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7 Alternate Economies – Get What You Need For Less

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Save money, buy sustainable, support local businesses, or get stuff for free in these seven alternate economies.

Despite popular opinion, frugality doesn’t mean going without. It’s about filling your needs and wants creatively, without spending a fortune.

While walking into your local big-box store is an easy way to shop, there is an alternate economy where you can buy better quality, sustainable goods and save money. Is there any type of shopping better than feel-good bargain shopping?

I’m not against big business, some of these alternatives are out of the way and require transportation, so it’s easier to go to the store. But the alternate economy offers opportunities and flexibility that the standard economy can’t.

Here are seven alternate markets to help you meet your needs for less.

1. Buy Direct From the Producer (Farmer’s Markets)

Skip the middleman and the supermarket and buy direct from the producer.

Buying direct from the producer means that you can save money, even on organic produce, find out from the producer how the food is grown and produced, support local businesses, and you may even have input into what is produced in the future.

You can also find items not commonly available in supermarkets, like Durians.

Some tips for shopping at farmer’s markets include:

  • Take cash in small denominations. Many stalls don’t have EFTPOS, and it can be hard and time-consuming to change a $50 note, especially if you’re only buying a small amount.
  • Do a walk-around first to scope out the best-looking produce and the best prices.
  • Know what’s in season for your area so you can plan ahead and not be disappointed.
  • Create a flexible meal plan. You can pick up a lot of things in bulk or be dazzled by all the enticing produce, which can lead to waste if you don’t use what you buy. Meal planning and only buying what you need reduces waste. A flexible meal plan allows you to take advantage of bargains without waste.
  • Bring bags. Or a trolley. Many stalls don’t have bags.
  • Go early to buy the best quality, or go late in the day when things *might* be discounted.
  • Sample things (if samples are available) before purchasing.
  • Produce isn’t the only thing you can buy at the farmer’s market – it’s a great place to pick up plants, bakery goods, organic meat, herbs and spices, hand-crafted items, and second-hand goods.

Finally, the farmer’s market isn’t the only place to buy direct from the producer. YOu can also pick up things at the farm gate if you’re taking a drive through the country or travelling.

2. Shop Second-hand Stores

You can buy just about anything second-hand for the fraction of the cost of purchasing something new.

Places to buy second-hand goods include:

  • Op-shops/charity stores
  • Facebook Marketplace
  • Gumtree
  • Garage Sales
  • eBay

It takes a bit of work sourcing second-hand; it’s not as easy as walking into a store and picking something off the rack. There’s rarely a delivery option. But the savings make the extra work worth it.

Looking for tips on shopping second-hand? Here are some articles from the blog:

3. Freecycling and Other Ways to Get Things For Free

It sounds a bit dodgy, but our house is full of stuff we’ve picked up off the side of the road for free.

For example, the office up the road moved, putting all their furniture on the street with a big sign that said ‘free’. That’s how we got a very comfy office chair for our computer, which also happened to be free. A colleague at my husband’s work was throwing it out, and hubby replaced the motherboard, which was not free but way cheaper than a new computer.

Besides finding things off the side of the road, there are many other places to find free stuff, such as:

While I don’t want to glorify dumpster diving because people shouldn’t be forced between dumpster diving or starving, as a society, we waste a LOT of stuff, so rescuing perfectly good things before they hit landfill is a win-win. A great page to follow is Bin Living with Big B (Facebook or YouTube), where he shares what he and others find when dumpster diving.

Besides ‘stuff’, other things you can get for free include:

You can also get ‘free’ stuff when you collect points through store loyalty programs, although as you have to spend a lot of money first, I would consider this a bonus and not really free.

4. Barter

Bartering, of course, is an age-old form of trade. And it’s alive and well in modern times. It can be as simple as swapping things over the fence with your neighbour or as formalised as a barter card.

Our local area has a Facebook barter page where people regularly swap services like childcare, photography, hairdressing, massage, beauty therapy, graphic design, cleaning, ironing, computer repairs, handyman services, landscaping, as well as goods.

