Milwaukee Time Exchange

For those looking to save money (who isn't?), joining a Time Bank can be a great way to accomplish that. Those of us who live in the city of Milwaukee are very lucky because we have a well developed time bank we can draw on. The concept of a Time Bank is very simple. You offer your services (such as dog walking, cutting hair, carpentry work, driving someone to an appointment, helping someone move...etc.) and you gain hours or time that you can then draw on to get services that you need. For instance, let's say you need help creating a brochure for a new business venture you are embarking on. There is someone in the Time Bank that advertising that they offer marketing/brochure designing services. You contact that person through email or phone to set up a time to meet. Let's say the brochure took a totol of three hours to create. You both record the exchange in the Time Bank. You have used up three hours and the brochure creator has banked three hours which he/she can then use later on for services he/she may need. The brochure might have cost an average of $45 per hour so you saved yourself $135 by using the Time Bank!

The services offered and used are extremely diverse and only limited to an individua'ls creativity. I recently used the Time Bank to help me with a dent in the side of my car. There happened to be a woman in the Time Bank who had just purchased the suctioning tool to pull dents out of cars. When you start to think of all the skills and knowledge that are available in the Time Bank, you begin to see the world through a filter of cost savings and relationship building opportunities. Another great part of the Time Bank is the monthly potluck meetings/orientations that take place in different parts of the city. Last month there was one held in Bay View. This meeting was attended by over twenty individuals including a local aldermann who was so impressed by the concept, that he joined himself and offered up fitness coaching as one of his services. Potlucks are a great way to meet the people you will later be exchanging services with not to mention great food!

To find out more about the Milwaukee Time Bank, go here http://milwaukee.timebanks.org/welcome