bartering for fun and frugality

i used to swap my old action figures to my friends' robots and dinosaurs when i was a kid.  shyness was out of my vocabulary back then.  i asked them for whatever i liked from their overwhelming collection, and as expected, got them in exchange for my scraped, beaten up toys.  zero sales pitch needed.  of course, i was lucky enough to have super spoiled but not brat childhood friends.

fast forward to today, i barter my time and service by doing laundry and massage for my mom and sister.  i always insist on groceries and household cleaning essentials as a form of exchange, but they sometimes give me cash in return.  i believe that grace is a sign of abundance and must never be shunned.

i also trade home furnishings and decors to my brother who has a passion for making his own dwelling beautiful. since i am very picky when it comes to what i bring inside our house, i tend to accept cash from him instead.  it sounds more like selling, but with the spirit of bartering in mind minus the heavy price tag.

finally, we have a neighbor who gladly accepts furniture and scrap wood as an exchange for his service.  he is "the" mr. handyman in our subdivision because he can do masonry, electrical works, and plumbing with excellent result.  he had done a few minor repairs in our house in which he didn't accept money or anything in return.  it was truly a blessing to have him as our neighbor and as a family friend.

bartering is quite a challenge to creativity, not to mention an extremely fun way to save extra money.  don't you think it's about time to bring this old form of trading back?