Most of us, no matter what our budgets look like, could always use an extra tip or two for saving money. “Skill swapping” is one of those extra tips, and chances are you haven’t yet taken full advantage of it. Skill swapping involves trading services that you can offer for services that someone you know can offer. In other words, skill swapping allows you to pay for things with your own skill.
Let’s say you have a neighbor who is a mechanic, for example, and you happen to be a skilled photographer. If your car suddenly needs an oil change, but you don’t trust your own expertise to perform one on your own, you might strike a bargain with your mechanic neighbor: “I’ll do a small photo shoot for you and your family if you’ll do an oil change on my car.” Both parties here benefit: You save on the labor costs involved in taking your car to a car repair shop, and your neighbor gets a free photo shoot in return for his or her labor. No money was involved (save for the money you spent on oil for the oil change), and both parties spent their time efficiently, each doing something that they were skilled at.
You can use skill swapping in a variety of ways to help you trim your budget. A good way to start the practice of skill swapping is to stop and assess your own skills. What skills could you offer to someone else? Spending some time reflecting on your own skills and talents will give you some “capital” to bargain with. Some skill examples:
- Car repairs
- Photography
- Web design
- Copyediting
- Language tutoring
- Fitness lessons
- Legal advice
- Financial advice
- Tech support
- Cooking
- House cleaning
- House sitting
Try to find friends who want to try skill swapping as much as you do—and who need (or detest doing) things that you happen to be good at. Maybe you have a friend is an accountant and hates cleaning the house, for example. You might offer to perform a deep cleaning of their house in return for some simple tax preparation come tax season. You’ll save on the costs of hiring a tax attorney or accountant, and they’ll save on the costs of hiring a cleaning service. When you find “skill swap partners” who match well with you, your skill swapping could turn into something that you do on a regular basis.
Of course, the thing that makes skill swapping work is being able to offer a valuable skill and finding others who value that skill. All in all, skill swapping is a great way to help people save money, strengthen bonds with one another, and place value on everyone in the community.