What's better than free? (part trois)
Posted by Love Nickerson
If you were one of those who gasped at my freecycle and couchsurfing posts, just stop reading now - below is another idea that brings strangers together. Oooo, scary :)
Introducing Time Trading (or time banking), a way for people to have their needs met for FREE.
Think of it as bartering for the 21st century, where members trade services, rather than pay for them. Anything from knitting lessons to help with ebay, a ride to the airport or a bike tune-up can be found on the local time trade website: www.timetradecircle.org.
Using a web-based 'accounting' system, members post their services offered and requested. Once a match is made, the member who received the service logs into the bank account and pays the other member in hours. New members start with a 5 hour credit so they can begin participating right away.
Although based on the concept of reciprocity, time trading does not have to be between just 2 people. In fact, by involving members of the entire community, the Time Trade Circle is realized.
For my first offer, I assisted a woman who wanted to learn the access database. I earned 1.25 hours. For my first request, I wanted help cleaning - my bathroom. Sure enough, a woman showed up and scrubbed for 2 solid hours. Seriously! I paid her 3 hours (including one for travel time), and she is going to spend that on a haircut and getting a dress hemmed.
For those of you still stuck on stranger-danger, rest assured that prospective members are required to attend an orientation so that each member has been met by someone in the administrative group. Also, the group hosts a monthly potluck where members are encouraged to mingle and identify potential trades in person.
It is easy enough to identify things we need... what I especially like about the time trading is that it requires us to consider what we have to offer.
Posted: April 26, 2009 5:28 pm | 2 comments
Tags: bartering, free, money, savings, time, trade
Comments
This is very, very interesting and seems like a safety hazard...I'm glad it worked for you and maybe it will catch on to more people!
said Rebecca Brown
This is awesome! I love stuff like this. I'm definitely going to check this out.
said Ashley Haight
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