A Toronto financial planner says, “Bartering is a great way to cut down on the costs in your life.
After a customer paid for a haircut with beef and potatoes, a family-run barber shop in southwestern Ontario started taking other food in exchange for a fresh cut, which may not be that unusual given how expensive things are these days.
Shannon Lee Simmons, a financial planner in Toronto, says that people are becoming more interested in bartering because of the tough economy.
Simmons said, “Bartering is a great way to cut costs in your life.”
It worked for Justin Newhook, a factory worker in Stratford, Ont., who is 36 years old. He recently got a haircut at the new barbershop in town. The owner, Rosso Villamil, told him he could pay whatever he wanted, which made him happy.
Instead of asking, “How much can I spend?” I often ask myself, “How can I get that?” It’s a different way of looking at things.– Shannon Lee Simmons, a financial advisor in Toronto
But Newhook didn’t give up and insisted on knowing the price, said Villamil, whose family runs two other barber shops in southwestern Ontario, in Ingersoll and Woodstock. “So I said, “OK, if you want to bring potatoes and meat,” in a funny way.”
“I kind of thought he was joking, but I kind of wanted to go with it,” Newhook laughed in an interview on CBC Radio’sLondon Morning.
So, Newhook went to the grocery store and bought a bag of yellow potatoes and a Styrofoam tray of ground beef. It cost him about $18, which he said was a great deal for meat.
“It was a good haircut, too.”
Like a lot of people, Newhook has noticed that life, and especially groceries, have gotten more expensive.
“It takes a little more money out of the bank account,” he said. “Like a hundred dollars for two or three grocery bags?”
People are asking if they can pay with food because of the meat and potatoes story. Leonardo Villamil, who works with his dad Rosso, said that one man offered a shepherd’s pie and a woman said she could pay in tacos.
Rosso said, “We already told them, ‘Yeah, if you want to come, come!'”
“Because I’m Colombian and went back to my roots, my parents taught me that giving is the best way to make money,” he said.
He is also thinking about giving new Canadians and people in need in his community haircuts in exchange for food donations.”That’s why we have to give and serve.”
People trade things with each other to save money
“The economy and everything else are making the world look bad,” Rocco said.”I think we need to start from the beginning, like with trade. This could be a chance to start trading with other people.”
Simmons says that it is not a bad idea.
Simmons started the Barber Babes Project in 2010 and gave 300 women money in exchange for their goods and services. The project ran for a year.
“I don’t ask myself, “What can I afford?” when I feel like I need or want something. I often ask myself, “How do I get that?” It’s a new point of view, “said Simmons.
Simmons said that in these hard economic times, she has met a wide range of people who want to trade. “My clients are telling me about it, and people are starting to ask me about it. I’m also seeing it happen on its own.
“People don’t have enough money to do whatever is easiest. Having money makes things easy. Bartering is not convenient.”
She said that what matters is what you have and how much time you have, not necessarily what skills you have. She gave suggestions like offering to paint someone’s fence or letting someone use your car. Simmons said that parents are good at trading and that they often trade children’s items through social media.
“It’s good for the world around us. It helps your bank account, “she told me.
Simmons said, “It’s good for your soul because you’re out in the community, and it makes you less dependent on cash at a time when money is tight.”