March 22nd, 2025

This is the summary of our first group meeting on ‘Reducing dependency on money & banking’, March 22, 2025. Thank you to everyone who participated. We were a lively, dedicated group of 20 people and much nourishing exchange and sharing happened.

The first thing that stood out: we were all women. No more words needed on that one…

Below are some key points of our discussion. It was an efficient 90 min conversation. We dove into many aspects of how we want and don’t want to use the financial system. Likely the list below is not complete but it may give you an impression and perhaps exactly what you need right now.

Mustering the courage, despite the fear, to take the steps we know we need to take to reduce dependency on money and move forward financially in an aligned way:

• With experience comes trust that our needs are always taken care of if we embody Nature’s ways the promptings for which we can continuously perceive like an internal book, or radio station which is calibrated by external happenings and information.
• When a clear decision is made and we take determined steps towards the direction we have to take, Nature works with us always – opportunities arise, financial, material and emotional needs are suddenly met, often in unexpected ways.
• Detach from the fear and take the next step anyway, focusing on the positive change we want to drive forward in ourselves, our families and societies rather than acting out of the fear and the mental activity that comes with fear.

Non-monetary exchange – making an inventory of what you have to give:

• This was a great suggestion someone made in the meeting. Our thinking operates mostly inside a box. Yet there are myriad ways to give in exchange for something that is received such as help with work, a massage, lending someone an ear, art work, organising a get-together, or whatever skills you may have that others could benefit from. Make a list of what you have to offer and don’t hesitate to include weird things that you think no one will appreciate. Often the people you run into when you need something are the one’s that need exactly what you have to give.
• Don’t try to force any type of exchange. Approach life in playful ways and see what happens. This is how Nature operates. Simply put one foot in front of the other – no thought out lines of action all made up in the head.

Making our needs heard:

• If money has run out for whatever reason, or material needs are not met it is important to not sit at home, succumbing to despair and infiltration by unwanted influences, but instead to get out there and let others know about our situation, with a clear idea of what our needs are and how we can ask for those needs to be met with integrity; e.g.:
• One person shared that she determinedly minimises her engagement with institutional systems but she has run out of money multiple times. Yet when she approached grocery places or businesses whose services she needed, asking if she can pay at a later time, no business has ever said ‘no’. Integrity and keeping one’s word is everything. Other people can read us and if we embody Nature’s ways whatever situation we are in we are taken care of. This was shared by someone who lives in Switzerland – a very expensive country where money seems to be a strong focus, and yet human beings naturally want to help one another and establish positive exchange. This IS our very Nature, no matter where we are.
• When things get tough it is important to get out there and meet people, exchange ideas etc. in whichever way this feels in alignment: virtually, locally, within the family, or a circle of friends, or by talking to strangers. Opportunities arise from interaction.

Dropping money as a priority/main focus in life:

• The more we worry about and focus on money, developing agendas around approaching others merely for the sake of wanting to receive financially, the more we get hooked into fear and scarcity. Drop the agenda of receiving specific amounts of money in specific ways, perhaps even of receiving money at all, and rather play with life putting one foot in front of the other without much expectation.
• Dropping the agenda is really what freely giving means. We start with an idea and then an exchange unfolds in the way it needs to. This may be the way we envisioned, or more likely it will look differently but the outcome will be more efficient. Often we do not understand how our exchange effects this world, what the ripples that go out look like. We may catch up mentally at the analytical level later, or we may not. Nature is a mystery. Trust and alignment, and the experience that comes from that, are everything.

Using cash & non-monetary exchange – practicalities:

• Several participants have shared how in their various locations and circumstances opportunities for non-monetary exchange, and possibilities to use cash can be found everywhere if a clear decision has been made to operate in this way and that path is walked with determination. No back and forth, being run by doubt. Instead what is needed is clear movement to that direction without much compromise.
• We had attendees from large cities like London, and from leading countries regarding the attempt to establish cashless societies like Sweden who all shared that they are able to find ways to use cash, engage in non-monetary exchange, and avoid the financial system despite these external circumstances.
• Bills and prices may be higher when paid in cash. This is something we have to deal with. The question then becomes: Where and how can we reduce these bills, and services, and/or how can we come together to keep fair cash-pathways open. Is a change in location needed? Public transport for example is typically more costly when paid for in cash. I have navigated that by using a mix of walking, hiking and hitch-hiking instead, and paying the higher price when it felt right to use public transport. Keeping public transport going and associated cash-pathways open is important in many regions. Many people depend on it. How to move forward is a moment to moment decision depending on what feels aligned when we are actually in the situation of for example needing to get from A to B. There is no universal answer.
• There was strong agreement on using cash as much as any possible when and where money is needed for an exchange.

