The book “The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living” by Marc Boyle was a joy to dive into for two main reasons: first, I got to borrow a paper copy from a sort-of-neighbor during the inaugural monthly book exchange meeting she set up in Guarda, Portugal. The fact that this is a thing makes me so very happy!
Second, the whole premise spoke to me, as it’s about a young man in the United Kingdom who decides to live without money for a year. As a result, he grows his own food, forages for extras, and leans on the concept of exchange and “freeconomy”.
During this year, his lifestyle was both very similar and starkly different to ours: growing food, eating seasonal, using a compost toilet, not buying stuff for the sake of it all mostly reflects our life on the farm – but not using money at all… that was an intriguing concept I had never given much thought to.
Lessons & key takeaways
Key lessons from a moneyless year are summarized towards the end, and are great reminders of how to be a better person while contributing to a better world:
- Don’t underestimate others
- A half way house between how things are now and going moneyless: Local currencies
- Communal-sufficiency: Independence is one of the biggest myths in modern society; we are built to function as part of a bigger whole
- Essential skills of the future: First and foremost physical fitness, self discipline, care, respect for planet. Also important but secondary are skills such as carpentry, etc.
- Organic flow of giving and receiving: You have to trust life
- Money is just one way of doing things
- Necessity is the mother of invention
- The real value of things, e.g., organic produce, is lost but key to reconnect with for sustainable change (if you’re not willing to pay premium for organic veggies, farmers won’t be able to make an living producing them)
- Gadgetry vs nature: Nature has incredible solutions to every problem or almost, we should not rely on technology over what’s right in front of us
One of my favorite lines in the book is the question “Did humans make their biggest discoveries by staying comfortable?” – a brilliant reminder of how much potential exists beyond our comfort zones.
Two other points that struck me as great lessons or reminders included
- solutions must be locally driven to meet the needs of people and the environment in which they live, and
- none of us are teachers; we are all students, learning from each other’s experience.
Even if you think the premise is absurd (or maybe especially if you think that!), I highly recommend this book. It will get you thinking out of the box, and you might be surprised with what you come away with!
The writing style & my craft-related take aways
The writing style makes it feel like a friend is telling you about his experience living without money. It’s both insightful and inspiring, and feels like a lot of knowledge went into both the book and the experience.
In terms of my writing, I aspire to a similar tone and approach for my memoir. Serious yet full of humor and down-to-earth thinking and reflection presenting a snippet of life that might just nudge readers to think about living differently. Easy.