When it comes to balancing your family budget, you know first hand that sacrifices have to be made in order to fund the necessities. But what if there was another option besides giving up services or activities? Consider bartering. It’s a practice that has been used for thousands of years, and can be used for anything you can think of- medical services, vegetables, cleaning, and much more. Through bartering, your family can trade services, skills, or products with other families- and save you a significant amount of money.

If you frequently plant fruit and vegetables in the spring and summer, consider expanding your garden to yield enough harvest to trade with others. If you do not have a lot of experience with gardening, try something easy such as carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and green beans- they make great starter veggies. Get together with families in your neighborhood and trade your vegetables for fruit.

If you rent your house or apartment, talk to you landlord about offsetting your rent by taking over maintenance of the building. Tasks such as mowing the lawn, fixing light fixtures, painting the exterior, are all services that the landlord already has to outsource. Such an agreement might save you both money!

Instead of heading to the bookstore every time you finish a book, set up an agreement with a friend or relative to trade books that you’ve read or grown tired of. The books will be new to you, and you’ll save $5-15 on average each time. The same applies to your children’s video games, which can cost a pretty penny. Talk to a fellow parent from your child’s class about sharing games every few weeks. It will give your child something new to play without putting a strain on the family budget.

It’s no secret that kids are constantly growing, which means they’re leaving their clothes behind. Instead of investing in brand new outfits that will only last a couple months, set up a clothes swap with relatives or neighbors. This is a great way to recycle your own family’s clothing, but more importantly, allows you to clothes your children without spending a single penny. Use the same setup for toys and baby gear.

If you’re stumped for ideas on what to barter with other families, or are having trouble finding someone to participate with your exchanges, head to the internet. Websites like Craigslist (www.craigslist.com) are good starting points, with links to other sites that are further broken down by geographic location. You’ll be able to find other families who want to trade, and even list the items you have that are up for swapping.

Posted in Home Budget

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