Pretty sure I can eek out an olive and a half, a few tablespoons of rice and maybe a coffee bean or two. In the bucket go the drops of hive, sometimes one at a time and sometimes in small gushes, but eventually the bucket begins to fill and that is a grand feeling.
I've heard the saying many times that it isn't all about making more money, but keeping more of the money you already have. I think that ties together the stacking of your Hive and the bartering you touched on. If people barter goods and services you can cut out the middle man and refrain from spending as much money on necessities.
It is indeed good to see the bucket slowly fill. When I began here, my first post on the 13th June 2017 and for a long time afterwards, my posts earned cents and yet I continued, powered up and knew it was all adding up. Now, well it added up to what I have now; holding, filling the bucket up, feels good.
On that barter system I have going, it's really cool to swap goods and services for other goods and services, and it always makes me think of more simple times when this sort of thing was commonplace. I'm fortunate to have the right people around me to make it happen.