A MAN has shared how he decided to live in a cave and not spend a single penny after he got sick of paying rent.
Daniel Shellabarger also known as Suelo has managed to live for 16 years without using any type of currency but a tragic change in his life made him return to cash.
It was in 2009 when Daniel got the drastic decision of abandoning all of his possessions and went to live in a cave near Moab in Utah.
He led a frugal but perfectly happy life, living off the food he would find in the city's rubbish bins, roadkill and vegetables growing around his new home.
But in 2016, he had to leave back his peaceful cave and return home to look after his parents.
Daniel appeared in an episode of Only Human and explained his reasons behind his decision to give up money.
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He said: "I've actually been sleeping in caves longer than I've lived without money probably since the mid-90s.
"When I had a respectable job in town I decided I didn't want to pay anymore and live outdoors."
He continues the tour of his cave showing where his makeshift bed is- a cardboard box and a blanket.
Showing his "kitchen", he explains that he eats food he finds in the rubbish because "so much getting thrown away" and insists he has never gotten sick from something he fished out of a rubbish bin.
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Daniel claims he has not used or accepted any money throughout that period nor did he get any food stamps or government funding.
Although he admits he initially struggled, he eventually discovered he's happier without money.
Describing the moment he decided to give up money, he recalls: "I took money out of my pocket and went to a phone booth in Pensylvania and I put it on top and I figured somebody will take it.
"When I did it it was really mystical to me, I walked out and it just felt like freedom like warm water was pouring over my head.
"And I just felt like wow I feel completely comfortable and completely free I feel like Im at home and it doesn't matter where I am I feel like I'm at home. "
In an interview with the Denver Post at the time, he described how he embraced his new alternative way of living after he realised he wasn't fulfilled with his life.
Daniel, a University of Colorado graduate with a degree in anthropology, had just returned from two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador when he decided to give it all away.
He was unhappy with his job at homeless shelters when he finally gave up money.
“I have no idea what the future holds, and I don’t worry about it. But the longer I do this, it seems absurd to go back," he said at the time.
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