Freeconomy Blog
Wed
07 Jul
What are your favourite money-saving tips?
| 129 comments |
I often ramble on far too much on this blog. So this week I'm asking all of you wonderful people to collectively write it instead. All of us must have many ideas on how we can creatively reduce our reliance on money to meet all our needs, and it would be fantastic if we could share that massive mental database on here for all to benefit from.
So what are your favourite money-saving tips? List or describe as many as you like.
Whether it be anything from how to make shampoo from wild ingredients, how to make seats out of pallets, innovative ways to retro-fit your home, or what wild food you are foraging at the moment, it would be great if you could share them here and help everyone in this community use a bit less cash. Feel free to add links to any website or videos that give more information on it also.
Ideally they will be tips that also empower us to tread more gently on the Earth and all that we share it with (frugality isn't always better - for example, taking loads of sachets of sample shampoos from your nearest chemist is only beneficial to you, and only in the very short-term), but it can be anything so don't fret!
Every two weeks I write a column for the Guardian called 'The Moneyless Man series', where I break down life into all its categories (food, travel, shelter etc) and show how you can do it without money. The best tips that come from this blog I'll weave into future Guardian posts, and link them to any source of information that you provide that goes with it, so that many more people can benefit from your collective wisdom.
Great to be sharing the planet with you all.
THE FREECONOMY BLOG is written by Mark Boyle, who has been living for 19 months without money, and is the founder of the Freeconomy Community. He is the author of The Moneyless Man.
Comment on this Post:
Malcolm Handoll comments ...
Tip:
Get rid of credit cards, leave debit cards at home, go out with only a set amount of cash (say £10) for 'emergencies' and then head off into town, having eaten a good meal at home first. Take a bottle of water with you to avoid dehydration ... and enjoy!
Lou Novak comments ...
Obtain and use a refillable water container. Never buy bottled water.
Sandie Roach comments ...
Knitting Wool for FREE - Unpick old jumpers and re-knit/crochet the yarn.
Caroline comments ...
use an old net curtain or even tutu netting (if you happen to have some!) to make some bags to use instead of the plastic ones while fruit and veg buying. As long as the seams are small (don't bother hemming the top) you won't be adding a significant amount of extra weight.
There are bags you can buy for this purpose, but they are made of heavier material and have zip tops so do add quite a few grams to each purchase.
Take some elastic bands, clippits, bits of string etc with you to tie the tops after weighing and purchase.
Martin Davis comments ...
If you need to a vehicle plan journey first. Getting lost costs money and more fuel burned. If it's diesel, use sustainable fuel such as veg oil - ideally recycled (check your vehicle can handle it first!).
Kester Ratcliff comments ...
this weekend my friends n I re-plumbed the greywater drain from the bathroom so it waters the veg garden, with a hose, also we put in a stopcock to turn it off in winter so it goes down the normal drain and doesn't flood the garden. Tbh not much of a money-saving tip, as it cost £50 for all the plumbing connectors, but with hindsight we could have done more of the joints with old dead mountain bike inner tube.
Linda Emslie comments ...
shop with your own containers for eggs, fruit and veg ect lovingly and politely repack them in store and leave excess plastic for supermarket to deal with xxx
Burt Haze Smith comments ...
turn your washingmachine spin cycle down low during heatwave, it waters the lawn aswell as saving energy lx
Burt Haze Smith comments ...
There's so much free entertainment about, if you search for it, lunchtime concerts in churches, bands playing in parks, a wealth of art gallerys and museums, some theartres let you stand at the back for a minimal fee, try your local college beauty dept and have a hair cut, massage, day for minimal cost, if you dont have a freind to trade swop with , haggle, barter and no cash, as Wee Free would say everything in the world is free,why do we have to pay for it?
Martin Davis comments ...
Picnics with left-over food. Nothing wasted, and it's nicer being outside (especially if near a duck pond!). Oh - and someone else put a tip out for re-using waterbottles and using tap water, rather than buying - perfect :)
Martin Davis comments ...
Soap - save the small bits of used up soap that people normally throw away. Then once you've collected a few you can melt them and make a big bar! (You can melt in a pot them in the sun, on hot black surface, black car bonnet or even a dark stone.(and it's fun because you can make shapes)
Martin Davis comments ...
Ditch the TV! 1- It's rubbish! 2 - it tempts people too buy stuff they don't need 3 - A friend recently posted on their facebook profile "had no TV for a month because of repair, and discovered life!". Will save you a lot of money, reduce societies money spending temptation and you'll get a life! Do it!! :)
hollie comments ...
take time to plan your weeks meals. making sure you leave space to use up any left overs.
shop in the reduced pile, not only will it reduce landfill waste but also your cost of living.
get a decent tool kit and learn how to use it! youtube and libraries will become your best friend when it comes to general household repairs.
do toy swaps with friends who have children of a similar age, your kids will have all the benefit of 'new' toys with no extra cost and it keeps things interesting for them. alternatively split their toys in to 2or 3 boxes and rotate them, that way after a month toys that would get ignored become new and interesting!
make the most of free ads/freecycle/freegle, shop charity and second hand.
make the most of what you have and not what you want.
Sandra Storr comments ...
Make your own laundry detergent. Heat up a litre of water in a big pan. Grate in 1 bar of ivory (or other plain) soap, bring to the boil. Turn off the heat. Add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Stir to mix and add 2 gallons hot water. Leave overnight then whizz up with a stick blender and bottle into empty detergent bottles. Dry powder versions also available. Costs about 40p a gallon, one box of borax and washing soda lasts for years.
Daniel Diniz comments ...
I think the best tip said so far was to ditch television, and I want to reinforce it.
Anyways, the best way to reduce dependance on money is to use only whats necessary. See what you really _need_, most of our desires are created by our own minds and aren't real.
It's been a while since I last spent money on anything but food and house bills.
Entertainment can be easily switched for things much healthier, and even much more satisfying, like reading books on parks, playing a music instrument, etc.
Its possible! And can actually be MUCH better than what we do now! CHANGE!
Bexy comments ...
Put that red rubber band that the postie dropped around the soap dispenser pump and it will not give out so much.
Refuse plastic carrier bags and if you find yourself about to buy something you did not expect to want to buy, don't. Just leave it at the counter at the last second if you have to.
Roland Gopel comments ...
For those of you who drink a little - learn to do home-brew. its way better for you and way less costly. one tin of home-brew plus sugar plus caps will cost around the $15 mark plus about 2 hours work and yield about 2½ cartons (of beer for instance).
cheers :D
Sandie Roach comments ...
FREE online magazines (trial issues) Permaculture Magazine and Resurgence are amongst the many available for a free read!
http://www.exacteditions.com/
sagey comments ...
The cherries are really starting to sweeten and picking them makes you feel great - this is what going to the shops used to feel like.
Mark, just wanted to say thanks for your last blog - think it was called 'My New Rule'. I sometimes struggle to express my thoughts and feelings about the unequal world we share. This blog entry expresses it much better than I ever have and so I shall direct others to it in the future.
Love all the other ideas for saving money.
Spend time with your loved ones and be grateful for all that you have.
Thanks and Good Health
Heather Stein comments ...
Used dryer sheets make great dust rags.
