15 guides
Saving together guides
Plain-English guides to saving money with friends, neighbors and coworkers, fairly and safely. General education, not financial, legal or insurance advice.
Share things
Sharing circles, tool libraries, swaps, babysitting and meals.
- Start a sharing circle
A few households, a group chat and simple rules.
- Tool libraries and borrowing gear
Most tools are used for minutes a year.
- Swaps and buy-nothing groups
Give what you don't need, ask for what you do.
- Babysitting co-ops
Trade hours of childcare instead of paying for them.
- Meal swaps: cook once, eat four times
Each family makes a big batch, everyone gets variety.
Share the ride
Carpools, fair cost splits and commuter benefits.
- Carpooling basics
Fewer cars, lower costs, and sometimes a faster lane.
- Splitting carpool costs fairly
Rotate drivers, or pay the driver a share of the real costs.
- Commuter benefits and vanpools
Pre-tax transit and vanpool money through work.
Buy together
Bulk buying, co-ops, memberships and subscriptions.
- Bulk buying with friends
Bulk prices without a year's supply in your closet.
- Food co-ops and farm shares
Member-owned stores and seasonal produce boxes.
- Sharing memberships the right way
Read the rules before splitting a membership.
- Family plans and shared subscriptions
Within the terms, family plans can cut costs a lot.
Save in circles
Lending circles, savings buddies and credit unions.
- Lending circles: how they work
Everyone pays in; one person takes the pot each round.
- Find a savings buddy
Goals are easier to reach with someone cheering you on.
- Credit unions: banking as a community
Member-owned, often with lower fees and loan rates.