The first time I bartered as an adult was when I was in my very first apartment. I was terrified of spiders and my upstairs neighbor didn’t mind taking care of them for me. In exchange, I learned how to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

Every so often, I’d bring Gideon a heaping plate of barely cooled cookies and he would happily relocate or kill (I never asked which) the eight legged monsters.

I’ve exchanged yoga lessons for jars of homemade mango chutney and ferried a friend’s kid to basketball practice and in exchange, they would pop in and play with my dog if I was running late.

Sometimes it’s pre-arranged, but just as often as not it’s the easy give and take that comes with being part of a community. I have a knack for creating resumes but have a hard time figuring out how to get large pieces of furniture through doorways.

Sometimes it’s pre-arranged, but just as often as not it’s the easy give and take that comes with being part of a community.

I knew a woman in my early twenties who lived with an elderly woman and did all of the cooking and cleaning in exchange for free room and board. She worked a full-time job as well and was able to go to college without accruing any student loan debt as she’d gotten creative with her living arrangements. I’ve taken farm-grown meat and produce as payment for items I have for sale.

What about you? I’d love to hear the ways you’ve gotten creative with a barter or trade system.