‘œThe propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals.’
‘“ Adam Smith

Despite some experts claiming that our current recession is starting to ease, it’s pretty clear that, at least in my community, the economic times are still very hard.   The other day, I saw an article in my local newspaper that announced our unemployment rate was well into double-digits.   Although the paper claimed that the unemployment numbers were dropping, there was supposition that the decline was not because people were finding work, but because they’d given up trying to find a job or had exhausted their unemployment benefits.

Although my wife and I are by no means unemployed, we are certainly feeling the sting of the local recession.   When I sat down to do my end-of-the-month bookkeeping, I realized that our net income is down almost 33% from the same period last year.   Although we are certainly trying to diversify our income sources, and I’m working incredible amounts of overtime to fill in some of the gap, we are dealing with the ugly problem of having far less income than we’d like.

In the wake of less money coming in, it seems like more than our usual share of automotive repairs are popping up.   One of our cars badly needs suspension work, and drives like an inflatable bounce house.   Another earned a $50 parking ticket from our money-starved local police department because the completely worn clutch finally gave out and the car couldn’t be moved within the 72-hour parking limit.

When I called around to some of the local repair shops, I was absolutely stunned at the cost.   In better times, I would have taken the cars in and grumbled about the expense. I would have used my credit card and paid the charges off on the first of the month.   But now, knowing the cash isn’t there to pay off the charges, I’m a little reluctant to take on more debt.   Debt is especially a concern right now because a relative recently gave us a $2,500 loan for my wife’s school tuition.

The cars needed to be fixed.   It’s dangerous to drive with a bad suspension, and I learned I could clear the $50 ticket if I could show that my car was temporarily disabled but had been repaired.   My problem was that I didn’t have the cash to pay my regular mechanic.

What I did instead was turn to my neighborhood economy.   My across-the-street neighbor is a mechanic who is also suffering from our economy’s hard times.   When I discussed my problem with him, he offered to do the repairs at a fraction of what my regular shop wanted.   Last month, we had him attack the inoperable clutch in our station wagon.   This month, he’ll be fixing the bad suspension in our other car.

It’s a win for everyone.   We win because we can get our cars fixed at a reduced cost, and our neighbor wins because it gives him an opportunity to earn some badly-needed cash.   Even better, we’ve also forged a new friendship, which we know will be far more valuable over the long run.

Of course there’s a certain amount of truth in the expression ‘œgood fences make good neighbors,’ so we’ve been careful to work out the details of each exchange before our mechanic neighbor has started work.   We want to make sure that we both feel good about the arrangement and that it’s equitable for both sides, so that we don’t have to worry about creating a neighborhood dispute.

The lesson I’ve learned here is that it pays to know one’s neighbors.   My street is filled with people who have a variety of talents, resources and skills, and I’ve realized that there is probably more opportunity out there for exchange during these tough times.   In the future, I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for those possibilities.

Next in series: The High Cost of Being Poor

Photo credit: stock.xchng