Cash is nice but barter might be better in the tough economy
No credit? No cash? No problem.
That is, if you want to give online bartering a try.
That's what Valerie Whitlock did. The 37-year-old actress and writer from Studio City holds down sporadic film and television gigs to cover her rent, utilities, car payments and insurance. For everything else — headshots and haircuts, clothing and cut reels — she barters her handcrafted jewelry on the Web.
"Bartering is something wonderful in good times and in tough times. We are all thinking of ways to make our dollars stretch farther," said Mary Hunt, founder of money management website Debt-Proof Living.
More people are turning to Craigslist, SwapThing and other websites during the financial crisis to trade for what they need or what they want. These cashless transactions pick up in every recession, economists say. But the Internet has given the practice unprecedented reach.
"In cyberspace, there is no distance between two points," technology forecaster Paul Saffo said. "What the Internet has given us is convenience and scale."
Read the full L.A. Times story on bartering here.
Photo: Valerie Whitlock, an actress and writer from Studio City, barters her jewelry online. Credit: Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
Please support all business that donated to protect marriage-I plan to choose and support those businesses that are being persecuted by the alternative lifestyle folks
Posted by: Steve | November 15, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Interesting you are talking about bartering, ever since Oct 08 I have been trying to see how I can get what I want without using money. After all I am trying to save for the rainy day, funny that it is pouring these days. I am a hairstylist and started to barter for massage in exchange for haircut. Now I am using this site www.favorpals.org to exchange more service than massage in exchange for haircut. Yes, the bartering days are here with twist from the 21st century.
Posted by: Lisa | January 22, 2009 at 07:40 PM