guy going to live without money for a yr - impossible?!
 

I was watching Seoige yesterday and there was a guy on it that has set up a goal for the new yr - to live without money for 12 months. He grows his own food, owns a bike for transport, runs his own electricity, uses free wi-fi for his laptop(clever!), collects wood for heat and he lives in a trailor. Not sure of his location but i know he's from Donegal originally.

Impossible?

No TV (no license) for a year? Now thats impossible

He obviously has no wife or girlfriend. Wouldnt he be a cheap date? You just give him a plate of his homegrown veg at the fire and thats it. Id then go home and watch Eastenders and come back later.

Whats he going to do if he gets sick. Cause you wont get a Doctor or medicine for free these days unless your lucky enough to have a medical card.
It would be great if he could do it but for some reason i cant see it happening. Theres always something you need money for these days.

He probably has the medical card, so wouldn't need money for doctor/medication.
I think a year is quite ambitious for him.
Would pity a wife/girlfriend/child also - probably single living alone.
Didn't see programme so don't know.
His friends won't get birthday presents this year!!!!!

lol, think he lives alone as mobile home looked very small. i think he will be bartering instead of using money etc if he needed to go somewhere ask a neighbour for a lift and repay him with homegrown fruit or something!

hahahahahah :)

how is he going to buy loo paper????????????????????

maybe he will use the public toilets or just nick the loo roll lol

Or maybe he'll use a doc leaf for loo roll!! God fair play to him, wonder if he'll set up a blog for it. Also no dental care, haircuts(unless he does it himself). He's ambitious but would doubt he could do it but God loves a trier!

I seen a programme the other night about a guy who was aiming for two weeks of it...living for free. He was sleeping in a park for the first or second night :-(

Then someone he never met before offered to put him up in their house...he learned which wild foods he could eat, and trawled through skips and commercial bins for food. You'd be surprised at the stuff he found in a bin outside Marks and Spencers. Clothes, boots, a bike, a chocolate cake not even opened....wow.

Isn't it amazing what people throw out? You only have to come to this site to see what people would have to otherwise throw away... mind boggling.

A year? I'm a bit sceptical of that, to be honest... Obviously doesn't have any children...they are the most expensive things in the world!

Saw a feature on Oprah one time about people in the US who go routing around in skips outside supermarkets and restaurants...they were from all walks of life and used to meet up and got in groups. It actually looked like great fun and most of the food that they found was in really good condition. There was a lot of fresh fruit and veg...apparently it was thrown out by the supermarket because it had marks or dents on it and customers want perfect looking fruit. They had a name for the outings but can't remember what it was.

IT WAS CALLED "FREE CYCLING" WHERE THEY WENT SCAVENGING FOR FOOD ETC... MY GOD JUST THE THOUGHT OF SPENDING NO MONEY FOR A YEAR... NO TV FOR A DAY IS BAD ENOUGH , BUT THE THOUGHT OF NO NEIGHBOURS, EAST ENDERS, CORONATION ST OR CASUALTY I COULDNT DO IT... LET ALONE NO SWEETS, SHAMPOO.... I 'D LOVE TO BE A FLY ON HIS WALL THOUGH...

SUMMERSUN

if he had a wall !!

fair play if he can manage it
 

now i don t really belive this poor man will manage the whole year, i ll give him a month !

saw this programme on the telly about this english guy that went around a few countries on 5 (whatever currency) a day and that seemed hard enough. i can t imagine having no money at all. ( lucky english guy compared to the donegal lad)
in england , scottland and wales he did not do too bad, people gave him lifts, places to stay ( for free) and even food.
but i guess you get a whole lot more with 5 pounds sterling a day than 5 dollars...
in america ( when i saw most of the episodes) he slept rough for a few nights but manage to convince someone( after speaking to them for 10 minutes) to give him the keys to her apartment ( in chicago or something). this would never happen here, no one would trust you enough...

cascais

Hi Mandy, it is amazing what ppl throw away. My friend worked in a restaurant for many yrs and she used to tell me what they did with the food, half hr before closing time they bined all food there, staff was not allowed take any food home altho it was going in the bin.

I know loads of ppl who work in shops and a lot of things go in the bin. Odd stock and partly broken items are usually thrown away. I often buy things for cheap if it is partly broken eg recently i bought the wrought iron bottom part of a lantern that holds a candle for 10c just because the glass was broken they were going to throw it away. i dont even need the glass and my candles fit perfectly in it! Odds are thrown in the bin too eg stuff like pyjamas, tights, socks, underwear are often sold as multi packs and when someone wants to look at an item in the shop they pull out the whole packet and items get mixed up etc and shop assistant might not be able to repackage them. Lots of these sort of things get thrown in the bin, but if ur in the shop regularly u will be able to buy such items for 1.00 or 50c etc if u spot them on shelf before they go in the bin

Dumpster diving?

He'll probably do it.......nothing is really impossible unless you want to cancel your Readers Digest subscription. But then the glossy circulars could be handy if he runs out of loo paper.

Of course he will manage, didnt Berty Ahern manage to live without his money for years, He used all of ours instead and didnt need toilet paper either, probably used fivers for that too

But in saying that, I like Berty!!!

A year with no money!!!!
 

I think he watched too many re-runs of the Good Life, remember the couple that lived in Surrey that tried to be self sufficient. I wish him luck but I find every time you go out your front door you seem to be spending money. Even a free trip to the local park with the kids means chrisps, drinks and a few sweets.

Yes and you literally cant wee without money now either. Everywhere you go has a slot to pay for toilets or a key on something as big as a brick in some places.

The worlds gone Mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAHAHA that made me laugh but its totally true lol.

No Kitten Soft??
 

Ooo.. back to nature there then... he must use a docking leaf, or old news paper.. I would miss the andrex puppies and kitten soft!!

I believe they're called Freegans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism

Throw in no Fair City and I'll give it a go myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tip
 

he needs to learn to make home made wine with the fruit he is growing, could keep him warm at night along with any potential dates

though no running water could be an issue the next morning unless he's storing up plenty of large leaves

there's always nettle tea, for detoxing the morning after

someone should donate him a lamb , yummy !

There was a woman, in New York I think who lived for a year without buying anything except necessities.
Necessities were mortgage, heating bills, electricity etc, Food was basic, no treats, alcohol etc. She didn't buy any new clothes. All entertainment was free stuff, museums, library etc. No eating out etc.
It was very interesting to listen to her. She wrote a book about it.

Guy going to live without money for a year.....
 

Sounds like it would be a fascinating book to read, Gabsdot. Do you remember the name of it by any chance?

Jul

organic loo roll
 

No need for loo roll! Before we shredded trees for toilet paper we used damp moss. I've been caught short in the woods and it really is a lot better than paper I'll tell you. Natures own baby wipe as you get a wash into the bargain.

They used damp moss in all them posh 16th Century tower houses, knowing that is what put it in my head while stuck in the woods.

Just check it for insects first!

;)

And as he will have no electricity he will have no computer to check out what he could find to recycle free on JT!!!!!

moss??
 

I can just imagine it!!Bits falling off! think I would use a docking leaf!! or random crisp packet left by some picknicers!!! hahaha

I am potty training this week and the thoughs of moss!! a baby wipe is a god send!!!

If I were to be a celeb I would never take part in that I am a celeb... get me out of here! No way!!

esb
 

was he not connecting a wind turbine or something to get electricity?

sure he could pop in next door to his neighbour and think outside the box! woudn't be his bill! I am such a cheat!

I'd be like the joanne off the Apprentice. LOL

Hi Gabsdot, She was a teacher from Bristol and she lived for a year on £1 a day. Her book is called "How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day". She was also interviewed on that program where yer man lived for two weeks for free. She went to a lot of art galleries and book launches, poetry readings etc. where food would be provided and things like that. It was very interesting to listen to her. We should all give it a try for a week and see how we get on!

living for free
 

Ithink they are called "freegans"

Apparently menustrating women used to use moss and I believe it also has antiseptic properties.

I think he's a very brave man myself. But I'll bet he'll be surprised at how little he actually needs to survive. For anyone interested "Into the Wild" is a great film about something not a million miles away from this subject and the book is also a very good read. Very thought provocating.

Somebody was watching Victorian Farm, and paying attention! :P

I have to say I do admire him..A few christmas' ago my dad bought me the "EARTHS CHILDREN" collection by author Jean M.Auel...Its about the Neanderthal and jeez it just blew my mind...facinating books...I cherish them dearly,keep them tucked away and often find myself going back to them when i've run outta books to read..I'd love to try and live free for a year.."live off the land!!" but alass i'm not too sure kids and hubby would be too impressed!!

You know, I think it was more like one of those survivorman programmes - off in the woods; surviving on what's around you.

Although Victorian Farm sounds very interesting, must keep an eye out for that one!! :)

thats really interesting. Is there any update on him or information?
Sounds like a good challenge.
And has to be do-able.
You think about people in the out back in austraila alot of them live on their land etc.

Thats right needmoresleep. In the outback they live off the land. Dont even need a ute as long as the liquor stores delivers the Fourex.