In August 2023 I stopped using my bank account, I closed it a few months later and never looked back.
It was not easy getting there. There were many things that, I believed, depended on me having a bank account such as:
- The ability to buy online, usually Amazon and Steam
- Paying my bills online, usually phone, VPN, and internet
- Getting direct deposit payments, usually from work and taxes
- Getting E-Transfer payments, usually from side jobs
- Sending money to friends, usually wire transfers
- Having a debit card for in-store purchases
- Having a debit card for making reservations
- Having a savings account for safekeeping money
These are most of the things I thought I could not live without, there might be more, but that's just what I can think of out of the top of my head.
Living without a bank account is not an easy way of living: at first.
Everywhere around us we are made to believe that we need the bank, sometimes for essential things such as getting payed from work and paying others. Many times as a way of building a relationship with the bank and a good credit.
I think it's BS and the bank is something we can live without.
The road to freedom has has never been an easy one to travel, it is full of of difficulty, and obstacles, but it is not impossible to traverse. We must make sacrifices for the greater good. To reach financial freedom we must make an extra effort and take some extra steps.
Anyhow, I want to update you on the past three months of my journey without a bank account and my efforts to move towards the adoption of cryptocurrency. So here we go.
EARNING CRYPTO
When it comes to earning crypto I have not made much progress, at least not yet. In February, I had to turn down a good opportunity at a part-time job which I was very interested in. They required me to have a bank account in order to work for them, so I had to say no.
I explained to them that I would not use the bank, and they said to me that it was ok, that I should just open a bank account and use it only to receive payment from them. They did not understand my reasoning and my not wanting to have anything to do with the bank. They looked at me like an odd duck.
Anyhow, I know more opportunities will come and I look forward to more payment methods being developed for crypto.
I can imagine a way to pay with E-transfers directly to a crypto wallet. That would be great! Most employers pay with direct deposit, but some do use E-transfers, so it would be very helpful if I could just give them an address and they could transfer there. I actually don't know if there's already a way to do that or if there's something similar, but if there is a way, let me know please.
For now, I just deposit the cash I earn into my crypto wallet, at least that way I don't lose to the bank or to inflation. I do encounter fees, but I'm hoping those will get better as time goes by and more people adopt the use of crypto.
INLEO
There are two ways I earn crypto online: Inleo and Brave Rewards.
At the moment the earnings are small, but there is great potential, specially with Inleo.
I just started writing on Inleo about three months ago and I have to say, the rewards are not too bad. Well, most of you already know how the rewards system works here so I wont talk about that, but I will talk about my plans with Inleo.
I want to grow this account and invest in premium and in better content as I earn rewards, that way in a year or two I can have a good following and hopefully enough capital for other crypto projects.
I also want to create one or two more accounts to write about other topics and to use a different approach, maybe even a different language.
In addition to that, I plan to invest in Hive and earn some APR while I'm here. It's way better than the bank, in my opinion. Buying some Leo is also in my plans, and I will start doing that as soon as I can pay in LeoDex from my DashPay wallet.
For now I will continue to organically grow my account and accumulate Leo and other Hive tokens.
BRAVE REWARDS
Many of you have probably heard of Brave Browser, I would even think many of you use it. If you use Brave Browser then you are probably familiar with Brave Rewards and this is not news to you.
For those who aren't familiar: Brave Browser is a privacy geared browser, I wont get into the details of this browser, but I will talk about a feature it has called Brave Rewards.
With Brave Rewards you can choose if the browser shows you ads, you can choose how many it will show you, and you can choose how it shows them to you.
Every time Brave has an ad for you, you will receive a notification, if you choose to open it and look at the ad, Brave will pay you for viewing it.
(UPDATE: Brave no longer requires you to open or click on the AD, as soon as you're notified or an ad appears on your screen, it will count as viewing an ad and you will be payed for it).
It can also show you ads when you open a new tab, or when you use the search engine.
