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Getting a foot in the property market often means years and years of saving, or a massive helping hand from somebody for the very fortunate.

Then there’s Demi Skipper, who’s taking a very roundabout route with the end goal of ending up with a house.

Skipper found inspiration from the story of Kyle MacDonald, often referred to as ‘the red paperclip guy’. Through 14 successive trades, he went from a paperclip to a house back in 2006, which he detailed in a TED Talk.

According to The Guardian, MacDonald’s journey went from paperclip to pen, which he then traded for a handmade doorknob:

…before trading it for a camping stove, then a generator, then a keg of beer and a neon sign, followed by a snowmobile, a trip to Yahk in British Columbia, a box truck, a music recording contract, a year’s rent in Arizona, to one afternoon with the rock band Alice Cooper.

His strangest trade was then for a Kiss-themed motorized snow globe, which he swapped with snow globe fanatic and actor Corbin Bernsen for a role in a Hollywood film, before trading the movie role for a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Well played, sir.

29-year-old Skipper is hoping to follow in his footsteps, although unlike MacDonald, who was unemployed at the time, she does have a job, working as a product manager for BuzzFeed.

All trades must adhere to a certain set of rules – Skipper can’t buy anything, she can’t use any money, and she can’t trade with anyone she knows.

She uses Instagram and TikTok to keep people up to speed with her progress, and to suss out her next trade.

This is from five days ago:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Demi Skipper (@trademeproject)

During an interview with The Guardian, Skipper went step-by-step to where she’s currently at:

The Chipotle card seems like a nice marketing gimmick from the food chain, more than a genuine trade, but I guess you take the helping hands where you can get them.

That house may just be within touching distance.

You can follow the rest of Skipper’s journey here.

[source:guardian]