Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Portland's (Barter) Economy is Booming!...

It turns out that massage is very much in demand, and it has been really fun to meet people and exchange goods and/ or services. Many people are struggling financially, but it works out really well to exchange what we already have or can do, taking cash out of the equation. Many of these trades are for things that make our life feel rich, but that we would have a hard time justifying spending money on. So far, I have traded bodywork for:

Hair Services
A Spa Gift Card (worth $450!!)
Voice Lessons
Grass Fed Beef
Restaurant Gift Certificates
Massages
Acupuncture Treatments
Private Pilates Sessions
Custom Woodworking
Website Design Consulting
Childcare
Professional Photography

Can you believe it? I am lucky to live in a city that values community highly, and loves to find creative ways to help one another. I am currently working on having someone come clean my house 1-2x/ month as a trade (this may be the most exciting one for me yet!) It also feels good to know that I am providing something that people really need, but can't afford.
We feel so fortunate!

7 comments:

Gretchen said...

That is so awesome! I love bartering! It sounds like you've hit the mother load of good stuff too. =0)

ShackelMom said...

That's really cool! Ithink bartering is such a great way to go!

Keren said...

Wow! That's a really impressive list, Ariana! What a great way to make things work!

Grandma Seelye said...

Great idea!! I didn't know you wanted to become a pilot;) Love you

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of bartering! SO glad you can have a service that others want & need!
Aunt G

Bethany said...

This is great! We try to do a little bartering around here, too! But I think our list would look very different. We would have the grass fed beef and the custom woodworking on our list. We are currently trading an old wood furnace that we are not using for some wood to use in our wood stove. I don't think I could find a Spa Gift Card, Acupuncture, or Pilates. But if I could offer tractor repair or wood splitting, I would be all set ;-)

Aunt Robin said...

Hi Ariana,
Your list looks great, and it reminds me that you're open to new ideas and experiences. I'm sure that makes your life more fun. Good job!