To think we should promote a barter culture?

Those was really common in the working class communities I experienced growing up in the 80s and 90s.
Mainly the male trades and practical people fixing or improving houses cars and gardens, helping people move, lifts to airports etc.

Also some use of staff discounts or where people had work perks like access to factory shops, the butcher (bulk meat), reduced goods from shops, free samples. Good gardeners wood share out their crop and when people died stone of their stuff (tools, furniture and household items) was redistributed amongst the community.

I do remember some hairdressing and babysitting too. But they might have been cash in hand rather than pure barter.

I suspect it still exists in similar communities. No tax, no impact on benefits, improves people's lives who have low income.

The risks are valid though, I remember an engine failing on a car that had been fixed by a friend working. No comeback, but then the initial work couldn't have been paid for at a 'proper' garage anyway.

I work for a small business with about 10 employees - we barter amongst ourselves all the time. Some of it is job related because we all have different specialised skills. My colleague just made my 50th birthday gift from my husband in exchange for some specialist advice.
Interestingly bartering counts as income, so if the estimated fair market value goes over £1k you should declare it.

Some people have been known to trade sex for money/lifestyle!!

Given how many CF stories are on Mnet I can imagine there would be some inequality of trade.

In theory it seems a good idea. I'd happily do a couple of hours ironing or cleaning in exchange for some plumbing or heavy gardening. But you'd need to be living close by and be able to trust the other person. And you'd have to want the skill the other person has. Money was invented to overcome these difficulties!

I think this can work amongst people that are already friends, or in a small community (where it will get round quickly if you don't reciprocate).

Amongst strangers/in a city it seems simpler to do with things than with skills- e.g. take one/leave one mini libraries or in my local community centre we have clothing swap rails that work like that.

There are some women at my work who have such big ones that their eyelashes seem to come into the room before they do. I’d rather help someone for free than have those things stuck on my face.

I think the idea involving tokens is more attractive than direct swaps. A fixes B’s dishwasher, B looks after C’s cat for a week & C gives A eyelash extensions.

I don't use them. I don't need to. But I know plenty of people do.

You see what you're missing is that in the type of society that barters, it isn't all about personal gain. So pedicures are something I do get and while I could do it myself or buy one, I may accept it as skill to trade if someone has little else to give. No, it won't massively enhance ot progress my life, but it makes my community stronger.

So it isn't all about me, me, me and what will push me up the furthest. It's just about trading skills so your whole community advances together.

Then she wouldn't help you out again.

In general, cheeky fuckers are talked about- and they isolate themselves over time.

OP, there is alot of this in my community/ family.
For example- in my family the women help clean and watch the children, where the men do the DIY or someone who has a car will help the others who don't with long journeys in return for that favour we will make a meal or something.

My dad is in the building trade and him and all his mates do jobs. For eachother for free. Well. The cost is: when you are needed you come.

You need to build your community to get this OP! I would happily clean if you rewrite my CV for me. I hate that job!!

Generally speaking, the government are grabby scumbags who want the working and middle classes to fork over their blood, sweat and tears so they can pretend it's magical free government money and give it away to anyone they please, this is true enough.

But there are already bartering groups around. The reason it cannot take off is it is unworkable outside a small, local area, like a village. This is why we developed money.

Because people can be a holes you come clean my house then next week I will come decorate. Then the excuses will start

You aren't poor, are you? Haha!

It’s a great idea but governments hate it because they can’t tax it.

No. Absolutely never. That was the point, millions and millions of people would simply scratch their heads and say "eh?" at the thought of bartering eyelash extensions. They're not worth anything to most people. I know you won't want to believe that and will now be personally offended, but I'm afraid it's true.

It's not relevant anyway, bartering only works in a village, which is why we moved on to money.

Do you get them generally?

I didn't say again. I said "would no more want or consider eyelash extensions to be anything they'd trade anything else for, including money, ever"

This sentence means that millions of people, including me, would never ever consider trading anything, including money, for eyelash extensions.

I wouldn’t want someone who isn’t good at cleaning to cook for me!

I used to think we should go back to bartering..would never work nowadays . I do swop my veg for free range eggs , and when a single mum with a songle mum friend wed have each over for tea every other night when things were tough back in the day ...people want so much now it'd never work to live .

Of course I can, have you got confused? 😳

My point was (and still is) I don't want a DIY-er pissing around with my plumbing.

And I'm pretty sure my home insurance company wouldn't either.

If I plumbed it in myself and flooded my home, I would be covered, just as I would if I used a professional.

Yes I think it’s a great idea.

Is that what you're referring to? Can't you do that?! It's quite a basic household skill.

I don't know, you'd have to ask her why she's offering to plumb in washing machines?

I once had a housemate who decided we should do this. She would cut my hair and in return I would basically pay all the household bills. I'm not sure how many haircuts she thought I needed, but I moved out not long after I realised she seriously thought I would agree to it!

In my experience, people have tradeable skills are using them to earn money, and the people who want to trade are trying to swap low skilled/low value activities for higher value ones.

Most people can do things like cooking, cleaning, gardening, "well enough", or can learn to improve them quite easily they arent willing to trade their own valuable skills to outsource the easier jobs.

I used to be in a LETS group. It was full of people offering aura cleansing and life coaching and very short on people offering anything I would want. When I left I had given a lot of time to people and had not managed to get anything back.

I find it better to cooperate with people I know. Share items, do favours. We have a group of 4 households and share streaming services, lifts to/from the train station, borrow cars/tools, help each other out with our areas of expertise. It works better with a small group who share values and mindset.