Yes, you read the title of this blog correctly – Daniel Suelo hasn’t spent any money in the past nine years. None. You have heard of a zero carbon footprint, but Daniel is more about a zero currency footprint. In fact, the name of his blog is Zero Currency. Of course, that in turn leaves a zero carbon footprint.
So who is Daniel and why is he doing this? Daniel isn’t a bum – he graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in anthropology in 1987. He worked as a lab assistant for a few years then joined the Peace Corps and lived in Ecuador. While there, he saw the tribe he was helping sell their fields for things they didn’t need like television and starchy foods. Daniel observed that the more they bought, the more their health decline.
Seeing this left its mark on Daniel. He left the tribe to work in a women’s shelter, but felt guilty for taking the money for helping. Those experiences along with his faith made Daniel decide in 2000 to simply decided to stop using money. While most of us have at least some credit card debt, Daniel doesn’t. And he likes it that way. He said that when he had money, he felt he was lacking something. He lives in a cave, so he has no mortgage. Of course, there are mice and bugs, but Daniel is fine with that. After all, it is their cave too.
He makes weekly trips to scavenge stuff he might need such as clothing, food, and utensils. He is like the ultimate recycler. His “stove” is an old tin and he uses candles for light. He hunts and fishes for food and occasionally eats grasshoppers and other insects. Sometimes the people of Moab offer him a meal. He is a blogger, but you may be wondering exactly how he blogs. He uses the Moab Public Library, an hour away by foot.
Daniel isn’t worried about his present or future. When a reporter asked if he was afraid of starving to death, Daniel pointed out that he has never gone without a meal. At 48, he knows he will eventually die in his cave, but says that is what creatures have been doing for millions of years instead of dying in a hospital ward.
Okay, Daniel’s lifestyle is probably for very, very few of us, but reading his interesting story made me think – if one person can go to what I consider extremes, I can probably do a bit more to do my part in helping leave less of an impact on the Earth.
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