hand wrapping gifts

Christmas Bartering: How To Save Money This Christmas

Christmas can be fun, stressful, and everything in between. Many with lower budgets this year may be worrying about how they are going to afford to get everyone their gifts, but you need not worry – barter instead.

Bartering is the simple exchange of goods or services for other goods or services. This means that there is no money involved. All you do is exchange something you have an abundance of, or a skill you have for those someone else has. It is a win-win situation and can be really beneficial all year round, not just Christmas. Here are some ways you can use bartering to cut costs this year.

 

  1. Trade produce

    If you are creative and make things in your free time, or even if that is your full time job, you could use this to your advantage. Perhaps you have friends who also love making things in their free time/ as their full time job? If you do, why not suggest trading some goods. This way you can add variety to your gifts and also help your friend add variety to theirs!

  2. Offer up your skills

    Perhaps you are great at fixing things, building things or are trained as a hairdresser. There are many skills that are trade-worthy, and there are so many people willing to make that trade. If there is something you really love but is out of your price range, approach the seller (if appropriate, this works best with small businesses) and ask if you can do all the staffs hair -for example- in return for that thing you’d really like.

  3. Make alliances

    The best way to make successful deals, is to build relationships first. If you have a client that sells products/ services that could serve you well, let them know how you both could benefit from a trade deal. This way, they will save money on the things they already purchase from you and they also shift some of their product. This is a great way to branch out and begin trading.