Friendships Can Save You Time and Money

I have a confession to make. I hate house cleaning. I hate it so much, that I rarely do it. Apparently, I’m not alone. On a recent Facebook post, I learned that several of my friends are in the same predicament. As we commented back and forth, one of my friends came up with a fabulous idea. Why not get together and help clean each other’s houses? If we had three or four people cleaning one house, it might not seem like such a chore. It also would save money, because we wouldn’t feel the need to hire a cleaning crew. We haven’t done this yet, but we are seriously considering it.

That got me to thinking about what else friends could do to save money while spending time together. Here are some ideas I came up with.

Dinner Club and Recipe Swap

Pick one or two recipes and either divide the ingredients among each person in the group or have each person chip in a small amount of money and let one person do the shopping. Gather at one person’s house once a week or however often is best for you, and cook the recipe together. Divide up the portions among each person, and your family has one or two meals to try for a very small amount of money and time.

Shoe/Clothing Swap

Tired of your wardrobe but don’t really want to fork out the money for something new? Gather your friends together for a shoe or clothing swap. Have everyone who plans to attend let you know in advance what sizes they will be bringing so those planning to attend know if it is worth their while to be there. Divide clothing by sizes and let everyone “shop” for free.

Toy Swap

This is similar to a clothing swap. Instead of sizes, you’ll want to know the age level and gender preference of toys people will be bringing,

These types of swap activities can be temporary or permanent. Perhaps you are tired of your wardrobe, but you have certain pieces you know you’ll want to wear again. In that case, set guidelines. Perhaps your group will meet every six weeks or two months to return the items to the original owner. Just know that not everyone takes care of your items the way you would. If it’s something you just cant’ part with, you may want to keep that one in your closet.

What are some things you do with friends to save time and money. Comment here so all NCU members can benefit from your ideas.