Grow your own fruit and veggies
Shop at used clothing stores to save $ and recycle
Instead of meeting at the usual pub, organize a beach cleanup with your friends. You'll be surprised how much fun you have and the stuff you find for the cost of garbage bags and gloves.
Stop eating out as much as possible as restaurants are expensive and wasteful.
Refuse a bag when purchasing stuff you can carry or put in your purse/pocket
Tammi Dallaston comments ...
only go to the shops with a list of what you need and just enough money to buy it.
Don't buy it if you can make it.
Only use what you need.
DO A PERMACULTURE COURSE!
Turn off your boiler in the summer - swim every other day to stay clean, boil a kettle for washing. Been doing this since April, and I have 3 young kids! Gets you fit too.
Soak dishes in cold water before washing up.
Please feel free to share Mark xx
Jonathan Gadsby comments ...
If you live in a city, and have a car, consider the money you may save by selling your car and using the City Car Club, even using it very regularly. You can also add in a lot of train trips and still break even finacially (you'll be very much in credit in terms of CO2).
A good holiday can be very very cheap. Best one I ever did was a week hedgelaying with the National Trust. Loved the work, slept like a baby and all in cost £70.
jason palmer comments ...
the biggest cost is having somewhere to live, mark solved this with a caravan from freecycle :)
In the city,not living alone, is a quick,easy, simple way, to reduce costs :)
Sandie Roach comments ...
Set-up your washing machine so that it always fills from the COLD tap! I've been doing it for years and it works just as well as warm water......
comments ...
Hair cuts - Get a friend to cut your hair! I'd recommend a friend you trust of course. Am just off to get mine chopped off by an ex gf - which I guess is quite brave! (hair that is!)
Martin Davis comments ...
If you're a smoker - we'll you've heard it all before and know what I'm going to say! But it's true - money saved and better health. I know it's easier said than done, but I did it (although I admit to the occasional cheeky one at the weekends but it's usually 'borrowed' from a mate)
Martin Davis comments ...
Reduce or quit meat. Ok, so I'm not a vegetarian (each to their own and all that) - but I used to eat meat daily, but now only at a weekend or if i'm invited out to someones for dinner. This has easily halved my weekly food costs.
Martin Davis comments ...
Make friends with other skintos! Having friends in simular situations who also want to save money is great. We have what we call 'Cheap Fun' times! Not what is sounds (!) - can be simply going for a walk, bike ride, picnic, cooking, finding a free gig, feeding ducks, sharing money saving ideas. If you're with people who splash the cash about at expensive bars can make you feel pressurised into 'keeping up'.
Martin Davis comments ...
Farm shops. Many people think that farm shops are more expensive, but this is a myth which I believe is what supermarkets want you to believe! Some of the big posh chain 'farm shops' ones are more expensive, and not everyone is lucky enough to be near a good one. where I live in southampton people mostly go to tesco thinking it's cheaper, when locally there are 2-3 indipendant farm shops - all cheaper, better quality, friendlier, ethical and locally grown produce.
refah comments ...
i personally believe that when you need to function without money, bartering with others is a useful. e.g trading one of you're own skills with someone who can use there skills for you that you need. as well as bartering i think the power of it is also in the numbers of people who do not use money. if more people had, or at the least, tried to go without money that means more people in the same moneyless boat whom can all work together with more variation in skills, abilities etc. who knows. possibly even a community could come of this. what i find interesting is people want and desire change for the better but they expect it given to them when the crazy part is... WE make the changes. as Ghandi says ' you must be the change you wish to see in the world'.
Martin Davis comments ...
Possibly my best ever money saving tip: Be nice!
If someone does something for you, simply show them you areally appreciate it, and they're more than likely to help again. If I've done something for someone that's saved them £ and they've not even bothered to thank me, or worse still been rude to me, then that's the usually last they get out of me! If they're nice and thank me, then I'm much more likely to help again.
Even better - if someone has done something for you, look for something you can do for them in return.
Melwin C J Falcao comments ...
Only way to save money is not spend it. Most of the things we buy are the things we can really live without and live a beautiful life.
Sandie comments ...
Set-up your washing machine so that it always fills from the COLD tap! I've been doing it for years and it works just as well as warm water.
comments ...
"Consume consume consume, until we have no planet left to consume. What you need to do is buy things you don't need..."
This is great if you havn't seen it already http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQrsA3m8Bg
oceanic comments ...
wrote this in response to the facebook posts that talked a lot about supermarkets
much not free stuff in here but definitely money saving and good 'transitional' stuff:
don't go to the supermarket at all, ever! i so often hear people say they can't afford to buy healthy/organic food. get together with some friends and order yr food (and toiletries) wholesale from:
suma
community foods
infinity foods
essential
tree harvest
etc
you save at least 30% on food and up to 50% on toiletries, household items etc.
the food is better for you (saving you money on medical products), you only have to shop every few months and it's delivered to your door, saving time and money on shopping trips. there is often less packaging involved.
*grow veg. if you have little time and/or space DONT GROW POTATOES! it's what everyone does but they take up loads of space, store well and are cheap to buy. grow the expensive, perishable stuff. herbs, salads (how much is a bag of rocket?!), sugar snap peas, chard, strawberries etc, etc. for small spaces and little time check out 'square foot gardening' by mel bartholomew.
*sprout beans, seeds and grains in yr kitchen.
*if you live in the countryside, find yr local organic farm shop (the type actually on the farm with a hut and honesty box NOT the super expensive ones designed for tourists), they are much cheaper than you think (a b&b near me went 100% local and organic and saved money, some NHS hospitals have gone 100% local and saved money). if you live in town find a veg box scheme.
*learn to cook! 'convenience' foods are killing you, yr bank account and the planet.
*give most toiletries the boot. anything that promises to make you look younger, glossier etc is made out of petrochemical waste products, hugely expensive, pointless and frankly damaging yr health (including sun screen). if you don't feel able to give up soap / shampoo / facial scrubs try 'qasil'. it's simply the ground leaves of a tree, does the job of all of these beautifully and is a fraction of the price (available from tree harvest).
make skin lotions from coconut oil, olive oil etc. whatever natural, organic oils you can get wholesale and suit yr skin, add essential oils for super luxury yumminess. add neem, aloe, shea butter etc to coconut butter for sun screen. eat well. drink lots of water. you will look amazing naturally and will be able to throw away yr make up!
*throw away yr household cleaning products. there is nothing bicarb of soda, lemon juice, vinegar etc can't clean!
i could go on and on....but the fire has just got going and i've got dinner to make
happy, healthy saving :)
Trish Young comments ...
I was looking for uses for the dock plant and found this video, which has loads of other vids on wild food on the same page.
Frank Cook says docks can be used at any time, looks better when younger though.
http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-About-Edible-Wild-Food-Plant-Parts--Frank-Cook-60252665
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Everyone
Wow! I should let you folk write this blog more often. Maybe I should just pick a topic from now on, and you can all discuss.
Some fantastic tips here. I'll just leave one for now, a tip from Epicurus:
"If you want to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his money, but subtract from his desires."
Trish Young comments ...
Now I've started to look things up I found this :
http://globalrecycledproducts.com/2008/01/15/how-to-recycle-your-old-newspaper-to-make-your-own-charcoal/
I've not tried it but I will.
Jacqui Xavier-Rhoades comments ...
Share, Share, Share!!!
Focussing on the whole freeconomy thing!
I think maybe if we all just followed one simple rule! share everything, our time, our fun, our care, our support, our hugs, our inspiration, our shelter, our food, our transport, our stuff, oh and yes and our love then we may save a few pennies ;o) x
Finished your Book Mark, Well done and thanks for the ongoing inspiration to keep moving forwards!
carol o comments ...
An easy way to save at the supermarket is to shop every 8 days (rather than once a week) you can always find something for dinner in cupboard or have leftovers for that one extra day (dont buy more to cover it). after 7 weeks you will have saved a whole weeks grocery money.
jason palmer comments ...
Have less kids, people are the problem.
Some people even have no kids and spend all their cash on lots of foreign holidays, people say they are not green BUT... their level of of pollution will end when they do.
The unborn buy nothing,consume nothing, use no land.
frantasia comments ...
Make a good plant feed by soaking nettles in water, leave a few days and then use 1part nettle mix to 10 parts water for your veg. You can then top up what's left, the longer you leave it, the stronger (so it's said).
It pongs to high heaven, but the smell can be kept under wraps by using old milk cartons or similar and lids can be kept on until the liquid is needed.
Nettle is high in nitrogen.
This can also be done with comfrey which is good for plants which need potassium.
Borage and dandelion also make good feeds done in this way.
Many people recommend any mix of ANNUAL weeds. Though I haven't done this myself, I've certainly use and still do nettle, borage and dandelion feeds. Also, I don't worry too much about the 1-10 thing, if I need to water because of dry weather, I just give a good splash of the pong into it.
Anna Moon comments ...
We've just furnished our new yurt entirely from unwanted items from friends, family and freecycle and our local bootsale has been a treasure trove of fantastic bargains. oh.....and we're brewing our own elderflower champagne and working for our local organic farm in exchange for fruit and veg. thanx for all the other great ideas.....what an inspirational bunch u all are xxx
spikeslaw comments ...
FREE BIRTHDAY/CHRISTMAS etc CARDS!
just cut out magazines, newspapers etc that people throw away and make beautiful cards and envelopes from them....people will appreciate them MUCH more than just buying them!
Ana comments ...
I have noticed that when I follow the natural day-night clock, of waking up at sunrise and going to bed at dusk I generally feel better, pity that I can not do the same in winter and rest a bit longer, we human have totally forgotten what it's normality and it's a pity because we would all feel much more healthier and happier.
I like your quote Mark; it's about wanting to do much less too. A careful warning for all here, there are still left a big green market to be exploited.
And thanks for all the tips.
Martin Davis comments ...
Learn from mistakes!
I'm really really good at saving money in many ways, but I often let myself down in other ways which effectively renders much of my money saving useless.
The other day I went to see a friend in another town, and arriving very late I didn't want to wake them. I didn't want to spend on accomodation and my journey thoughts were all about saving money & environmenty stuff, having driven there using recycled sustrainable cheep/free seed oils as fuel, eating left over food blah blah. So I slept in the vehicle in a sports centre car park - all good, but woke up to find a £50 parking fine had been stuck on my window! grrrr!
This is just one example. I think about saving money in so many ways, but have realised that doing this sometimes causes me to overlook obvious stuff and make stupid mistakes that cost me way more than I've saved!
Only thing I can do is learn from it and work on improving (glass half full and all that!)
:)
Mon comments ...
If you have to buy heating oil, go and set up a neighbourhood heating oil club, so the larger the amount of oil is ordered from an oil supplier the lower the cost as you can haggle the price down.
Martin Davis comments ...
Know your weaknesses! If you don't, someone else does!
I say this, because I've learned the hard way that if you don't know and address your weaknesses - society knows them, uses, and tricks you into exposing them!
As much as I dislike large chain stores, supermarkets, fast food outlets I cannot deny they are amazingly clever.
Do you have a points card? Do you really think it's because they want to give you something free? Or do you think perhaps they want you voluntarially identify yourself with detailed information about who you are, where you live, and what you buy, so they can tailor their advertising! With these small bits of plastic they know if you have a baby because you've brought nappies, if you have a heart condition because of the pills you've purchased, if you're on a diet, have allergies or vegetarian, what size clothes you wear and what style you like, what hobbies you have, if you gamble, smoke, drink...
Even more reasons to never shop at supermarkets!
(Oh - and Facebook is doing this too, so be careful!)
:)
jason palmer comments ...
go to bed early, then when you wake early, you can read to natural sunlight
of course, on a night, one can listen to the radio in the dark :)
jason palmer comments ...
mark, have you seen this, from eustace conway
"I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the sun. The course of water over the earth is circular coming down from the sky and circulating through the world to spread life and then evaporating up again. I live in a circular teepee and build my fire in a circle. The life cycles of plants and animals are circular. I live outside where I can see this. The ancient people understood that our world is a circle, but we modern people have lost site of that. I don't live inside buildings because buildings are dead places where nothing grows, where water doesn't flow, and where life stops. I don't want to live in a dead place. People say that I don't live in a real world, but it's modern Americans who live in a fake world, because they have stepped outside the natural circle of life.
Do people live in circles today? No. They live in boxes. They wake up every morning in a box of their bedrooms because a box next to them started making beeping noises to tell them it was time to get up. They eat their breakfast out of a box and then they throw that box away into another box. Then they leave the box where they live and get into another box with wheels and drive to work, which is just another big box broken into little cubicle boxes where a bunch of people spend their days sitting and staring at the computer boxes in front of them. When the day is over, everyone gets into the box with wheels again and goes home to the house boxes and spends the evening staring at the television boxes for entertainment. They get their music from a box, they get their food from a box, they keep their clothing in a box, they live their lives in a box.
Break out of the box!,,, This not the way humanity lived for thousands of years.
"
Ana comments ...
and do other things , Jason ... or if your desconsiderated neighbour wake you up in the middle of the night screaming 'give me the fck phone' and banging doors until sunrise etc., as we often experience. Nice sharing the planet not with all of you surely.
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ DTails - this is a global blog, so Stokes Croft won't mean anything to most people here, but I think the point is probably to set up a 'Free shop' in your area if there isn't already one; no resources needed to be wasted on cash registers, CCTV or sending the company accounts with this one.
derek robertson comments ...
If you're current computer packs up, or you are fed up with endless
expensive hardware/software upgrades, go the GNU/Linux route. This is a
fully fledged operating system with all of the applications you could
want and can be tailored to run on very modest kit (the sort of old
hardware that some are glad to give away for free). I'm writing this
using GNU/Linux installed on a nine year old machine.
GNU/Linux generally runs under the GPL license which grants you the
following freedoms (taken from FSF's excellent site www.gnu.org):
freedom from restriction, freedom to share and copy, freedom to learn
and adapt, and freedom to work with others.
GNU/Linux and it's applications are developed collaboratively worldwide
and is a testament to what can be achieved through cooperation and
commitment to free software .
A caveat. Initially there is likely to be a bit of a learning curve.
If you can get someone already familiarised with it then that will make
relatively short work of installing and using Linux. A good chance for
an exchange of skills and knowledge!
In my opinion GNU/Linux is highly applicable to the freeconomy
community. Something done for the common good, encouraging an increase
in skills and participation in an important community asset, that frees
you from becoming the passive consumer of somebody else's product.
ravi comments ...
