That's exactly what Ros wrote in her email to us telling us her story. It's one of our favourites and this is what she told us: "Hi to all at swap a skill. My husband and I are planning to move to France in a few years and so are trying to learn French. I met Michelle through this site, who is a French tutor. She had just bought her first house and was looking...

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The following is an article we spotted in thelondonpaper this month that we really like and that's very much in line with our thinking at Swapaskill. We hope you enjoy reading it! Recession = bad. Right? Well, that’s what we’re being told. Our current economic ­situation is being depicted as a crisis – a ­negative occurrence from which we need to recover quickly and get back to “business as usual”. ­Essentially, we’re being asked to...

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Swapaskill members Emma and Fay featured on Radio 4 swapping skills. We were so proud of them! Here is their story: Fay's story "I swapped skills with Emma James and we featured on Radio 4 You and Yours programme this week. I am a Chef and have cooked for Princess Margaret and other royalty. Emma is a highly experienced complimentary therapist who offers various therapies and specialises in massage. My Swapaskill experience was great fun,...

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  It's official, swapping skills and exchanging favours actually makes you happier. Dr Tal Ben-Shahar, Happiness Expert and Positive Psychology lecturer at Harvard University has written a book called 'Happier' which is based on the latest, leading edge research on what makes human beings happy. A quote from the book: "Helping oneself and others are inextricably intertwined; the more we help others the happier we become, and the happier we become the more inclined we are...

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Welcome to the new Swapaskill site which we have just launched based on feedback we've had over the last year from you our members. We’re proud of it and we hope you like it too!  It's early days and there may be a few teething problems so do feedback any comments you have which are always welcome, (good or not so good:) As you'll see you can now swap items as well as skills and...

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Here are just some of the Swapaskill media pieces featuring Swapaskill members and their swapping experiences. Some fantastic stories! Thanks to all those members who participated and to those who didn't, for being the pioneers in this giving, sharing, happier community they're all talking about!   BBC NEWS Living without money and swapping skills   THE WASHINGTON POST Swapaskill launches in the United States!   THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER "Is this the death knell for cash...

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Skill swapping is building momentum and the Mail on Sunday reported that "skill swapping – is now being billed by the experts as the frugality trend most likely to grow long after the economy recovers." Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1267532/Adventures-skill-trade--Nearly-new-Jimmy-Choos-exchange-legal-advice-anyone.html#ixzz0r2l6qFSz

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Jim Lucas and Jennifer Mole, and their two daughters, Indie, 8, left, and Tilly, 6, in their home in Coldingham, Scotland. COLDINGHAM, Scotland — The surprising thing about visiting Sunnybank, a light-drenched home in Coldingham, a picturesque village near Scotland’s southeast coastline, is that its entrance is barely visible. That detail, admits Jim Lucas, one of the home’s owners, was quite deliberate.   Mr. Lucas wanted the stone facade facing the street to lend an...

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John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times - Light bulbs for sale in December. How many types of light bulbs does it take to confuse consumers? Three, apparently. This month, federal energy efficiency legislation, passed in 2007, went into effect. That means old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs are being phased out, in favor of energy-saving models. Beginning Jan. 1, for instance, lights as bright as older 100-watt incandescent bulbs can use no more than 72 watts...

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