The Moneyless Man cover art

The Moneyless Man

A Year of Freeconomic Living

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Moneyless Man

By: Mark Boyle
Narrated by: David Thorpe
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £13.34

Buy Now for £13.34

About this listen

Imagine a year without spending - or even touching - money. Former businessman Mark Boyle did just that and here is his extraordinary story. Going back to basics and following his own strict rules, Mark learned ingenious ways to eliminate his bills and discovered that good friends are all the riches you need.

Encountering seasonal foods, solar panels, skill-swapping schemes, cuttlefish toothpaste, compost toilets, and - the unthinkable - a cash-free Christmas, Boyle puts the fun into frugality and offers some great tips for economical (and environmentally friendly) living. A testament to Mark's astounding determination, this witty and heart-warming book will make you re-evaluate your relationship to your wallet.

©2010 Mark Boyle (P)2012 Audible Ltd Money Inspiring Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

"Essential and enjoyable reading. The fascinating story of an important social experiment, told with humility, insight, and great humour." (Chris Cleave, Sunday Times best-selling author of The Other Hand and Guardian columnist)
All stars
Most relevant

Would you listen to The Moneyless Man again? Why?

tbh this review comes after listening to this book about 7 times and yes i would still listening again

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Moneyless Man?

some of the statistics were awful, but in all it was the honesty and humour that was most memorable

Have you listened to any of David Thorpe’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No but i would, his voice is clear and easily enjoyable to listen along to

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

peoples generosity

Any additional comments?

Is it possible to live without money and consumer ego mentality - i think so - especially after reading Mark Doyle's "The Moneyless Man"

Excellent book innovative and inspiring - well written x

very affirming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really good book, gave me loads of inspiration for my next adventure. Thank you really enjoyed it

Worth a read if you want to go off grid

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overall this was a really interesting look at an alternative way of living.

There were definitely some aspects I subscribe to, but in some instances despite a certain growing self awareness I did find the author a bit SJW.

It's certainly given me some new ideas, and reaffirmed ones I'd had in living more frugally, even if not moneyless. This book has also woken me up to being more open to opportunities to try new things.

Well worth a listen.

Food for thought

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyable and very interesting. The writer gives information throughout on sustainable living without preaching. To the point, with a nice journey over the year without money.

Interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One's liking or disliking of this book will largely be decided by one's attitude to man-made climate-change, capitalism, and a conventional agriculture. No prizes for guessing that he is against all three. This book could well have been called 'THE MONEY-LESS VEGAN' If you find that a turn-off then do not buy.

I quickly found myself a non-believer and believed less and less as the 6 hours dragged on.
Firstly, Boyle's analysis of 'what money is' struck me as tremendously biased and rather unimaginative. For him money is entrapping, it is debt and it is a method of enslavement. Possibly this is true, but personally I have always found it very useful for storing the value of my labour and ensuring the cooperation of those around me.

The cooperation of those around him is what Boyle depends heavily upon- 'security from Community not from Money.', 'Cooperation not competition.' No one could disagree that this is broadly a good thing- but on a large scale it's not human nature- What happens when someone wants more than their fair share? How do we cooperate with the non-cooperative? Mark Boyle hopes for a moneyless Eden, with no Original Sin.

In the meantime who is going to fund the Nuclear deterent, the cure for cancer... or the internet? The internet is particually key because if there is one thing that Mr Boyle believes in it is Publicity- not, we are to understand, for reasons of egoism but to 'get the message across' and to promote his ideas of 'Freeconomy' Hence a rather tiresome theme running through the book is a blow-by-blow account of his dealings with the Media and his excitement at the interest they take in his experiment. The internet is to the 'Freeconomic' community, more or less, what oil is to the transport industry- but any suggestion of the way computer production or internet access can be sustainably managed without money is not given by Mark Boyle.

Space is running out- but why such an English narrator for such an Irish writer?

An attempt to picnic in Eden

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews