Bartering–A Way to Save!




Babies and Moms: Birth and Beyond » Podcast Feed show

Summary: Kathy Peel shares why bartering is a smart business practice you and friends can use to share expertise or items, and save each other money and time. And hear how to start a Moms on a Mission Group to save you on home repairs. Ideas from Kathy’s Newsletter: 1. Team up with a coworker. You both cook double portions of what you’re fixing for dinner on Monday and Wednesday nights, then take the extra portion in a cooler to the office the following day. You both get Tuesday and Thursday nights off from cooking and won’t be tempted to pick up fast food on the way home. 2. Trade home maintenance or decorating tasks. Suggest to a friend that you will help her paint her child’s bedroom if she helps you wallpaper a bathroom. 3. Host a swap party. Decide on a theme such as toys, baby equipment, or children’s clothing. Invite friends to bring a few of these items along to swap, and everyone goes home with “new’ things without spending a cent. 4. Trade out chores with a friend who has different skills than yours. If you have a green thumb but hate to organize, and your neighbor has a black thumb but can easily make sense of cluttered closets, you help her with gardening and she streamlines your storage space. You both win. 5. Barter around the holidays. If you’re not a great cook but you excel in wrapping beautiful packages, tell a friend you’ll wrap her gifts if she’ll bake holiday treats for you. 6. Cut cooking time in half by teaming up with a friend who is also hosting holiday company. She bakes double batches of her specialties and you do the same 7. Ask three moms with like-aged children to join a holiday babysitting co-op. Each mom entertains the kids for a few hours on one of four days. Each mom will save on sitter costs and have time to do holiday shopping and errands. 8. If you’re spiffing up your home for a party or houseguests, ask a neighbor who’s doing the same to split the cost of renting a carpet-cleaning machine for a day. 9. Traveling over the holidays? Ask a friend to come to your home to feed, water, and exercise your pet. Return the favor, and you both save on boarding fees. These ideas were adapted from The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home where you’ll find hundreds of smart ideas for saving money and managing your family well