Do I need to find a direct exchange?No. Having an account means that no single transaction has to equal another - credits and debits are recorded in your account. If you do some welding on my car you end up in credit while I'm in debt. I might then babysit for John and so earn some credit, meanwhile John helps Lucy to build a shed. Lucy does some design work for Mary, who lends you her sawing machine. And so on...! What is a credit unit?A Kendal credit unit is simply a way of keeping tally of help given and received in order to promote roughly equivalent contributions from all in the long run. In Kendal the members have decided to call the unit of exchange KENTS after the river and valley. Kents are not physical tokens but acknowledgements entered into the books. They have no direct cash value and can only be exchanged with other LETS members. The system is not just an imitation of the monetary one, but rather a way to enable people to help each other by sharing skills and knowledge for the benefit of all. How do I price my skills & goods?This is entirely up to you. LETS is not just another version of the sterling economic system and Kents do not directly equal £pound's. How you 'charge' for you skills depends on how you value your time and energy. Where materials are required you might want to charge for these in cash. Eg, If you painted my kitchen, I could give you cash for the paint and Kents for your time. Only the kents are recorded in the LETS system. Some jobs/services only get done because people can pay in LETS rather than scarce cash. I don't think I've got any skills to trade!Everybody can offer something that someone else wants. Looking through the Directory will give you an idea of the varied skills and services others are offering. Another way of getting ideas is to think "what do I like doing?" I only have little time, can I still be involved?Yes. You don't have to commit yourself to anything you can't do. But remember that if your hobby is knitting, but you don't have much time for it because you have too much gardening to do (which you're not so keen on) LETS allows you to do more of what you enjoy (for someone who can't knit) whilst someone else who loves gardening gets stuck into your herbaceous border! Is LETS taxable?By far the greatest amount of trading falls into the category of an 'occasional social favour' and is not taxable. However, if you provide goods or services which you do in your normal business, then any LETS earnings must be declared and tax paid in the normal way. For example, if you're a plumber and bake some bread for someone, it's not taxable. If you plumb in a washing machine, then it is taxable. How can I trade if I don't have any credits?All accounts start at zero but you don't have to earn credits before you spend them. A minus balance only shows that you have issued credits to someone else, in other words, someone has done something for you. In LETS 'debt' is not seen as a bad thing; it is merely a commitment by you to do something for someone else. Because no interest is charged on your debt you're not loosing anything while waiting for an opportunity to work for someone else. Could someone run off, leaving a deficit?As LETS is a social network this is unlikely to happen, but each member is entitled to know the balance and turnover of everyone else's account; someone with a huge debit who is doing nothing for anyone else would soon be 'found out'. In the many schemes around the country, this situation has not been found to be a problem. However, even a person owing hundreds of Kents would not leave anyone else out of pocket since giving a credit to someone who does something for you ensures that they in turn 'spend' that credit with other people in the system. What services are available?The list is far too long to go into here! The Directory runs to six A4 pages. The most popular services tend to be quite basic ones - babysitting, decorating, gardening, helping move heavy furniture (or pianos!) etc. As well as these, there are quite specialised services (there are many talented people in the scheme!) such as learning a new language or a musical instrument; aromatherapy, massage & other health areas; lots of arts & crafts; and computer services like Desk Top Printing, leaflets, marketing advice etc. A reference copy of the latest Directory is in Kendal Library and the CVS in Stricklandgate. |