pkd
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2009
- Messages
- 1,432
- Reaction score
- 0
Man lives for a year without money
An Irish-born economics graduate who lived for a year without spending any money said that it has been the happiest time of his life and he intends to continue. Skip related content
Mark Boyle, 30, has lived for the past 12 months as a true 'freeconomist', leading a self-sufficient lifestyle in a caravan in Timsbury, near Bath, growing his own food and reusing junk that people have thrown away.
He says he has not spent a penny and has become a happier person, and today pledged to continue living without cash.
He cycles everywhere, his phone only takes incoming calls, he has solar-powered showers and cleans his teeth with toothpaste made from washed-up cuttlefish bones.
He either grows or forages for his food and gets his clothes from bins or from the Freecycle website.
Mr Boyle blogs online about his life using a solar-powered laptop on wi-fi time he earns in return for carrying out odd jobs on a local farm.
"Its been the happiest year of my life, and I will continue indefinitely, so I do not see any reason to return to a money-orientated world," he said.
"It has been really liberating. It does have challenges but I do not have the stresses of bank accounts, bills, traffic jams and long hours in a job I don't enjoy.
"The most difficult part has been socialising with friends, I have missed that aspect.
"Instead of going to the pub I make camp fires, play music or go for walks."
An Irish-born economics graduate who lived for a year without spending any money said that it has been the happiest time of his life and he intends to continue. Skip related content
Mark Boyle, 30, has lived for the past 12 months as a true 'freeconomist', leading a self-sufficient lifestyle in a caravan in Timsbury, near Bath, growing his own food and reusing junk that people have thrown away.
He says he has not spent a penny and has become a happier person, and today pledged to continue living without cash.
He cycles everywhere, his phone only takes incoming calls, he has solar-powered showers and cleans his teeth with toothpaste made from washed-up cuttlefish bones.
He either grows or forages for his food and gets his clothes from bins or from the Freecycle website.
Mr Boyle blogs online about his life using a solar-powered laptop on wi-fi time he earns in return for carrying out odd jobs on a local farm.
"Its been the happiest year of my life, and I will continue indefinitely, so I do not see any reason to return to a money-orientated world," he said.
"It has been really liberating. It does have challenges but I do not have the stresses of bank accounts, bills, traffic jams and long hours in a job I don't enjoy.
"The most difficult part has been socialising with friends, I have missed that aspect.
"Instead of going to the pub I make camp fires, play music or go for walks."
