Paying with sausage rolls...

I really should be making lasagne rather than writing here. My cousin gave my bf and I Kings of Leon tickets because they couldn't use them, and as payment, she's requested lasagne instead of money. This suits me fine - I find handing over money really impersonal and a bit cold. If I'm at the supermarket or in a shop I obviously don't think twice, but I hate handing over money, or getting money from friends and family. I mean, it's an obvious trade most of the time, and most of the time money is just what people want when you take concert tickets or something, but I just feel awkward taking or giving money. I probably feel less awkward about GETTING money to be honest :P I often brush off the cost of things, if we go out for lunch or someone owes me a small amount of money, Im very likely to tell them not to worry about it, it'll even out next time. This does open me up for getting a bit taken advantage of, however I'd like to think that my friends don't do that. For some of them, I may have forgotten to pay them back for something in the past, so like I said, it all evens out in the end...


I realised that a lot of my transactions between family and friends are done in food. Well, they usually ask me for it. My cousin has requested lasagne, both meat and spinach/ricotta, as well as butter chicken curry, after a failed attempt to get some at lunch! 

No worries - Id much prefer to hand over food than cash. It costs less than the ticket, which suits me because I'm pretty broke at the moment. But I know it saves her time as she works alot, and what value does that have? It makes up for the deficit in monetary value anyway. Im time rich and cash poor, so this is a system that works for me. She bought it to my attention that this is how a lot of transactions with my family go.


Dad has just told my sister that if she makes him a bunch of sausage rolls, he'll do us a massive favour that we've been asking for. It's a bargain deal - Ill throw in some homemade rocky road (which he LOVES) to sweeten him up. It's all he needs, is sausage rolls and rocky road and he'll do anything. But its only family... Cos to be honest, our sausage rolls are the best, and I make a wicked rocky road - NO copha or dessicated coconut in sight!

Speaking of sausage rolls and rocky road, thats pretty much all Dad gets from us each time gift giving is required, such as birthday, Christmas and Fathers day. Same thing every year, he's horrible to shop for, but very easy to cook for! With Christmas just gone, there were some homemade gifts that were given out rather than the usual generic crap that gets thrown out - they're a little bit more personal, and if you're smart about it, they're also cheaper.


Is it just me or do other people keep the barter system alive this way? Whats your currency??