Money: Money Matters

Posted by queenmadison

Save money by swapping, not shopping
Australian mothers are swapping rather than shopping to try to save money.
New websites set up by enterprising mums allow parents to swap services such as babysitting, odd jobs, holidays, and clothes.
One woman has signed up to new site mumswap.com.au to swap her husband's lawnmowing for clothes for her daughter.
Another new site, matchandmind.com.au has been set up to help parents wanting to look after each others' children for free.
As grocery and petrol prices soar, and families battle crippling interest rates, these savvy mums are keen to give families a break -- often for no personal profit.

Melbourne mum Christie is the brain behind mumswap.com.au which is a free bartering hub. It has been going only since the beginning of August, but is on track to get 2000 visitors a month.
Christie, 29, a mother of one from the southeastern suburbs, said the idea was born when she "realised everything mums were saying they wanted could be provided by another mum''.
"Mums offer to do someone's chores and borrow their boat for the weekend or do some babysitting and get some cooking lessons,'' she said.
Babysitting swap site, matchandmind.com.au, was set up by Carol Stephenson, a Malvern mother of five.
"Not having family in Melbourne, we would swap babysitting as we needed to with friends, and I thought there must be some way we could help others do the same. And so the website was born,'' she said.
"If you want a morning off once a week, it's like a play date -- it gives you a break. And then you might return the favour another day.''
Mums pay $39.95 a year to contact others, but no money changes hands for babysitting.
Another website, runrabbitrun.com.au begun by Eltham mum Michelle Caird two weeks ago, offers designer kids' clothes at cost prices.
One keen money-saver is Jodie Daniel, 40, a Keysborough mother of two.
She's signed up to mumswap.com.au to help promote her home-based business deadsea.com.au, selling beauty products, and to swap some of her kids' clothes and toys.

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