A Little Help from Our Friends

Save money by bartering with friends

Not long ago I was reminded about the art of bartering. I was also reminded about what friends are for. Friends, it turns out, are for bartering — especially when they’re unemployed or struggling with money issues just like you. Friends, it turns out, are pet sitters, house sitters, baby sitters, painters, landscapers, plumbers, household packers and movers, and a host of other valuable things. When you barter, you can get a lot of value without any money.  You don’t need a credit card or a payday loan, either.

We could all use a little help now and then

Here’s how bartering among friends started happening for me. I had been unemployed for over nine months when I finally started back to work. Because of that extended and unplanned vacation my finances were stretched to the limit. But just before my layoff, I had been planning a four-day reunion get-away spanning a weekend. I was going with three childhood friends to a cabin on a lake a few hours’ drive away. My new employer was flexible about giving me two days off without pay, but as the time approached, it was looking like a financial impossibility.

I have an elderly dog that needs a pet sitter when I can’t be with her. The pet sitter was going to cost $200 for four days. Taking into consideration lost wages, pet sitter expenses, and gas and food expenses for the weekend, I wasn’t going to be able to pay my mortgage when I got back from my trip, and I was ready to call it off. Kenneling my dog would be about half the cost of the pet sitter, but even after shelling out only $100, I wasn’t going to be able to pay the mortgage. For health reasons, my dog isn’t a good candidate for conventional kenneling, and I’m not a fan of kenneling for any dog, anyway.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

I was venting this frustration to an ex-coworker, when she surprised me by offering to care for my dog in her own home for the four days. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me to ask – I know she likes dogs, her six-year-old son knows my dog and they love playing together, and I trust her. But I’m not in the habit of asking for favors, and I just never thought of it. I was thrilled.

I was even happier when I offered to pay her two weeks after I got back, and she insisted on doing it for free. But I wanted to do something in return so I asked her what I could do and she said I could consider helping her a month down the road when she would be moving into a condominium. A bargain was struck. It felt fair. We were both better off for the deal and we were both freed up from a financial concern. I couldn’t afford a pet sitter. She couldn’t afford to pay movers.

Don’t be afraid to offer help

A few weeks later, my neighbor had to leave town to help her elderly mother who had just had surgery. Normally, she would pay someone to come by every day, water plants, collect mail, and just generally keep an eye on the place. She had just gone through a period of unemployment herself, and was worried about leaving her house unattended. It was a no-brainer. I watched her place.

Be prepared for the snowball effect

It turned out my neighbor’s son is a carpenter and I had a carpentry project in my house that I hadn’t been able to afford finishing because of my layoff. So the son returned the favor I’d given his mother. Then it turned out that his sister was in the middle of a huge a gardening project. The weather was fine, and I decided to help her out. And on it went. Like a chain reaction.

Bartering with friends is a luxury anyone can afford

This kind of bartering isn’t only for the unemployed and recently unemployed. It’s a perfect alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to use a credit card or get a payday loan for things they don’t really need, but would sure like to have.  And even for those with cash at the ready, bartering is a great way to keep in touch with friends and to make new friends. The keys to making it work are being willing to ask and being willing to give back.