Inspired by Kyle MacDonald, who did a similar feat, Trade Me Project’s Demi Skipper has done what seems impossible: 28 trades later, she is the owner of a new house. Skipper began her journey on TikTok in 2020 with a bobby pin and wanted to trade her way up to a home. Her last exchange before the finale was a Chipotle celebrity card for a solar-powered trailer from Canada, a trailer that made its way to Tennessee, where Skipper is planning to move to. In conversation with The Guardian, Skipper hopes to repeat the project again and give the home to someone who needs it.
While Skipper’s journey is inspirational, many people don’t have the time or means to go on a year-and-a-half-long adventure. In order to trade her Chipotle card for an item that exceeds the value, she had to spend the time searching for someone who values the restaurant enough to trade an expensive object for it. Once she did find someone, she had to make the trip to Canada to make the trade official. All of that involved disposable income, free time, and dedication that’s more than just a single bobby pin.