Frugal idea – exchange services
I am really happy – I just got myself some “free” babysitting! I have a neighbor who is studying for a math exam she needs to pass for teaching, and I offered to tutor her. She’s got the concepts down, but just needs some help with test-taking strategies and finding some ways to solve the problems a little faster.
For me, it’s been some time since I have tutored math, and I have forgotten how much I enjoy it. When my neighbor insisted on paying me, I felt that it wasn’t fair to charge an hourly rate, since we discussed our kids and other topics between math problems. So we worked out a deal where she will watch the kid (she also has a son who is close in age to mine, and the kids play well together) in exchange for my services.
This is so great for my husband and I – we really can’t justify paying for a babysitter since money is tight, but we haven’t been out on our own in a really long time (I can’t remember the last time… definitely not in 2008!) since we don’t have family in the area.
Have you ever exchanged services? Has it worked out well?
That’s a great idea. We have exchanged services with some neighbors like yard care. Some have had certain tools that they knew how to use (like trimming trees) and we had others (like a tiller).
Cys last blog post..Two, Three, Four Brains are Better than One