There is so much going on these days. Running the business, taking the kids to school, birthday parties and keeping them entertained. Then of course there are things to do around the house like repairs, grocery shopping, dropping off the dry cleaning and making some phone calls. Phew! No wonder we don't have much time for ourselves.

When we do have some precious quiet time to relax, we start thinking of those things that we need or would like to do for ourselves. It's not that we've never thought of these things before. These thoughts briefly pop in and out of our minds at work or while driving, but seem to leave as quickly as they come.

It could be a warm and sunny vacation, sipping tropical drinks and doing absolutely nothing. It could be those things around the house like repairing the sink , painting the kitchen and bathroom, sprucing up the family room with some comfy furniture or that the kids may have outgrown their bikes. Not to mention all those things we don't use, lying around the house that we need to sort and figure out what to do with.

You'll tend to these nagging thoughts sooner or later right? It all comes down to time or money which you may not have to spare right now. Of course there are priorities and the "That's not important right now" but the way I see it is, if it didn't hold any importance, then we wouldn't think of it as often as we do.

This is where the age old term "barter" comes in. A way of taking care of all of these things without spending money but simply by offering your professional services or items you no longer need in return for what you do.

Surely there's a plumber near you that needs bikes for his children, who can repair your sink in return. It could be someone who requires your professional services and has some furniture that you could use for that family room.

It may be a person that lives somewhere warm and sunny that wants to vacation in your area who would be willing to exchange homes for a couple of weeks. There are so many possibilities and so many creative people out there that it just makes sense to barter instead.

Now don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning.