31 year old Donegal man Mark Boyle has been living completely without money for over two years – by choice.

This former economics and business student has spent the last ten years gradually becoming less and less of a consumer.

In November 2008, after much thought on the subject of money and the money-system, Mark completely stopped spending or receiving any money at all – initially as a one year experiment to see if he could do it.

Now Mark lives outside the city of Bath in a small converted truck that is parked on an organic farm, where he does work growing vegetables in exchange for being allowed to live there. He heats himself with a small stove – made from an old converted gas bottle and pieces of an old bicycle welded together.

He washes himself and his clothes in the river. He grows his own vegetables and forages for wild food – nettles are a favourite staple. Sometimes – though it is his least preferred method of finding food - he finds food in the skips that are full of food thrown away every day by shops.

Mark is also the founder of the ‘Freeconomy’ – a website that allows users to provide services to each other, in exchange for absolutely nothing.

His next project is the Moneyless Village in which seven more people are going to join Mark in the moneyless lifestyle.

An experiment that was supposed to last one year has turned into a lifepath and Mark says that, without money, he has never been happier.



The Documentary on One finds out what made him make such a radical lifestyle choice, why he wants to keep on doing it – and how he does it.

Compiled and narrated by Nicoline Greer

Sound supervision by Mark McGrath

First broadcast Saturday 21st May, 2011, 2pm

"Moneyless Mark" won second prize at the 12th International Radio Festival of Iran in 2012

You can find out more about the Freeconomy and Mark here.

Mark’s book “The Moneyless Man, A Year of Freeconomic Living” is published by OneWorld Publications.

The poem "The Matrix" featured in this documentary is by Rodney Chris Paradox





An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries.



