Born to Barter

Author: Barbara Di Renzo

When we were children the word "barter" was too extensive of a word for our vocabulary. If an adult mentioned the word "Trade", then-ah yes, we knew exactly what they were talking about.

This was something we were all very familiar with.

Remember trading lunches? Unless one of your parents was a famous chef, we all did it. Trading alleys occurred about every other day, and how about the most famous trade deal of all, "If you don't tell, I'll give you something".

Although we didn't realize it, our parents bartered with us all the time. You could have dessert, but only if you ate all your vegetables. If you did well on your test, you could get that new shiny red bike. Our children today do the same; only it's gone from trading alleys, to trading those popular cards.

We didn't really have a choice but to barter when we were children, we didn't have the money to buy new things all the time. Children certainly have a way of figuring things out when they want something badly enough. So why does this stop when we become adults? We still have wants and needs but seem to set them aside or continue to spend money when we really don't have to.

If little Billy sitting beside you in class had something you wanted and you had something to offer him in return, then surely there's someone out there right now that has exactly what you're looking for and wants what you have to offer. Bartering doesn't have to be something we grow out of. It makes sense, it's smart and it's economical.

Let's face it, we were born to barter.