Hazel Holtham has adopted the Swap Shop way

IF YOU have been feeling the pinch recently, take a look around–you could be sitting on money-making assets.

Swapping or bartering has become the hottest way of reviving a wardrobe, borrowing equipment or even getting odd jobs done.

Just as you can exchange your old department store frocks for vintage ball gowns at www.whatsmineisyours.com or www.covertcandy.co.uk, on the internet you can also trade your skills for someone else’s.

One Londoner (see below) offered French lessons in return for personal training to help her tone up after having a baby.

At sites such as www.zilok.com you can pay a small fee to borrow a random item from someone who lives nearby. Need a camera for a wedding? Get in touch with Gary in Camden, who will lend you his for £10.

At other sites you can trade for keeps. On www.whatsmineisyours, shoppers trade items of clothing like children swap football stickers. While over at covertcandy you don’t even need to swap directly – you just trade your goods with the community at large, rack up points and then swap for your desired item with the credits you have totted up.

And the swapping habit is growing. Zilok reports its user base has doubled each month since its launch in 2007, with users swapping or renting out anything from games consoles to wedding dresses.

Here’s how five Londoners are saving cash by adopting the Swap Shop way.

French lessons for keep-fit

Emilie Lien

33, full-time mum, Honor Oak

Emilie wanted to get into shape after having a baby but didn’t want to splash out on gym classes. So, having good French language skills, she offered to teach Balham-based Trisha Wallis French through www.Gumtree.com, in return for Trisha getting her into shape.

What I swap: "I’m half-French and was originally looking just to make some money by offering French lessons, but when I saw the skill-swapping section on Gumtree I thought it would make sense for me to swap French conversation classes in return for someone getting me into shape. It works with her giving me a fitness session for an hour at my flat, then we switch to French conversation class. It’s two hours in total each weekend, and we get on really well and are finding the benefit of it. I vetted people first. I had a phone conversation with them all. One person was way out in East Finchley, so that was a no-no. The person I eventually hit it off with is also in south London and she has a qualification."

Cash saved: "None, but got two months of personal training for free worth more than £400."

Trading in finished books

Kristin Haverlow

28, finance, Limehouse

Kristin realised she was spending way too much on books which, after being read, gathered dust around the house. She put the whole lot up for grabs on book trading site www.readitswapit.co.uk

What I swap: "You rate the condition of all of your own books, from 'like new' right through to 'tatty', and trade books with other people online. You can search by author or genre, though each book published has a unique ISBN number so it is easy to find a book through that.

I was finding I spent a lot of money on books and there was little resell value on them. However, now I hardly have any of the books I started with, and have yet to spend any money. I have binges where I swap two or three a week but slow down when I start reading some of them."

Favourite swap: "I’m addicted to chick lit. I swapped Baby Proof by Emily Giffin and Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella recently."

Cash saved: £20 a month.

The ski gear source

Michele Bouchard

29, retail manager, Kensington

Fed up with watching his expensive purchases just piling up around his flat, Michele offered his ski gear for hire on www.zilok.com

What I swap: "I own a lot of ski gear, which obviously I only use infrequently, so I offered it for hire on www.zilok.com. You can lend equipment or services to people in your area, who pay a price to borrow it. I made £80 just lending it out, and you get insured too.

Once you have agreed a trade, you get sent an insurance form by email so that you are covered. My wife borrowed a fondue set for a dinner party we were having. It only cost a few pounds to borrow, but would have cost us a lot to buy and we would hardly have used it."

Favourite swap: "I was given a watch worth several thousand pounds as a gift so I put it online for people to borrow. A guy wanted to try it out before he bought it in a store. I lent it to him for £150."

Cash saved: More than £200.

Vintage Fendi for Dior

Hazel Holtham

30, retail, Walthamstow

Hazel joined www.whatsmineisyours.com one year ago to shift some of her massive vintage clothing collection. On the website you can swap or trade goods for cash.

What I swap: "Handbags, shoes and dresses, mainly. I am a bit of a vintage fiend and will swap three or four items a month. I even buy cheap items in shops, which I know I can get a good swap for online."

Favourite swap: "I found a Fendi rucksack in a charity shop for £5 but it wasn’t my style, so I swapped it for a vintage Dior clutch bag. I also swapped a Celia Birtwell dress from Topshop for a vintage dress owned by someone who knew Ossie Clark."

Cash saved: At least £100.

Wardrobe refresher

Fiona Kayayan

21, student, Kennington

Fiona signed up to www.covertcandy.co.uk to refresh her wardrobe and get rid of a mountain of unworn clothes.

What I swap: "I’ve swapped six items, including tops, T-shirts and a waistcoat, from French Connection, Zara and Topshop. All were less than a year old, and some still carrying tags.

"I find putting my clothes on eBay a bit of a hassle because of the bidding, but on covertcandy I feel there is more of a community element – you make friends with each swap. When I see something nice, I request it or bookmark it, and go about swapping my stuff with others to get the necessary credits."

Favourite swap: "I got a lovely Burberry jacket worth £90 just by swapping stuff I didn’t need."

Cash saved: £120.