Buddhas second noble truth is that the direct cause of suffering are desire and ignorance. We mostly need money to satisfy out cravings, if we can reduce our desires we will automatically save money!
Vancouverite comments ...
- grow your own fruit and bottle (called canning in N America) any excess for the winter (freezers use way more energy to keep things). I get a lot of fruit free by helping my urban neighbours with their harvest.
- forage for fruit to can, make into fruit leather or cordial for the winter. Before anyone says this isn't possible, I live within 2km of downtown Vancouver and find lots of blackberries and rose hips (and not along roadways either). Lemon Balm, which will grow in a pot on a balcony, makes great cordial.
- grow your own vegetables. Lettuce will grow in pots on a balcony - I have friends in Washington DC who grow salad leaves and all their herbs this way.
- give up your car and bike, use transit (public transport), with or without the bike. I'm old, have arthritis in my knees and have to wear a leg brace, but do all my local travel this way up to 30km away, and started doing it before I retired from full time work. It's just a mind set, and you'll be surprised how much you enjoy it.
- give up flying and take the train (with your bike), and take transit when you get to your destination. May cost more up front, but is saving you money in the long run in helping to mitigate the costs associated with global climate change.
- put water barrels to collect your rain water for watering your veg plot.
- compost. You can make an indoor worm composter for apartments and offices (Vancouver City sells these and they work well), or make one. Mine all came free from Craigslist. Compost is free fertilizer from stuff that gets thrown away. I advertised on Craiglist and now have 2 other people contributing to my compost. They bring their peelings etc in bags and drop them off.
-dry herbs from your garden over the summer and put them in bags to give as presents.
-make a drop spindle out of a chop stick with a picture hook screwed into the top, with a large washer or a doughnut bead as a whorl. Learn to spin from a YouTube video. Spin cotton balls and knit them into face/dish cloths - they last forever and can be thrown in the washing machine. You can do the spinning while you sit on the bus as the spindle is so portable - people are curious and you make lots of friends.
- Cut the sleeves off old sweaters and sew a thin strip of an old bike inner tube into the top (inside). Makes great biking arm warmers.
-collect the dropped petals from any flowers in your garden that have a perfume. Dry them in the shade in the summer and make pot pourri.
-dry any excess tomatoes from your harvest (in the oven while you're making fruit leather!) and store them in oil to use in the winter.
-burn a CD of your favourite music, cut a square of paper the size of a paper CD case. Paint a colourful picture onto it and slip it in the case with the CD (the round 'window' in the case will make your art work look great!). Give it away to a friend.
-get a small tent (Craiglist is a good source) and a foam mat, pack your paniers and take your bike for a comping holiday. If you're more comfort orientated, join the Warm Showers organisation and sleep in other cyclist's spare rooms on your travels.
jason palmer comments ...
how about tips on making more money, or more barter.... organise markets ?
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Ravi - my sentiments exactly.
@ Jason Palmer - lovely quotes earlier, thank you for that, but this really isn't the place for money-making tips!
Martin Davis comments ...
Don't go food shopping when you're hungry! Let your brain do the thinking, not your stomach.
(friend told me that one - it's works!)
PS - especially try not to walk past a fast food place when hungry! ;)
Martin Davis comments ...
"We want to know where our money is going - so that it isn't going to something evil"
This is what the Levellers said when I interviewed them for a local mag and asked them why they run their own festival, do their own producing and have their own studio...
Ok - sometimes we spend. Mark is a great inspiration that helps people like me keep thinking about it and keep working at it.
- Do we ‘need’ to spend?
- What are there alternatives?
- If no alternative - where does the money go?
So another reason to support local suppliers, farm shops, or not spend is to know where your money is going.
Hopefully we’re also inspiring Mark to keep up the good work with our tips too :)
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Derek Robertson - I'm a Linux/Ubuntu convert and use open-source software myself, and am writing an article about it for the Guardian in August. Any information in the meantime about 'Computers for free' would be much appreciated. Thanks Derek, I agree, very much in keeping with the philosophy of Freeconomy.
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Martin Davis - you certainly all are, some really useful stuff in here.
sagey comments ...
Eh up Mark,
Hope your feeling healthy and in positive spirits this fine eve.
Not intending to stir things up fella, but tis always good to consider the words we use.
With reference to your New Rule:
How does it stand up to the issue of being well fed and watered? certainly the whole 6 billion of us are not - which, following you rule to the word, would lead you to be willingly malnurished and thirsty?
In respect
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Sagey - 6.5 billion of us could easily have enough food and water, it is the distribution of it and the politics surrounding it that is the major problem, so I see absolutely no problem with the rule in this respect.
I agree, I think it is important to consider the words we use, and more importantly, to think about them in depth before we use them! In respect and love.
Martin Davis comments ...
Gifts -
Society (urm, shops!) want you to believe that showing love means buying presents! Christmas, Valentines (eek!)…
I can happily forego buying for myself, but it’s really hard to cut back spending on others.
Out of all presents I’ve ever received the, and ones I remember and cherish most are ones where something has been made for me... For my birthday my dad helped me build a fence – brilliant! A friend made me a really great picture out of fluff of my pet rabbits and tortoise - yey!
Using imagination and making or doing something for someone is more powerful by far – it really shows someone you have thought of them, not just reached into your pocket.
(No, I’m not going to be cheesy and quote a Beatles song!)
;)
jason palmer comments ...
I like what someone wrote about rockt salad, focus on the expensive items, not the little stuff.
Lots of people drive big, new, expensive cars to asda, to shop , and save pennies instead of just not having a car or having a cheaper car.
Mind you, status symbols and all that, people are a strange bunch sometimes.
Ana comments ...
For good alchemists only; it will be very useful to learn how to make soap from ash as mention in the John Seymour 'Il libro dell'autosufficienza' (unfortunately I've got the book in Italian, so I found it difficult to translate in words/practice and I failed to make it, but I did learn some Italian though). Anyaway if someone have ever been successful, please let me know. I gave up the idea because we haven't got a fireplace anymore, but it could be a practice worth of exploring, Mark.
comments ...
mark,
I am meeting up with some people from my local freeconomy on the 19th, going 'face to face' is best, and in the book, you enjoyed the weekly skills meeting etc.
Think I may try make it into a weekly meeting, I remember reading that London societies often met weekly, in pubs.
Perhaps weekly freeconomy meetings would boost money saving, as people would end up with like minded friends, to swap books,skills,work the friends land if you have none of your own etc. etc.
A community of like minded people living close by is not as good as all on the communal farm but it is a good start :)
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ the no-named commenter above!
Fantastic, I couldn't agree more, and would encourage Freeconomy members in all parts of the world that still haven't got active local groups to take the initiative and get one going.
If anyone ever needs any advice regarding this, please just ask.
Vancouverite comments ...
Any information in the meantime about 'Computers for free' would be much appreciated
Mark, here's two organisations that give away computers. One is Canadian, the other N American. Not much help to you, I know, but Free Geeks do have a page on how to set up a Free Geek in your area.
http://www.rebootcanada.ca/
http://freegeekvancouver.org/
Penny
Alf comments ...
A friend of mine once let me into a little secret about why he had chosen to start forsaking large quantities of his stuff. He had experienced an enlightened moment when instead of seeing his VCR, or stack of DVD's, he had this overriding feeling that he was seeing thieves in his living room. Each item that he didn't use, or didn't really need, had become a distraction away from what was important in his life. In fact, it was much stronger than this - he realised that he had been allowing these items to actually steal his life away.
Materially-speaking, we only NEED food and clothing. Some may argue that shelter is a necessity, but for many people this is just a luxury. Realising how little we ultimately need and making a commitment to experiment with the practicalities of this realisation, is a sure way of saving even more money! The more content we become, investing in positive projects and people, the less we feel we need the things that money buys.
Money-saving tips... foraging for food, either from dumpsters or in the wild, is a great start. Nettle soup (and free food in general) tastes great!
Doing something... ANYTHING creative and meaningful (e.g. volunteer work) usually ends up inspiring us and is a positive investment of time, rather than seeking material ratification. The more we get pleasure just from living, the less we look for things to bring meaning to our lives.
I also believe, as others have touched on, that sharing, rather than money, really could make the world go round. If we aren't willing to put some effort getting things spinning in the right direction, we can't expect others to do so.
Asking ourselves each time BEFORE we do or buy anything, whether what we are doing or buying is really necessary and/or helpful, is likely to lead to less money being spent too.
indigospirit comments ...
Wow, what a lot of information! I joined after reading Mark's book which made me think a lot! I do what I can to not spend money having accrued a lot of debt in the past and it can be a lot of fun getting things for little or no money! I do it in shops all the time - yesterday got fab designer wallpaper for £5 a roll at B&Q, last week got a nearly new carpet on ebay for a fraction of the price and then "found" some laminate flooring that someone had discarded which will be recycled for my bathroom. Not spending money doesn't mean not having nice things - that's what I think anyway.
Mr Herman comments ...
I came to a conclusion that the less money I waste on unnecessary things, the less i have to spend my life labouring at work.
Gain wisdom and knowledge and resist the temptations of buying nonsens.
Mr Herman comments ...
O yes one more thing,
i am very far in building my own coffee table using offcuts and material other people dont want anymore.
Saving me al lot of money.
sagey comments ...
Eh up Mark,
Thanks for your reply fella. I've re-read the 'New Rule' blog and see where I went wrong. You wrote, "if 6.5 bilion can't, then neither will I". I took this to mean that if 6.5 billion aren't well fed or have enough water to drink then either should we - a different interpretation of the rule and I stand corrected. Apologies for suggesting that you need to consider your words, when , as you correctly and gracefully pointed out, it is I that needs to consider my words more fully.
Here's to policies and actions that aim to feed and water all of the world's people.
Good Health and Gratefulness
Thanks
sagey
oceanic comments ...
@ Alf
thanks for sharing that alf, yr friends enlightening moment just helped me dig out a huge pile of clothes that were stealing my life force. now other people can enjoy them! :)
oceanic comments ...
@ Mark
i'm interested in how yr doing with the desires? has not using money for all this time lessened yr desires? do you dream about chocolate and red wine? or have the desires just shifted focus? is the land/community process fulfilling the craving.....satisfying the in built human need to want more?
comments ...
Oceanic, according to Buddhist teachings; all kind of (physical, mental, spiritual) desires/wants are arising in our mind every moment, get rid of one and other appears in its place, perhaps it's what makes us humans and keep the things rolling so to speak. Of course some desires are better than others, the ones that make up us grow as humans beings are the ones we should strive for and in this right livelihood not only are you supporting others to live a rightful life, but we too benefit ourself in the process. The difficulty is to identify what the right livelihood is. ?
jennyj comments ...
Go around supermarkets or markets nearer closing time, as fruit and veg is often sold off cheap.
Cleaning - white vinegar cleans lots of surfaces, limescale and windows, and it can be shops own brand!!
oceanic comments ...
unnamed, re buddhist teachings:
exactly! hence my question.
having my own journey/struggle with those ever multiplying cravings, i'm always interested in how other people are getting along on their journey. travelers tales....you can't really learn from anothers experience but you can get a vague map of the pot holes and beauty spots along the way!
marks certainly opted for a road less travelled so i'm curious to know how he's getting along.
eek...right livelihood in these times is a proper headache! kinda why i'm so interested in what mark is up to....if i follow my train of current thoughts on this to their logical extremes, i either end up where mark is, or shave my head and don robes! not sure i'm up to either but marks path seems more doable, for this life time at least.
rather off topic now, so i'll end with a tip:
if you must drive a car, run it on waste veg oil:
www.bio-power.co.uk
some rather lovely freeconomists put me on to it and i'm absorbing the info ready for the switch. feels great :)
Emma comments ...
How to attract and feed goldfinches AND cut down on mowing:
I am not a big fan of lawns in the monoculture/suppress anything other than grass genre. We do, however have two small areas of grass which, over the years, have been reclaimed by many other plants.
This year, I noticed a patch of dandelions, I left them to grow and flower, and then to seed, which was when four goldfinches started visiting my garden to feast on the seeds. It was a joy to watch them, they would land on one of the dandelion stalks, grab a second stalk in their beak, pull it over and hold it with the first, then pull over a third to make a tripod to stand on while they tucked into the seeds!
It occured to me that I was not only using less energy, electricity, time etc by mowing less, I was also providing organic bird food which occured without packaging or food miles.
Kruse comments ...
Save money by buying the very best. Buy proper clothes for our environment; tweed, wool and linen for winter, linen for summer. These fabrics improve with age, will last for years and years, come from sustainable sources, and will help to support local communities. Yes, they cost a lot of money but the initial investment will pay for itself over and over in hardiness, comfort and repairability. A good tweed winter coat costs about £400. However, buy in the sales and save yourself quite a bit on that. The coat will last you for at least 20 years with perhaps some small repairs, say £20 worth. Over a 20 year period that coat will work out at about £20 per year. The same with shoes. Buy really good quality, preferably handmade, shoes that you can get repaired. They will literally last you a lifetime! And the cost? Buy in the sale and a pair of handmade shoes will cost you around £250. They will last you say another 40 years and will need reparing probably every couple of years at around £10 per repair which is £450 all together, divide that sum by 40 and your beautiful, sustainable handmade shoes cost around £11 per year!!
It is crazy what people spend on fashion. Buy excellent quality, make your own, buy real fabrics, learn to knit, support our (sustainable) woollen and linen industries, repair and care and wear clothing fit for the planet.
derek robertson comments ...
Just wondering Mark, if you were asking for more info on free computers or free software?
Assuming the latter there was one more suggestion regarding GNU/Linux that is worth considering if anyone out there is contemplating trying it out. There are popular distributions such as Ubuntu, Mandriva and Fedora, etc that offer a live cd.
You can create a live cd or dvd by downloading the live version of the distro of your choice, burning it onto a cd or dvd, then you just pop
the cd into your cd/dvd drive, reboot your pc, and the operating system launches from the cd giving you access to a fully functional GNU/Linux system. It will run slower than an actual install, but will give you the chance to check that all of the hardware is picked up ok, and give you a taste of running Linux. If you like it, there is generally an install option. Make sure you back up all of your personal data before going down that road.
