Desert Wall Street?

"Sharing fish" -- Painting by Thomas Cooper Gotch (Public domain)

There are all kinds of things we own that we only use for a tiny portion of the time that we possess them. Could we share some of them with friends and neighbors?

Books are an obvious possibility; we're only reading a few at a time out of the many books we own. CDs and DVDs. Maybe children's toys, too. What about luggage and other travel-related items? Gardening equipment? Specialty kitchen gadgets? Costume jewelry?

If more people can make use of the same item, then everybody is buying less. More money for us, less for Wal-Mart.

Tell us in the poll whether you would be willing to do that type of sharing with the people you know. And after you vote, leave a comment with your ideas about other items that could be shared.

(Bartering in a market in Mexico. Image shared on Wikimedia Commons by Tomascastelazo)

Bartering has been with us throughout the history of mankind, of course. Trading goods and services with others can be done on an individual basis, or through organized bartering networks.

NOTE: The government thinks that we should pay taxes on bartering. If I gain weight and you lose weight and we decide to trade clothes with each other, or if you fix my porch and I babysit your children in return, the IRS wants us to both estimate the value of the goods and services we received from each other and count it as taxable income, even if no money changes hands. So bartering without giving Uncle Sam a piece of the action is an act of civil disobedience.

(Photo of thrift store shared on Wikimedia Commons by Gareth Simpson)

Every time we ditch the department store and go to the thrift store instead, we are not only decreasing the amount of money we spend, we are also decreasing the demand for the newly manufactured merchandise that is waiting for us in the big stores, offering us "sale prices" and even special deals if we'll buy it with a store credit card.

(Photo of Community Bank of Snyder, TX, shared on Wikimedia Commons by Billy Hathorn)

Small banks and credit unions have a reputation for being more responsive to their communities, charging lower fees, having looser ties to Wall Street, and avoiding weird and risky investments.

The Move Your Money project encourages people to leave the mega-banks in favor of locally-based banks.

(Car for sale in Pennsylvania. Photo shared on Wikimedia Commons by John Lloyd.)

Banks make tons of interest on car loans. And leasing is the MOST expensive way to acquire a car. The least expensive? Pay cash.

(Graduation at St. Anslem College in New Hampshire. Photo shared on Wikimedia Commons by Ericci8996.)

Many young people (including a lot of participants in the Occupy Wall Street campaigns) emerge from college already enslaved to the system because of huge student loan debts. But there is another way.

Two articles about working your way through college:

• New York Times: Paying for College Without Loans, Scholarships or Looting Your Parents' Retirement
• Renegadetory: How To Pay for Your University or College Education Without Student Loans

(Photo shared on Flickr by The truth about.)

The money we pay in mortgage interest is massive. Is there a way to deny the banking system that money?

Buying a house for cash can be done, but it takes a serious amount of effort, planning, sacrifice, and patience. Here are a couple of how-to articles:

- AOL: How to Buy a Home in Cash with No Mortgage
- Steve Gillman: Is Buying a Home Without a Loan Possible?

And some people decide that just continuing to rent is best, even in the long run.