How One of the World's Oldest "Transfer Methods" Can Cut your Expenses By up to 80%

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," as Dickens put it. And while it may not be the worst of times just yet, you're probably wondering how it could simultaneously be the best of times.

The answer is that hard times force intelligent people to think outside of the box. To evacuate their "comfort zone" and find worthwhile opportunities they may have never considered "when the going was good."

As a result, times like these tend to deliver new and exciting developments and ideas...indeed, such companies as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Apple, GE and even IHOP; all of these companies were started during a recession.

But times like these also drive people to the tried and true methods for making transactions work, and that's what we're focusing on today.

The Beating Heart of the Economy

In a "normal" transaction, let's say I give the clerk at McDonald's a US$5 dollar bill in exchange for a Big Mac meal; the paper bill has no intrinsic value, but instead represents a voucher for goods and services to be redeemed at a later date.

Historically speaking, we use the paper because it's more convenient than - say - trading a basket of homegrown tomatoes for my Big Mac meal. If I'd actually traded said tomato-basket for my Big Mac, then it would've been a pure bartering transaction.

But at their heart, the transactions that we now consider "normal" amount to little more than bartering "by proxy." The involvement of little green slips of paper - and the hopelessly complicated "global financial system" that comes along with them - doesn't really change that fact.

And these days, the little green slips of paper are in high demand. People are spending less of them...and hoarding them more often. The overall flow of little green slips of paper has slowed to a crawl, creating a number of complicated problems that should bear little - if any - consequences to your personal well being.

Why? Simply because you don't need little green pieces of paper to trade goods and services.

Take a recent story we caught in the news. An older woman who always dyes her hair to hide the grey couldn't afford the treatment this time around. She spoke to her stylist and regretfully informed him that she'd have to cancel her appointment. The stylist thought for a moment, then replied that if she cleaned his house for him, he'd do the treatment for free.

And it goes further. In a former life, one of our staff writers used to own a few grocery stores. "There was this one carpet cleaner who came by every day to pick up lunch," Joe told us recently, "eventually he offered to clean my floors in exchange for a lunch tab." (Take a look at USA Today for a handful of bartering success stories)

Higher-Efficiency Trading

So despite what we may think, it's important to remember that we don't need government-mandated bits of smelly green paper to make a transaction happen. And just because there's a shortage of little green bits of paper doesn't mean your lifestyle has to suffer. All we need are two parties who have something to offer each other, low transaction costs and enough time to hammer out a deal.

Keep in mind that a bartering transaction is strictly between you and another party, so you'll have to trust the counterparty you're dealing with. But while trust may be in short supply across the national economy, that's simply not the case in your own small community. Dealing locally and personally will help you avoid any scams or fraud. And without the drag of government taxation, don't be surprised if your bartering transactions turn out to be more efficient at pleasing both parties than your "normal" cash transactions.

If you're interested in bartering for goods or services in your community, Craigslist has a popular barter section on their site...as well as other websites like u-exchange.com and swapthing.com. There's also a new wave of bartering brokerage firms and clearinghouses to add some credibility to these transactions...google "bartering brokerage firm" and you'll see some of the results.

Check back in tomorrow and we'll show you how to supercharge the bartering system to cut expenses and pump up the profit margins at your place of business...