There is another live cd/dvd which was the forerunner of them all called Knoppix. This is an excellent live cd/dvd to try, and worth keeping
anyway as a repair cd, or just as a general demonstration cd to use, or to pass onto some one else to spread the word.
In terms of efforts local to Bristol, to help provide free or cheap hardware, the following link might be of help:
http://www.knowlewest.co.uk/2010/06/free-low-cost-computer-scheme/
Best wishes, Derek
P.S. Apologies if this comes out wonky again, but I edit this in a text editor and then copy and paste it into the text box - dunno why it turns it out the way it does...
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ This weeks blog on the Guardian is called about cleaning without money. If you have any tips or advice regarding personal hygiene without cash, post on there if you get a chance.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/12/moneyless-man-soap-free-hygiene
Ana comments ...
Perhaps a healthy diet can help, but inevitably humans we smell and we smell worse as we're getting older (is part of the deterioration of older hood). In the past the traditional family living together, everybody were familiar with each other smells and develop a certain tolerance to it, now clinical cleanliness obsession is the norm, sometimes to balance that I'm not washing and changing excessively my children' clothes and allowing some tears and dirty is healthy. Soapwort and other saponing plants are only seasonal plants, and you will need a good supplier of dry stuff to last you a full year. I knew exceptionally someone who never use soap/shampoo and seem coping well with it. I know too that 'living out off civilization' it does not harm you to neglected cleanliness to certain extend but if everyday are you in contact with others it's only polite/respectful a minimum body hygiene. When living in a community you're going to need a good supplier of soap for healthy/aesthetic reasons.
Ana comments ...
The cuttlefish toothpaste is interesting, but I would like to know how long does it last and/or does it go moldy without preservative?(perhaps adding some salt ...), since I live near the sea, I'm going to have a go. I use salt for my teeth and as deodorant for my armpits. I've stopped using vinegar for my last hair rinse because my children said I smelt like salad : D : D. For my periods I've been making my own rags for years, same I used clothes nappies with my children when babies ...
Ana comments ...
... I shower everyday, and one/two baths weekly after my children have the bath with the same water, that optional for u ; )
When we holiday (always camping) you can use ash for washing-up, soil do to.
kara comments ...
i made me and my children sandals out of thrown out scrambling bike tyres. its really easy, and they last years. haven t got the link, but there s a guy on the net whose posted a nice simple design. easy to find with google search.
my latest wild forage succes has been wild gooseberry and elderflower jam. sooo good!
ga67 comments ...
What we need to do is become a real community,with objectives and structure not just an online feelgood community.The main thrust of the community should be to lower our individual living costs.Growing our own food,biofuels and housing should be our primary targets if we our going to make any progress in freeing ourdelves from our relieance on money.The first step is to find out just who is ready to start making real changes with action .I suggest we look at setting up a collection a local social enterprises with the aim of addressing these three issues.Anyone out there interested message me with your ideas.
Dusky comments ...
Hi Mark, I decide to watch the Youtube clip of you living without money for so long, reminded by GoaFenny, and congratulate you on your perseverance and stamina...and then saw the one when you went off to some supermarket and collected all this packaged food thrown out by the supermarket somewhere was it Bristol, or Bath...and then I thought, well thats the way to get food on the cheap when you dont have to pay for stuff...and remembered that this used to happen in my local supermarket Tesco in Seven Sisters Tottenham, where food would be chucked out and I heard or someone told me that a whole bunch of Eastern Europeans would go up to these huge bins and collect loads of food off them. The next time I tried to find out a bit more so that I could got and get some, I heard that Tesco had started squirting disinfectant and detergent all over the packs so that they could not be edible. I was completely shocked and gobsmacked that Tesco would do something like that. Of course when I asked them they denied this. I dont see those bins any longer where people could come and get stuff.....so there you go...thats how it works! or doesnt work, as the case may be! Who wouldnt like to live for free...but its not easy is it really?
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Dusky - the Guardian video was just raising awareness of the issues involved, waste food makes up about 1%-5% of my diet. Please try not to take one piece of edited footage as representing an entire philosophy. It's almost all about growing and foraging.
Of course its not easy. Nothing worthwhile is. Thanks Dusky.
Dusky comments ...
I just rang Tesco to ask them what they did with the food they were chucking out...the manager said they are taken away in the trucks and sent to landfill. I asked him why when there are so many hungry people out there, and he said: Well thats company policy...theyve spent money on that food and want to recycle it that way!! sometimes Ive picked up something from the Reduced Counter and when Ive reached the sales point they notice that its out of date and refuse to sell it to me, but the food is in perfectly good condition. Its the big fat cats that will make it hard to live without money. Look at the headmaster of that primary school...he is happy to take 1/4 million salary and rides into the school on his bike. I wonder what he intends to do with all that dosh!!
davidg comments ...
Wee! It's free and it's a fantastic feed for all those plants out there. Some say it's fine to put on neat but generally most say dilute down to 1:3 approx. I feel it also helps to feel more connected to the whole cycle of nature- the plants feed us, we feed them, give and take, in a very direct way. We should be doing this with poo too, but there is more stigma to get over with this one and is difficult in urban environments. But with wee, we can all wee in a watering can/ bucket and apply to plants/ lawns etc. Very high in nitrogen and other nutrients too.
Ana comments ...
Let's talk about wee, davidg.
Male wee is good for the compost heaps.
I have heard the story that prisoners of the WW2 used to wee on their cracked hands to cure them.
Urine therapy; some kind of yogic practice where you do fasting and drinking your own urine for body healing. I know, it sounds nauseating.
btw. Natural and free treatments for health and welbeing, that could be another good article, Mark.
davidg comments ...
Why only male wee? this is a myth..it is only easier for us to pee on the compost heap, that is all. I cannot see that there is any difference otherwise. And why only on the compost heap? the plants, as long as the soil is relatively healthy to process it, can have it applied directly. We "throw away" so much useful "waste" through misconceptions, mistruths and fears, and create waste by putting these things into the wrong places in our environments- eg polluting our rivers and oceans with nitrogen from our wee that the plants would love. (and then making fertilisers from petrol, producing more waste in energy production etc)
oceanic comments ...
nothin wrong with female wee....as long as the female in question isn't on the pill. chemical and drug intake are things to think about with compost toilets in general.
urine therapy is great. you don't have to drink huge quantities. just a little dab on yr tongue every morning is enough to let yr body know what is going on and adjust itself accordingly. its not actually disgusting, you've just been programmed that way!
another good addition to yr compost is menstrual blood. get yr self a mooncup and give yr plants a monthly treat! (also good to paint with....but that's quite advanced disgusting deprogramming!)
oceanic comments ...
@ ga67
couldn't figure out how to msg you.
yes.
what part of the country are you in?
there is a freeconomy gathering near hereford on weekend of 28/29th august if yr in the area :)
Steve comments ...
1.Fit a dynamo to your bike and use the dynamo to charge a battery pack whilst you are cycling.
2. Ask friends and family to save 'those' plastic mushroom trays as sold in s_permarkets and use them for growing salad or seedlings in, I,m using some that have been going for almost a decade so plenty of usage from these extravagant mushroom wrappers.
3. Roasted cleaver seeds make a good coffee substitute, roast the seeds, crush them and away you go.
Cleaver is an invasive plant which is good as both the plant and seeds can be used in various beverages and preparations.