Becoming obsessed with leaving the financial system:

• Is not the point. Then life outside that system becomes a stuck identity and alignment with Nature’s ever-changing pathways is lost. By using this system in reduced and very specific ways we keep open, or even re-open the pathways that are still needed in our societies.
• It is all about being aware of the roots and toxicity of the financial system, and choosing to only support those aspects that are still needed, or are positive. If we know that we need to travel to a far-away location, then there is no point in obsessing with not using any money.
• One person asked: Should I just give away all my furniture for free even though I need money for my next move – would that be freely giving? No, it’s not. It is our responsibility to ensure that we can do what we need to do at a very practical level. Then money and exchange come in to to the equation in whichever way they need to.
• Many of us have clearly experienced that money likes to flow like a river. We may engage with the financial system very minimally due to its toxic roots and ways of operating, and yet there is ongoing movement. Money comes and goes – constantly re-distributed.
• In these times we often have to combine non-monetary exchange with using cash. The reality we are dealing with if we want to be part of society – and most of us are needed in our societies these days, not in a hermit location – is a mix of money and no money. What is aligned with Nature’s system is a reflection of external circumstances, and vice versa.

Living off-grid in more rural/remote areas:

• Is a great way of not only reducing dependency on money but re-claiming sovereignty, resilience and responsibility at the very practical level. Growing food greatly reduces costs for one of our most basic needs. So does natural water supply like wells, streams and lakes.
• Living off-grid reduces dependency on many institutional systems and often brings simplicity and vitality back to our lives. Getting back to the basics of using raw materials which are acquired with our own hands.

Being OK with less:

• In our heads we believe that we need a great many things to thrive. This is not so. Let go and experiment. Someone who lives in an off-grid village shared how suddenly during the very evening of this meeting there was no power. The system was not working properly anymore. So what? She was still able to stay till the end of the call and knows that she can make do without for the time being. It can actually be a wonderful experience to light a candle instead of switching on a lamp.
• Over the years to come there will likely be many situations in which we will have to go without – be ready. Inevitably dependency on money reduces when what we want to purchase is not available in the first place, or the conditions for the purchase are so unaligned that we simply can’t go along with it.

Focus on creativity:

• This point has arisen over and over during the meeting. It is our job in these times to build completely new ways of exchange and giving. Hence creativity is everything. One of the most beautiful moments in my life was when recently a young woman said to me: “Thank you for creating new pathways that young people can step into and follow.” This came from a 21-year old who is already very much on a pathway of reducing her dependency on money and banking, who appreciated my experience as an older person, and who is already beginning to take deeper what we have built and are building for the next generation(s). We are all collaborating. Focus there. It is very rewarding.

Living without a bank account – my personal experience:

• Closing my bank account 2 years ago was not a decision I made without fear, and it was not driven by a mental idea of reducing my dependency on banking, or money. There was a strong pull which was a continuation of a path I have walked my entire life. I knew at the time that if I close my account I likely won’t be able to ever open one again as I live in such a nomadic way that I can’t provide the paper work which is typically required these days to be part of that system. Yet the pull to make this journey more complete by leaving the banking system behind almost entirely (I occasionally have to use another person’s bank account to purchase a flight for example, hence the word ‘almost’) was so strong that there was no doubt I had to take this step despite the fear. There was a lot of surrender and I can say that life without a bank account is much easier than thought, and my needs have been met all along the way since then. It brought me back to myself at an even deeper level and led to further steps which are bolder than anything I had done before.

You will be tested…

• What is needed – be it money or material – often shows up last second esp. in these times during which everything changes so rapidly. What is the best choice today may be outdated tomorrow. We live in a world of great flux. Walking the edge of trusting, surrendering, yet being in an uninterrupted place of self-responsibility and sovereignty can be nerve-wrecking, and sadly many choose to take what feels like a more secure road, but what is actually less aligned and wont bring the fruit we wish to see. Merge responsibility with risk-taking. The two are not opposites. We need courageous, bold people.                                                      

Thank you to everyone who participated for your contributions and presence, and for expressing so much appreciation for this meeting.