So check out Facebook to see if there’s a barter group in your area (and if not, why not start one?)

There are also websites dedicated to bartering, like SwapU, Free Ads, Community Exchange, and Gumtree.

5. Support Small and Micro Businesses

There’s a growing resurgence in tiny businesses. People who specialise in just a few products or services and bring a level of expertise, care, and personalisation that you can’t get from big business.

Maybe it’s a mum doing hairdressing from home. Or a garage start-up repairing bikes. Or a small cottage industry selling handmade goods through Etsy. They have few overheads, no staff, and produce products or services that either don’t exist, are more expensive or are lower quality in the mainstream economy.

You often have to search these businesses out. Or stumble upon them.

You might find them on Facebook, the broader internet, at local markets or fairs, in local trade magazines or through friends.

But when you find them, you get something special, support your local economy and save money at the same time.

6. Keep an Eye Out For the Unofficial Market

In the unofficial market (the black market but in a *good* way), trade is less deliberate and more opportunistic.

For example, an acquaintance’s father keeps bees. I can get a kilo of delicious, local, raw honey for $5. He doesn’t sell to everyone, doesn’t have a stall. But if you’re a friend – or a friend of a friend – he’ll give you some honey for a nominal amount.

Maybe you have a friend who has chickens, and you can get cheap (cheap) eggs that are truly free-range.

Years ago, my father repaired lawn mowers for friends for the cost of parts and maybe some beer. He didn’t advertise, but if your mower broke, there would be someone who knew someone who had heard about dad (living in a small town helped).

In the unofficial market, it’s not what you know but who you know – networking matters.

There is a risk when trading in the unofficial market.

If you get a mate of your friend’s cousin to plumb your toilet for a case of beer, you don’t have any recourse if they don’t do a proper job. Most people are honest, but keep this in mind when transacting in the unofficial market.

7. Grow Your Self-Sufficiency

To a certain extent, you can choose to opt out of the market and produce your own goods and services. Not entirely, of course, but depending on where and how you live, you can be self-reliant to varying degrees.

For example, growing your own veggies is a way of meeting one of your needs outside the economy, especially if you save seeds, seed swap, make your own compost, and otherwise grow your own without having to buy stuff.

Fishing, hunting, and raising animals are other examples of meeting your needs outside the mainstream economy.

DIYing can save you money on labour. If you cut your own hair, give your spouse a massage, do your own facial, take your own photos, pave your own yard or plumb your own toilet, you are opting out of the economy and relying on self-sufficiency.

Can you get everything you need in these alternate economies? Probably not. Nor am I against shopping at the Woolworths or the Amazons of the world.

But balancing transacting in the standard economy, the alternate economy, and doing things for yourself allows you to stretch your dollars and buy better for less.

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8 Comments

  1. Great post.. I agree, that there are soo many ways to get what you want, and need, without paying top notch retail prices! With everything going up but incomes lately, people need to think smart and shop smart!

  2. We were raised in a “big box” shopping era, and so I have found it hard to step out of that and get things elsewhere. But this is my ongoing challenge – can I buy better, cheaper, more ecologically sound if I stop going to the Kmarts, Bunnings and big supermarkets? You’re right, its not always easy, better or cheaper, but it often is, and it feels good doing it :) Great post

  3. I am in the market for a new TV, but am trying not to buy one new. So far I’ve tried asking on facebook and checking out freecycle, so we’ll see what happens :) I’ve had a lot of success with freecycle in the past.

  4. Rent a car when you need it.

    We now own a tiny car which is fine for what we need locally and hire when we have visitors, need to move stuff, or for long trips.

    For travelling to the city we use public transport…… parking costs more than the train fare.

    If one of those Flexicars, or other hourly rental companies was nearby we would probably get rid of the small car as well as we only use it about twice a week.

  5. I love this list! There are so many good reasons to look at other markets before going to westfields – some great ideas here!

    1. Melissa Goodwin says:

      That’s a great website. Thanks for sharing!