A work exchange program changed the life of a college graduate my family knows. In December, our friends' son graduated from college with a degree in radio and television. But we live in a mid-size community and there's not much work available for on-air personalities which is what he wanted to do. There really wasn't much work of any kind for him to do except McDonald's which was hiring. He didn't want to keep living with his parents until he found a job in his field so he decided to move to find work. The problem was how would he support himself until he did?

Gary started learning about this host home concept in which he could be paid for some type of provided service with free room and board. I thought, at first, he was crazy for wanting to share space with strangers and offer some kind of free in home care for them. But then we heard about his success.

A couple of nights ago, Gary's parents came over for dinner and were talking about his experience. He moved to the capital of our state which was about six hours away to a host home that needed an elder care companion. Apparently, the patriarch of the family had recently lost his wife to cancer, and he wasn't taking it so well. He had to move in with his kids, give up the home he'd shared with his wife, and spend hours alone while everyone else was working or in school.

As Gary was providing in home elder care for the family, he was also able to start submitting resumes. He could have done this from back home, too, but traveling six hours to get to interviews would have been impractical. Now he was just a hop, skip, and a jump from lots of potential jobs. And the family understood if he needed to leave for an hour to hit an interview. Plus, he didn't have to worry about taking on another job that would interfere with his job search. He provided in home elder care for this man who really needed a friend.

In this economy, the host home makes sense for lots of people. It seems like a win-win experience for everyone.

With the economy struggling and most families feeling the pinch, doing something as simple as home care and maintenance can be a challenge. If both parents are working and are feeling stressed about their finances, household chores are likely to get neglected and funds are scarce for outside help for lawn care, home repairs, or even maid service.

One alternative is to become a host family. You could provide a person with free room and board in exchange for providing some of the help you need around the home.

Here are some ways this could be useful:

• Affordable lawn maintenance - The live-in person could mow your lawn, trim the bushes, even tend to your garden if he or she has a green thumb and no pesky allergies.
• Help with laundry and other chores - If you have a large family, doing the laundry, cooking meals, even loading the dishwasher can be a time-consuming struggle. Having another pair of hands to help could be a huge asset.
• Home maintenance help - If your home is like most, there are some minor repairs that need to be made. Maybe the front door is sticking or the screen door in back is ripped. Maybe you need to replace the tiles in the kitchen or the carpet in the living room. Bringing someone in to help with these problems can save a lot of time and money.
• Maid service alternative - Instead of paying someone a lot of money to clean your home, you could be offering someone a place to stay and warm food for their services. They could be a college student, a retired person, a traveler, or a recently unemployed worker.

Additionally, you could bring them into your home to be both companions and homemakers. If both parents are working, the children may like having someone available when they come home so they don't have to go to a babysitter. Stay-at-home parents might appreciate the grown-up company and the extra hands as they struggle to keep the house running smoothly. Overall, this arrangement could be a win-win situation for everyone involved.