Swap and Share to Make or Save Money

23rd July, 2009 – A recent front page feature story ( 17 July 2009) in The Washington Post - one of Americas, highest distribution Daily Newspapers, is entitled "Recession Lesson: Share and Swap Replaces Grab and Buy" (available online but free membership required). The article highlights that throughout the US, people are looking at ways to cope with the recession and are increasingly swapping and sharing all sorts of things including tools, books, cars, time, talent and many other resources and services.

When they need something, rather than going out and buying it, people are talking to their friends, colleagues and neighbours and increasingly, swapping and sharing the things that they need. According to the article, "A car-sharing service has had a 70 percent membership increase since the recession set in. Governments are putting bikes on the street for public use. How-to-swap Web sites are proliferating."

Australians too are looking at sharing resources as a means of saving money - and even making money in these financially tough times. Websites are fast becoming the quickest and easiest method to advertise and take advantage of what is available. Websites such as Rentoid (rent all sorts of items), FindaCarpark (Car Parking Spaces), GoGet and FlexiCar (Car sharing services) have been around for some time and are becoming increasingly popular.

A brand new type of online service was launched in Australia earlier this year that has people talking (and sharing). SpaceOut (www.spaceout.com.au) focuses on sharing and renting out unused space. As well as offering more traditional Office Space and Parking space rental services, SpaceOut have come up with an entirely new type of service which allows you to make money from just about any type of spare space in your home or business, by renting it out to other people in your community for storage. A spare room, a garden shed, an unused garage, wasted space under your house, or even an empty wardrobe can all be easily harnessed to earn you an extra regular passive income – literally making money out of thin air.

SpaceOut members are earning hundreds of extra dollars a month (that's thousands a year) by using their spare room or garage to store stuff for their friends and neighbours, and people storing their things are finding it much more convenient and cheaper to store them nearby - in their own suburb, their own street, and maybe even right next door.

Advertising your space for rent on SpaceOut is Free - all you need to do is spend a little time reshuffling your junk, clearing out that empty room, shed or garage, placing a listing on SpaceOut, and sit back and wait to be contacted. If you are looking for storage, office or parking space in am particular area, you can use SpaceOut to search for suitable spaces in your own town or suburb (listings are displayed on a map so it is very easy to find ones that are convenient). If there don’t happen to be any available in your own area that meet your specific needs, you can even create your own Space Wanted listing (for free).

SpaceOut is a new innovation and a great example of one of the new breed of “swap and share” online services that provide opportunities for ordinary Australians to make or save money in these tougher economic times.