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The Man Who Quit Money Visits Capitola

Daniel Suelo is proof that it's possible to be completely penniless and still be happy.

Imagine living a life of abundance—without ever spending a dime. It’s a concept that Daniel Suelo claims is possible, and he is living proof.

Suelo, the man who quit money twelve years ago, visited the on Wednesday night, where he spoke about the concept. Over 70 people came to hear him and , who wrote the LA Times Best Seller about him: The Man Who Quit Money.

Although a life spent not making money, and living in a cave in Moab, Utah sounds like it would be bleak and lonely, it has actually been quite the opposite for Suelo.

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“Although he lives in a cave he is not a hermit,” Sundeen read from the book’s introduction. “He is relentlessly social, remains close with friends and family, and engages in discussions with strangers via the website he maintains from the public library.”

The 51-year-old Suelo may be completely broke, but that hasn’t stopped him from living a full life. He’s criss-crossed the west by bicycle, hopped freight trains, hitched through nearly every state in the union, worked on a trawler in the Bering Sea, and harvested mussels and kelp from Pacific beaches, just to name a few of his adventures.

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There's a freedom he says that is gained from living in the here and now: 

“To be honest, I felt like I didn’t long for anything,” Suelo said, responding to a question from the audience about what he most missed in the days and weeks after he quit using cash.

"That was the point of it, to enter a new life where I’m not driven by longing, that the point of living this way is to accept everything that comes in the present,” said Suelo.

But of course, the man has needs just like everybody else.

“On some days I would slip and think, ‘Well maybe I’d like some chocolate.’ And usually when thoughts like that would come, or cravings, I’d find chocolate,” Suelo said. 

And it’s been like that for all of his needs; the universe has provided. When his glasses disintegrated, he spent a year living in a “Monet painting,” he said, until a friend gave him a pair of thrift shop glasses.

“I don’t think they’re the exact prescription, but they’re close enough,” joked Suelo.

But really, what makes a person stop using money entirely? Was there an influetial incident that caused him to quit money, asked one member of the audience.

“For me it was a gradual process,” Suelo answered. “I was actually thinking about this as a child. I grew up in a religious home, evangelical Christian, and I thought a lot about the teachings of Jesus and about what would happen if we actually practiced this stuff, rather than just talk about it. About giving up possessions and doing for the sake of doing rather than for future award.” 

As Suelo grew older, he said he found that other religions were teaching basically the same thing—to do for the sake of doing, rather than for what may be gained personally. 

Giving up money is a concept that Sundeen said he thought was insane at first. Then he did more research and found the same concept in philosophers, religious thinkers and even economists. It all comes down to the fact that money is a “human-invented system” that we’ve all adopted as a way of life.

“Once you start feeling that way then you start to examine every dollar that passes through your hand," said Sundeen. "And you say ‘Okay, well who is getting this? How did I get it? What did I do? How did my actions affect the world instead of just how much money did I get from it, and when I give the money to someone else, what kind of actions am I supporting?” said Sundeen. 

Even though Sundeen has known Suelo for years, he admits that he still uses money left and right, and that he hasn’t taken up dumpster diving or living in a cave—not for the moment, anyway. 

Even as Capitola Book Cafe staff had to narrow it down to just one or two more questions, a dozen hands remained raised.

Books flew off the shelf, and Suelo signed each one with a personal message, even though he will never see a dime from the book’s proceeds. 

“There’s something inside of us that knows that money is just leading us by the nose ring, in a way,” said Batya Kagan, a strawberry farmer and member of Transition Santa Cruz interested in living a “less money-oriented life.” For a woman who traded strawberries for medical assistance last month, she’s on the right track. 

Did you attend the reading? What do you think of Daniel's lifestyle? Could you ever do it? Tell us in the comments!

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