4. Black carrier bags are great for growing tomatoes and peppers/chillis in as they absorb the suns heat and keep the soil nice and warm for the roots.
you simply use the handles of the carrier bag to hang the tomato plants off sheds and walls.
I,d strongly recommend using a heirloom tumbler variety of tomato to grow in the bags.
Dusky comments ...
hey Mark, I just seen you on the Debt Managing Programme in Liverpool with that 'bloke' who did a bit of skinnydipping with you!! Your nettle tea is getting very popular as an alternative by now...I shall forage for some, but not looking forward to getting my hands stung. ive seen you make the tea twice or thrice now for guests to your humble abode. I hope the idea continues for a long time to come. Perhaps with the big black hole in the economy that the present government are trying to reduce by raising taxes and what not, it is time for us all to go 'moneyless' Keep it up...and you may soon get faithful followers...I just thought there is another famous 'Boyle' emerging already...good on ya!
comments ...
My husband and I are American "senior citizens". One of many things we do is trade babysitting of our two little grandsons for a share of my son's weekly organic food box (community supported agriculture). It saves them a lot of cash for baby-sitting, we get free veggies, and have a delightful time playing with the little boys about once a week. We also gave up our car six years ago and ride only public transportation, moved to a smaller condo thus saving money on heating and cooling, and have weekly family dinners at home instead of restaurants for seven of us---much cheaper plus it solidifies our family---our chief aim. Thanks for all you are doing to "rally the troops" for more sustainable living!
Nanette in Denver, Colorado, USA
Life Asis comments ...
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Everyone
Wow! I should let you folk write this blog more often. Maybe I should just pick a topic from now on, and you can all discuss.
Some fantastic tips here. I'll just leave one for now, a tip from Epicurus:
"If you want to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his money, but subtract from his desires."
Nice try Mark more like
Wow! I should use you folks to write my Guardian Column as i 've run out of my own ideas already.
I'll pretend it's actually a discussion and talk nonsense about weaving your tips into future Guardian posts but actually i'm desperately
relying on you to come up with all these ideas in order for me to keep my Column going.
Can't anyone see through this guy,
We are being used for his pathetic little column.
Which we are writing it for him
Basically Mark,you want us to write your column which is what we are saying with this so called blog of yours.
And For This
Maybe I should just pick a topic from now on, and you can all discuss.
Read
Maybe i should just let you write it while i do nothing and then present your ideas as my own The Guardian will be weeing themselves with how great my ideas are BUT THEY ARE YOURS just
presented as mine.
I can see right through you Mark.
Are you going to pay for these ideas which you
will be presenting as your own,you get paid to do
your column so if we are going to write it for you
surely we should be paid .
Have you no ideasor tips of your own.
How sad that you have to stoop to this and dress it up as something else.
Come on you mean
Thanks guys i'll carry on be
Some fantastic tips here. I'll just leave one for now, a tip from Epicurus:
comments ...
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ This weeks blog on the Guardian is called about cleaning without money. If you have any tips or advice regarding personal hygiene without cash, post on there if you get a chance.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/12/moneyless-man-soap-free-hygiene
Here we go again
Mark you are paid yes PAID to write The Column
yourself so stop begging/stealing our ideas to do it for you.
If you are not up to it, which you clearly aren't
you shouldn't pretend you are.
I hope others can see right through you.
If noone responded you would have no column
Don't you have any ideas yourself?
i would like to make a suggestion Mark
WRITE YOUR OWN COLUMN
and stop using your site and us to do it for you.
comments ...
Trish Young comments
Troll Alert !
Directed at me is this Trish,so because i have a different view you have some sort of problem with
that,how very sad.
What are you scared of Trish ?
comments ...
Trish Young comments
Troll Alert !
Directed at me is this Trish,so because i have a different view you have some sort of problem with
that,how very sad.
What are you scared of Trish ?
Steve comments ...
I cant understand why people about cynical about Mark getting us involved in his Guardian pieces, whats wrong with involving a community in community matter duh???
I can only guess that the people who are coming out with this negative shite really don't have the bottle to do anything realistic about the dire situation we are all in.
Whatever these cynics think about what Mark is doing really doesnt matter a fart, old Mark is out there and doing it, not pontificating and being judgmental in front of an expensive laptop somewhere in Middle England.
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Life Asis - thanks for your comments.
@ Steve - thanks for that, it's probably very unlikely I'll use anything here in the articles anyway, I was just seeing if anyone had any projects they wanted promoted in the Guardian as projects I've written about in the past report it works really well for them. Thanks :)
Life Asis comments ...
Mark Boyle comments ...
@ Life Asis - thanks for your comments.
@ Steve - thanks for that, it's probably very unlikely I'll use anything here in the articles anyway, I was just seeing if anyone had any projects they wanted promoted in the Guardian as projects I've written about in the past report it works really well for them. Thanks :)
Mark,i don't recall you saying you would
be interested in promoting any projects we might
be involved in.
If i'm wrong please point me to where you actually say this and i will be the first to apologise.
This is what you did say regarding the column
'So what are your favourite money-saving tips? List or describe as many as you like'
And although you are now saying:
it's probably very unlikely I'll use anything here in the articles anyway.
It dosen't quite match up with what you said
previously which was:
Every two weeks I write a column for the Guardian called 'The Moneyless Man series', where I break down life into all its categories (food, travel, shelter etc) and show how you can do it without money. The best tips that come from this blog I'll weave into future Guardian posts, and link them to any source of information that you provide that goes with it, so that many more people can benefit from your collective wisdom.
Wow i should let you folk write this blog more
often
Maybe i should just pick a topic from now
on,and you can all discuss it.
Some fantastic tips here
If you were really interested in promoting projects we might be involved with, you would have asked Mark but you didn't.
As you are now trying to claim that you are i sugguest we tell you about some of our projects and you promote them in the column as you claim you want to do.
I would then not expect to see you asking for ideas/tips/sugguestions but member projects you could feature.
That's of course if it is true that this was your intention all along.
Life Asis comments ...
I cant understand why people about cynical about Mark getting us involved in his Guardian pieces, whats wrong with involving a community in community matter duh???
Nothing is wrong with this Steve if Mark was genuine in wanting to involve a community but
he isn't,he's running out of ideas so needs to use ours.
Why not be honest and say
' i need to keep this column going so would like
all your help in coming up with ideas/sugguestions/tips etc to do so',but he didn't did he,he's also not going to credit anyone other than himself for those ideas .
This is my problem with his Column.
I've quoted his own words, he is now trying
to claim that he only asked for input as he wanted to maybe promote member projects.
Not once has he said this or asked this Steve
this is the issue i have with all this.
Great involve a community if you are truly genuine
about doing so,but nothing he has said or done
indicates that he has the slightest interest in doing
this.
Read what he has written it's not about that
he needs to come up with ideas for his column and
he is using us to do so.
If i'm wrong well as he now claims that he wants
to promote member projects,lets talk to him about the projects we are all involved him and really see if he will as he claims put them in his column.
If it was about that why did he not say so in the begining erm he didn't.
It's only now that he is being challenged
that he has suddenly come up with this.
kara comments ...
what a shame to have to read these last few entries. it was all so positive and practical until then.
what does it matter who shares what where?
all i can see is that the more people hear these great ideas the better.and if anyone has any way of reaching a broader reader then go for it!
