My life without money
Heidemarie Schwermer ,a 63 year-old German woman, has lived without money for the last ten year,and has written a book about her experiences called My life Without Money.
At the age of 54, Heidemarie quit her job as a psychotherapist, gave away all her money and her apartment, and threw away her credit cards. Today ,aside from some clothes (three)sweaters ,two skirts ,two pairs of shoes ,and a coat) and a few personal belongings, she doesn’t own anything.
It all began as a one-year experiment. In her home city of Dortmund, she set up a “swapping cicle” where people exchange service without using money ,for example, a haircut for a mathematics class. To prove that this could work , she decided to give up using money for a year. But when the year ended, she continued and has not used money since then.
At first she house-sat for friends who were on vacation. She stayed in their houses in return for watering the plants and taking care of their animals. At the moment, she is staying in a student residence where she can sleep, take a shower, or use a computer in return for cooking for the young people who live there. She also “works” as a psychotherapist. “Before I treated very wealthy people but now I help anyone who turns up. Sometimes they give me something in return, but not always.”