Barter -- Old-fashioned, but effective

Tomorrow, I will head off to one of my numerous part time jobs. This one differs from the rest in that I don't receive a check. That's right, the good old-fashioned barter system at work -- have you tried it lately?

Last year, I got the opportunity to work in the office at the music school where my children take lessons and was to receive both an hourly wage and a 25% discount on lessons. With four kids taking piano, that made one child free, which is a great deal. Unfortunately, the economy being what it is, and music lessons being a real luxury, the school was unable to pay me starting this fall. I offered up the option of barter, and was immediately taken up on it. If you look at the barter system, it can equal real money on the the part of both people, the school is getting quality work for no cost, while my kids get quality lessons at a reduced cost to me. So far, the system is working well for both parties.

Now, being my financially creative self, you can imagine that the barter story does not end there. The value to me for the school year is nearly $1,300, but I got to thinking about what would happen if the barter option dried up? I have no reason to think that it will, and believe that the hourly wage may even return at some point, too, but I tend to be cautious with money. I decided that in addition to getting the discount on the lessons, I would also pay myself out of the kid activity account, assuming that I might someday have to come up with the actual cash.

Based on made up, somewhat complicated math, I settled on paying myself $40 per week for 40 weeks, which is a little longer year than the music school year, and a higher rate than the hourly wage I was receiving. If all goes as planned, I will have $1,600 come next June, which is more than a term worth of lessons in the bank, as well as a profit of $300 in additional savings. It has been a little dicey lately to have enough kid activity money for all the fall start-up costs, but I have been able to manage things so far.

I love the idea of paying myself, hiding money away, and creating any extra savings that I can. Between the barter, and the other paying part time work, if I save it all, I am going to be able to take the family to Disney World, or redo the kitchen, or pay for the braces. We may not be in the same position financially as other people we know, but we are trying to have a little bit of fun with the challenge!