Man To Go Cashless For A Year

[Gerrard Winstanley]

 Man To Go Cashless For A Year
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Mark-Boyle-From-Bristol-To-Become-Freeconomist-As-He-Plans-To-Live-Without-Money-For-A-Year/Article/200811415164753?lpos=UK_News_News_Your_Way_Region_4&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15164753_Mark_Boyle_From_Bristol_To_Become_Freeconomist__As_He_Plans_To_Live_Without_Money_For_A_Year__

5:20am UK, Saturday November 29, 2008

Simon Newton, Sky News reporter
An economics graduate is about to begin a year-long mission to live
without money.

Mark Boyle, 29, plans to put his potatoes where his mouth is and
become the ultimate 'freeconomist' by ditching cash for 12 months.

He intends to live completely off the land and waste products he
scrounges around his borrowed caravan at Timsbury, near Bath.

And he'll even use his very own composting toilet for good measure.

"I've been preparing a lot over the last couple of months, but the
challenge will be the things I can't plan for - a broken arm,
exhaustion or the worst case scenario, a family bereavement," he said.

"I suspect the most difficult thing will be socialising in a world
that revolves around money. I'll be living on a day-to-day basis, hand
to mouth, which means I'll never really know where my next meal comes
from."

Mark plans to scour skips and other people's rubbish to find what he
needs. He'll also make use of a scheme called Freecycle, a network of
recycling enthusiasts; and Freeconomy which allows people to swap skills.

   I've been preparing a lot over the last couple of months, but the
challenge will be the things I can't plan for - a broken arm,
exhaustion or the worst case scenario, a family bereavement.

"Any skills you need you can get through Freeconomy and with other
'pay-it-forward' based organisations such as Liftshare and
Couch-surfing now flourishing, the simple life doesn't have to be so
difficult anymore," he said.

And with the credit crunch biting Mark, from Bristol, believes there's
never been a better time to seek out the good life.

"It is the disconnection we have with what we consume that is the
primary cause of the wasteful culture we live in today," he explained.

"If we all had to grow our own food again we wouldn't waste one third
of it. We've absolutely no respect or real appreciation for the energy
that goes into the things we consume and buy today, so we think
nothing of throwing them away."

His last stunt was cut short

Mark will be hoping this 'freebie' experiment goes a bit better than
his last cashless odyssey.

In February he set off to visit Gandhi's birthplace on India's west
coast, aiming to get there without spending a penny.

But he only managed to get to Calais - about 300 miles - before cold
and the language barrier forced him to hang up his boots. He then had
to use money to pay for his trip back to Britain.

At the time he told Sky News: "Not only did no one speak the language,
they also see us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is
the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is really about.

"The advice was to make a bee line for Belgium as folk said they would
be more likely to want to speak some English.

"The only trouble was the first decent-sized town in Belgium was 170km
away, and all we had was three tins of soup, a bag of trail mix and a
chocolate bar to sustain us."

Mr Boyle begins his money-less mission tomorrow (Sat) - on the rather
aptly named Buy Nothing Day.