Here at the Little Hippie House, we believe that frugality isn’t just about saving ourselves money… We’re part of a growing community of like-minded folks who want to live lightly on the planet, eschew indebtedness, and have fun doing it! So when a friend of ours bought a 40-year-old travel trailer to restore and convert into a mobile eco-boutique, we were happy to go pitch in with the work. We love helping our friends save time and money while keeping things out of the landfill, and pitching in on other people’s projects lets us practice skills and try out tools we can use for our own endeavors (like our upcoming school bus renovation) later. We never help out as a transactional thing– we do it for fun and for free (and maybe an occasional cold beer)– but being the kind of people who show up and help makes it more likely that our friends will want to come lend a hand when we need it, which is also nice.

Plus, being helpful just feels good! There are all sorts of studies showing that doing good for others benefits our mental health and self-esteem more than doing things just for ourselves, so it’s really a win-win situation. And if you’re really looking for the saving money angle, we got to spend a whole day yesterday hanging out with friends and we didn’t spend a dime!

Have you helped a friend with a project lately? Did you enjoy the time you spent?