When you use Brave browser you see only the ads that you get payed for, no matter what webpage you are exploring. Keep in mind that all these ads can be disabled, and the amount of ads you are shown per hour can be increased or reduced.
Brave Rewards will pay you in its Basic Attention Token (BAT), and once a month it will transfer your rewards to your crypto wallet, where you can then exchange for cash or for your favorite cryptocurrency.
I remember making about $20USD in about 3 months before, and I know you will say it's nothing, but I made that just by clicking on a few ads now and then. I believe this is better than being forced to watch ads and not getting payed for it.
The downside to this is that Brave Rewards requires you to connect a custodial wallet like Uphold or Coinbase in order to earn rewards. Using these wallets is a great inconvenience for those who value their privacy, as they will require you to verify your address and your identity.
I get around this by using a friend's wallet, they get the rewards and then they transfer to their non-custodial wallet and then to my wallet. Not the best set-up, but it's what I've got at the moment.
Any suggestions or better ideas are very welcome.
USING CRYPTO
When it comes to using my crypto, I have realized that a major inconvenience is finding places where crypto is accepted as a form of payment.
The government here has a tight grip on the economy and it is not easy to use decentralized tech for financial transactions without them knowing.
I found that even with crypto, they always have a way to exert some control and impose limitations into what you can or cannot do without them knowing or without them having having a say in it.
Lately I've even felt that my crypto is being held hostage, because the ways I can use it in person are very limited and other ways require me to sacrifice my privacy.
It is not impossible however. I started identifying where I can buy, certain things. It just requires me to break old routines and habits, step out of my comfort zone, and shop at different places.
We are so used to shopping at the same places that we don't ever think of looking somewhere else for the things we need, but it really isn't that difficult.
BITREFILL
I found that Bitrefill is a great tool for paying with crypto. It allows you to purchase gift cards that you can then use to pay a great variety of essentials and non-essentials.
For example:
I can pay my phone bill and other online services with Bitrefill .
I can Use Bitrefill to shop at the pharmacy for toiletries like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and more.
I can use Bitrefill to shop for food in select groceries stores. I just have to travel to them that's all. Some of them will even deliver your groceries, if you can afford that sort of thing.
I can also use Bitrefill to buy gas or pay for an Uber when I need to travel.
I can use Bitrefill to shop at Amazon for other stuff such as kitchen ware, electronics, office supplies, and clothing articles.
I can even use Bitrefill to go to a few bars, restaurants, and pubs, which is nice for when I need to have a treat.
Those are some of the good uses I've discovered for Bitrefill and I'm sure there's way more. It does require a few more steps than just using cash, but we all know that making a change requires a little bit of work.
I still haven't figured out a few things like how to pay for public transportation, rent, and prescription medication, but this is an ongoing experience and I will continue to post updates on my journey as I come across new and/or better ways to use and earn crypto.
The day will come when I can just walk into my favorite places and pay straight out of my DashPay wallet. Until then, I will continue to find ways to earn and spend more crypto, as I use less and less fiat.
If you've read this far I extend my deepest gratitude.
I will continue to document my journey towards crypto adoption for those out there who want to be free, but don't yet know where to start or for those who just want to observe my progress.
If you didn't read my last post on this subject the link is right here:
https://inleo.io/@ogrenkondrat/overcoming-bank-dependency-hyc?referral=ogrenkondrat
I will be working hard to bring more interesting and useful content on subjects that concern our communities. I will be writing on subjects such as politics, cryptocurrency, gun control, civil rights, mental health, and more!
For all the curious minds that enjoy this kind of content, I invite you to show your support by following and sharing my blog with those who might find it to their liking.
I also encourage you to share of your own experience with cryptocurrency as we can all learn something new from each other.
Please feel free to leave your opinions, questions, and any suggestions in the comments section below.
Remember Lions, stay safe, stay strong, and stay free!