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If I’m going into a task with bartering on the mind, I clearly lay out the expectations of the transaction before any work is complete. If I’m just doing something for someone else, I do it with the belief in communal support – I’m sure that I’ll need something from him later and he would be as willing to help me as I was of him. That’s how I approach things done for or through church.

For the people who ask me what they can do in return, I usually feel their being genuine. The easiest way to tell is how they react when you tell them “Don’t worry about it.” If they’re actually expecting you to request something in return, they’ll be honestly surprised and maybe even insistent.

I feel bad taking something from friends. I do computer work, Web design, etc., and have been asked by friends to do the work for them, in exchange for pay, and I just feel awful charging, so I give the work away.

My church is asking for Web work to be done, and they are asking for an invoice, but I feel horrible charging a church for things.

Don’t you ever feel like when someone asks you what they can do in return, they are secretly hoping you will just give the work away and not charge them or want bartering?