Woman barters her way up from hairpin to $80,000 house in 1.5 years

A 30-year-old US woman named Demi Skipper went on a quest to trade a single bobby pin-up for a house in May 2020. Along the way, she traded three tractor-trailers, Nike Air Jordan sneakers, Mini Cooper, Apple iPhone, and a Chipotle celebrity card. She achieved her goal after 28 trades when she landed an $80,000 house in Tennessee last month.

Demi Skipper achieved her goal of owning a house in less than two years without spending a single penny. In May 2020, Skipper went on an “a quest trade a bobby pin up until I get a house.” She based her project on Kyle MacDonald, a Canadian blogger who traded his paper clip 14 times until he got home.

The full-time product manager amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media as she documented her trades. Soon people became invested in her journey.

Last month, she finally accomplished her goal as she got the keys to a small house in Tennessee, USA, in exchange for a trailer. “After 28 trades and all the ups and downs, I finally did it,” she said in a video as she stood outside her new house.

Skipper followed some rules as she went about the mission — she only bartered and never took any money. Secondly, she never traded with anyone she knew. Along the way, she has bartered Nike Air Jordan, electric skateboard, Chipotle celebrity card, three tractor-trailers, and Margarita glasses till she finally got a house.

While speaking to the media, Skipper said that she plans to do the whole challenge again in the upcoming year.