The Man with No Money: Irishman Lives ‘No Income, No Expense’ Life
Mark Boyle does not earn. Well, numerous in the world does not. However, the scenario is a little different. Unlike the regular unemployed, Boyle does not 'need' money. He does not need to spend any money to live his life. The 'moneyless' man is engaged in a kind of lifestyle which takes guts.
The Irishman activist founded the Freeconomy Community online. He has been living a life with no money for 5 years now. It started in November 2008, but he did have day-jobs before that. He had a degree in business and economics. He was the manager in a company that produced organic food. He had a luxurious life with a yacht to boast of. However, things changed when he watched the Oscar-winning film Gandhi - a biopic on the Indian icon Mahatma Gandhi.
He had the realisation that the root cause of all evil was money. Even though people are not able to see how purchasing a product affect the world, that is exactly what empowers the socio-political and economic problems in the world. He realised that there is huge 'separation' between the consumed and the consumer. That is the reason people fail to realise how much suffering and destruction are involved in manufacturing the product we buy.
Mr Boyle eventually travelled to Porbandar, Gandhi's birthplace. Thereafter, he started his journey in 2008 without any money, carrying only limited possessions. His journey was, however, interrupted due to language problem. Later that year, Mr Boyle decided to live life with no money. He bought a wood-burning stove and a solar panel. Ultimately, he started his moneyless lifestyle on Buy Nothing Day 2009.
Mr Boyle believes that capitalism is a flawed concept, but he refuses to be termed as anti-capitalist. Instead of being an anti- anything, he prefers to be called pro-community, pro-happiness and pro-nature. He also believes that friendship is the actual security, not money. According to him, humans are the only creatures who use money, probably because humans are farthest away from nature.
Boyle eats free food from trees as he says that the tree does not demand money for providing food. He wanders around for additional food. He grows his own food as well. Interestingly, he does not mind searching the waste bin for food either. He lives in a van.
Video courtesy: YouTube/Jason Liosatos