often done in the U.S. I think part of it is because, as with haggling, people are embarrassed to barter. Some people feel uncomfortable suggesting that they trade resources or talents. We also lack many of the close community relationships that make bartering easier. When you’re close with your neighbors, church members, or coworkers, there’s a lot less discomfort in trying to arrange a deal.

Bartering is nothing more than trading one skill or resource for another. Maybe you trade an hour of mowing the lawn for an hour of babysitting your two-year old. Or you trade some old clothes that your kid has outgrown for some books that your neighbor wants to get rid of. No money changes hands when you barter and that’s the beauty of it. Each party gets something they want or need, but they don’t have to pay for it. If you want to try to barter, here are some tips to get you started.

Know what skills or resources you can offer: Think about your skills and resources. Can you sew? Fix computers or appliances? Do yard work or babysit? Build a deck? Make a website? Do taxes? Do you make great jelly? Maybe you have a lot of tools or landscaping equipment that you could loan to someone. Inventory your stuff and think about what might be in demand. Everyone has some skills or resources that can be traded. Once you know what you can offer, you can begin to think about what you might want.

Be specific about what you want: When looking to barter, be very specific about what you want. Simply saying, “I need someone to clean my house,” isn’t specific. Potential trading partners have no idea how big your house is, how dirty, or what you mean by, “clean.” A better way of phrasing it is, “I need someone to clean my 1,200 square foot house once per week, including vacuuming all carpets in the common areas, cleaning one and a half bathrooms, and mopping the kitchen floor. I’ll handle the bedrooms and provide all cleaning materials.” When you get specific, people who might want to trade with you can better determine if what they can offer is comparable in value to what you want.

Assess the value of what you want vs. what you’re offering: While “value” is often subjective, it is possible to assign a value to the skills/resources you’re offering in comparison to those you want to acquire. The first place to look is on the open market. What does what you want cost in the marketplace? If an hour of cleaning is $100, you need to offer something that’s approximately the same price. If your tool rents for $20 per day, you shouldn’t really ask for an hour of cleaning (at $100) in return unless the person wants to rent for five days. Look online or call some local businesses and ask what they charge for what you want and what you can offer.

Identify people you might trade with: There are many ways to find people who might trade with you. First, think about who might need what you have to offer. Then think if there’s anything they can offer you. Maybe you’ll come up with a neighbor who has a broken deck you can repair and you know she’s good with computers and can take a look at yours which has been acting up. If you want to move beyond the realm of people you know, you can advertise on Craigslist or in your local want ads. You can directly approach business owners in your community. Maybe you can offer to clean the gym in exchange for a free membership. Finally, there are bartering clubs that you can join, both online and off. As with anything, make certain you aren’t dealing with scammers. Find out as much as you can about the people you’ll be dealing with and try to avoid getting ripped off.

Don’t take advantage, or be taken advantage of: If you’ve agreed to do five hours of labor and you reach that point, don’t let your bartering partner talk you into more unless you are getting more, too. I know a guy who does construction work. He bartered some car repairs with someone who needed a garage finished. Both tasks were valued about the same. Well, after my friend completed his work, his bartering partner kept pushing for more. Being a nice guy, my friend did some of it before he finally put his foot down and said that the deal was no longer fair. Since he didn’t need any more car repairs, the other guy had nothing to offer to continue to make the deal fair. My friend was being taken advantage of and finally had to walk away, leaving bad feelings on both sides. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of, and don’t be the schmuck who’s always pushing for more.

Be fair: You want to strike a deal that’s fair to both of you and leaves you both satisfied. If you can’t agree on terms, it’s better to walk away than to try to push the other person into a deal that doesn’t fit. There are a lot of potential trading partners in the world. Don’t use guilt or threats to try to force a bartering deal.

Bartering, done well, can be a great way to save some money. It is also a great way to build relationships amongst neighbors and other communities. Nothing brings people together like striking a good deal.

You can also use it as a springboard to bigger things, in some cases. If, for example, you trade some jewelry you made with a few people for some other things you need, word might get around that you make nice jewelry, resulting in paying customers. The same applies to skills like graphic design, computer maintenance, landscaping, or tutoring. You may end up not only saving money but making money, as well.