I don't pay for milk or eggs. I also don't pay for clothes for my kids. How do I do this? I have entered the world of bartering!! My family is enjoying 3 gallons of raw grass fed milk and 2 dozen free range eggs every week in exchange for baked goods. A friend has celiac and doesn't have time to bake so each week I take an order. A gluten free cheesecake is worth 3 gallons of milk. It's so easy to whip up a cheesecake (from scratch!!) that it almost doesn't seem to be a fair trade!
Here's how we avoid paying for clothes for my girls...sometimes this works for my son too. I accept all hand me downs. I also sell at consignment shops and then use that money to buy my son's clothes. We're blessed to have friends who have girls older than mine and we just pass the clothes along.
I have also been able to barter for meat. This year I'll be trading shampoo,body wash, tooth paste, and other household items for some fresh chicken. My hubby is also going to trade his meat cutting skills in exchange for some fresh chicken. I'm hoping to end up with almost a years worth of chicken for under $50. I'll be cutting the breasts and then boiling the rest of the chicken and canning the stock and cooked chicken. Stay tuned for a chicken processing post in the next couple months!!
Do you barter for anything? What's the best deal you've gotten this way?
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4 comments:
We bartered to pay the monthly fee for my daughter's gymnastics this year. My husband coached strength and conditioning in exchange for her 9 hours a week in the gym. Saved us $200 a month.
We do things like this too sometimes. It's always a win-win :) We don't usually intend to get something in return but it usually tends to happen that way.
Instead of boiling the chicken, you might try to bake it, then debone, and make stock from the bones. It will give you a richer broth with much more flavor.
I certainly wish I could find someone who would barter chickens for beef and pork. I love fresh chicken meat but husband does not like to butcher them - in fact, he won't. Good for you for making the barter system work!
I wrote about bartering for Frugal Friday this week too!
We just got a new-to-us camera in exchange for some babysitting.
Love it!
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