helping others

How to Save Money with Bartering in 3 Easy Steps

Abby H.
savemoneybarterYou’ve probably heard or read about bartering to save money, but you aren’t sure where to start, or how it works. I’m here to demystify it for you!

I barter all the time! Thankfully, a lot of my friends have large vegetable and fruit gardens, fruit trees, or chickens produce eggs. I trade my time and services that I can provide for these things. I love to trade my ability and skill with sewing for farm fresh eggs. The price of eggs in California is insane! A dozen eggs can be almost $6.00, depending on where you shop.

Here are a few tips that I recommend you try in order to stretch your budget with the use of bartering:

Step One: Make a list of the skills you have. Can you sew? Can you babysit? Do you have a lawnmower and some free time to mow lawns? There are lots of things that you can do the people need help with. Maybe you have a great eye for organization and you could help a friend or a neighbor organize their pantry or their garage. Maybe you Love to clean? You can use that skill to either earn money or to barter for goods and services that you need. Maybe you have an overflowing garden or hen house!

Step Two: Make a list of stuff that you need. Do you need help sewing, cleaning house, or do you need to stretch your grocery budget a little bit further with the help of homegrown fruits and vegetables, farm fresh eggs?

Step Three: Ask! Ask your friends or if you’re feeling shy post on your Facebook page or whatever social media that you use. If you’d like to get a broader reach you can even post on websites like craigslist or fiverr.com.  You’d be surprised at what kind of offers you get!
I’d love to hear about the types of things you barter for!

Helping Others: 1st Annual Cinch Sack for Scarlett’s Kids Fundraiser!

Abby H.

This year I have been fortunate enough to meet two really awesome ladies (Candi and Barbara), both of whom have children suffer at the hands of a horrible disease called Necrotizing Enterocolitis (that is a link to wikipedia- warning there are some kinda graphic photos, so it’s NSFW).

They have banded together to help other kids who are sick, and you can help too! Help sponsor a child through Scarlet’s Kids and buy cinch sacks that can be filled with goodies for children hospitalized at Rady’s Children Hospital – San Diego. Candi is partnering with Scarlet’s Kids on a yearly basis and raise funds for as many Thirty-One cinch sacks as possible. Sponsor a local child and receive a picture and their story in return. Order through Candi or online here.

You can learn more by checking out the fundraising flier below! If you have any questions, please contact Candi at cdemarestr@gmail.com.

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I am not affiliated with Thirty-one, or Scarlett’s Kids. I wanted to share an opportunity to help others with you. If you’d like to help Scarlett’s Kids in any other way, please contact Barbara at ScarletsKIDS@gmail.com. They are always looking for donations to help support their mission!

If you have a Non-Profit Project that is near and dear to you and you’d like to get the word out, shoot me an email at hewesfamilyfun@gmail.com.

Helping San Diego, CA area women in need: Naomi’s Closet

Abby H.4 Comments

If you are a San Diego, Ca area resident, female and in need, I have a great resource for you.

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Naomi’s Closet is run through the Santee United Methodist Church (Located at 8964 N. Magnolia Ave., Santee, CA 92071). They provide up to five items of clothing per month (Your choice from a very good selection in a wide variety of sizes), and 2 toiletries.

Naomi’s Closet is open on the following days and times:

  • Wednesdays 10am-12pm
  • 1st & 3rd Saturdays 9am-1pm

No appointment is needed, just show up during open hours. You do not need to show proof of need.

Donations of women’s clothing and toiletries are gladly accepted. I personally donated about 90% of my former wardrobe when I started losing weight.  My coupon club donates items that we are able to obtain for free (by combining sales and coupons). Recently I have donated hair color, shaving cream, nail polish, and razors.

If you have questions, or you would like more information, you can contact Naomi’s Closet at naomiscloset@cox.net.

The church also has a free pancake breakfast on the 1st Saturday of each month from 8am-10am.

I am not a parishioner, but I support Naomi’s Closet and the good works that the members of the Santee United Methodist Church do.

Backyard Fruit: Helping Others!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADriving around much of Southern California, there is one constant: Backyard fruit trees DRIPPING with unpicked fruit, and even more trees with piles of dropped and rotting fruit under the trees. That really makes me upset. WHY?

There are 16 million hungry kids in the US. I heard a statistic on the radio the other day that 1 in 4 kids in the US don’t have access to fresh fruits and veggies! If you have backyard fruit trees or gardens that are out of control with more produce that you and your family can eat, here are a few ways you can help others in need:

  • Contact your local church and see if they offer a food pantry. If so, take a box of produce from your trees/garden over to share with those in need.
  • Contact your local food bank and see if they accept home grown fruit. Some do, some do not.
  • There are several organizations across the US that will come to you, pick your fruit and donate it. Food Forward, Village Harvest are just two.
  • There are websites where you can register your trees and share your produce with others. Falling Fruit is just one.
  • Post on your local freecycle or buy nothing project group. I know around here there are many neighbors who would love to help you pick and eat your fruit.  Recently there was an older lady who had fruit trees and she couldn’t keep up with the harvesting, so she was looking for someone who could help her pick fruit. They were welcome to take as much as they could eat, as long as they picked 2 lbs of fruit for her. That sounds like a great deal to me!
  • Here is a crazy idea- Offer some to your friends and neighbors!