Steve comments ...
@ Asis
To be honest I really cant see what all the fuss is about regarding the Guardian pieces, my point still stands, Mark is out there 'doing it' and it seems the easiest thing in the world to point fingers and accusations about what he is doing and not doing.
If somebody has this level of commitment to action and positive change I am naturally inclined to support them over the Cynics, simple as.
Peter O'Connor comments ...
Well done to Mark. I'm not able to live without money - though I have to sometimes and we do manage to get by quite well on what is seen as about 80% of the poverty-line.
I too run a blog on eco living/life-styles and have some tips on same -. One page might be of interest http://pfiddle.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/avoiding-nasty-household-chemicals/
Bohemia comments ...
Sign up to receive a daily eco tip via email from - http://www.foe.co.uk/living/tips.html
Use Oliva soap which only contains 3 natural ingredients. One of which being olive oil which is a natural moisturiser. The others being water and mineral salts. Without going soap free, how much more natural can you get?! I guess you could use soap wart but if you don't have the space/time to grow it. Here is a link to it. They sell it in St.Nicks market in The Green Shop too. http://www.thegreenstoreonline.co.uk/default.aspx/Page/97/Product/100
Fill a bottle with pebbles/sand and water and place in your toilet cistern do reduce the amount of water used when you flush. - http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Any-Toilet-to-a-Low-Flush-Toilet
mamos comments ...
Go shopping one day later every week. If you normally do your weeks shopping on a saturday, next week do it on a sunday, then monday etc.
Throughout the year you will do 6 less shopping days.
If you spend say £100 a week for your families shopping that will be a whopping £600 a year saving.
mamos comments ...
Build a single speed bike.
There are loads of old racing bikes out there that nobody wants but they are easy to turn into an up to the minute trendy single speed. Search on youtube for videos on how to build a single speed bike. If you do not have the tools, partner up with someone on the free economy network who has. Make a new bike, make a new friend.
karthikeya comments ...
It will be better to use fountain pens than ball point pens as the ink in fountain pens in cheaper and no more plastic pollution .If there is plastic pollution we need to spend money to get red of it
trd comments ...
Cycle don't drive. If you can, sell the car.
When waiting for the shower to run hot collect the cold water in a bucket. Then pour the water in the cistern after you've flushed the loo. You get two flushes per shower for free that way.
Oh and if you haven't got a water meter do so it saves about £200 a year.
shena comments ...
I never buy poly bags as so many come through my door on pamphlets and supplements. I t would probably be better to put a notice up to stop having these wasteful fliers put through the letterbox but......at least I make good use of them.
As the founder of Secretseedsociety.com I would have to say grow your own is central to living sustainably but so many people who do grow their own don't know what to do with the produce. At this time of year everyone has courgettes but come the winter the fresh taste of Summer Courgettes will be welcome in soup, ratatouille, and courgette cake.
Steve Moyer comments ...
Share the Wisdom. We need a focal point and a set of standards for how to do so. We already are sharing the wisdom ... in thousands of ways .. but we lack standards. It king of like have a national railroad where every town and city has it's own standard for railroad tracks. We need the standards. Please come to my group on Facebook or send me email if you have any suggestion on how we can collect and redistribute our wisdom more efficiently and intelligently.
Steve Moyer
Founder, "Synergy Nation - a nation for all humanity"
http://facebook-sn.nodes.net
http://synergynation.net
Erika comments ...
When I take a shower I first make my hair wet, and in the mean time my body. Then I turn off the tap and start soaping my hair and body. It saves water and soap because when the water is running, half of the soap you use will rinse away without cleaning anything.
Erika comments ...
In the Netherlands we've got this site "gratisaftehalen.nl" getforfree.nl. If you've got something you don't want any more you put it on this site and someone will pick it up in no time. It's like ebay for free things. Have you got that in the UK?
I buy last years curtain samples and make them into cushion covers. You can also make beautiful costumes out of them.
Nico comments ...
use the library! no books to buy, or movies for that matter, and I can reserve specific titles of each any time I like.
Tat comments ...
Great vision! I've read and thought about the ways to live with "less" money and that if a moneyless culture (or even subculture) is to exist, there will be a period whereby the moneyless subculture will cannabalized the moneyed cultures. Even you scrounge for scraps discarded by the supermarkets as waste. In a more efficient economy, this waste will be reduced significantly or be non-existent altogether. I believe that we will have to live with technology genie has long been out of the bottle and find ways to balance it's use vs it's abuse. I'm for sustainable economies that view the Earth as a closed resource-based system that takes into account "non-renewables" such as the metal ore out of the ground, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. Factoring these and the cost of environmental remediation resulting from harvesting the Earth of it's resources will possibly result in economies that are more environmentally and humanly sustainable.
comments ...
if you don't have a pen and paper, draw it in the sand with a stick
if you dont havea book to read, go outside. look up at the stars and make up a story.
if you don't have a movie to watch, tell your story that you made up to some friends around a campfire, and toast marshmallows
if you dont have a musical instrument to play, sing
if you have never hitchiked, try it just once, to see what its like, and always smile
if you dont have a plate or bowl, make a one out of clay using coils or pinching, its easy
if you dont have clay, take your kids out on trip to the river and collect some
if you don't have kids, go to the park and bring a ball, they will come to you, you might find some dog friends too
if you don't have a bottle of wine, pretend you do, and talk over loudly, giggle at nothing, wobble around, make toasts to kings and queens
if you don't have a chair, go out and find a an old log, cut it into good sized slice, sand it a bit, and sit on it
if you don't have a saw, ask a neighbour
if you dont have a pillow, sew one and experiment with different stuffings, try shredded bits of old clothes, feathers you have collected.
if you dont havea pair of sandals, grab a piece of rope thats been lying around and make a pair
if you don't know how to entertain your kids, let them entertain you
if you don't know how to do something, ask someone, or just try think about it for a bit, then just do it, think about how macguiver would do it, and don't give up trying till you have it
if you don't have any stress - don't worry, thats the way its suppose to be
"oh, i forgot"
KatHodgkinson comments ...
Not all of us can buy land and run off to the country right away, so I've been trying to think of ways to change my lifestyle right here in the city. I called my city inspectors office and asked them if there are any restrictions for using alternative energy systems in my house located in the city. I asked them if I could catch water, use greywater, utilize solar and wind power. To my surprise, they said that they have no restrictions, except for sewage issues.
My tip is to utilize what you have, keep your existing house, and try to use less money while living in the city. Then share your successes with others.
Think of ways to consume less utilities. Become less dependent on the companies who control what is coming through the wires to your house - electricity, gas, water, cable, phone. Bring down the demand for utilities. I'm trying to find ways to catch rain water to use in my house and garden. I light candles after dark. It's very pleasant and romantic. I usually leave one lit in the main room and kitchen. I used to grow a lot of decorative indoor plants which took a lot of time and did not produce food. So I began to replace those plants with food-producing plants only. I now grow herbs indoors year round.
Of course, it would be great to develop a group of freeconomists in my community, so that is my next goal. I have also developed a list of free and low-cost things that are available in my community. The list includes information, food, goods, services, events, etc. I plan to share the list with others. I also use the freecycle website. Thanks for all of your tips guys!
