The current system of money has been so corrupted, it has become a force of destruction. 

RINGs Network is a system of mutual aid, where neighbors help neighbors, and local communities link together to protect each other and help each other survive. Our most powerful tool is community time banks.

A time bank is a simple exchange: when you help someone for an hour, you earn 1 hour you can "spend" later when you need help.  

Goods can also be exchanged, as well as services!  

(In that sense, this isn't a "pure" time bank; it is a mix of time banking and community mutual credit. "Time bank" is easier to say, though!)  

A software keeps track of all the trades using a “currency” to facilitate transactions fairly.  We're calling the currency "RINGs."  It’s not a charity, and it's not crypto.  It’s a way friends and neighbors can help each other save money and get through hard times, together.

In order to partake in the actions necessary to fix our broken system, it is wise to make sure we can take care of our needs first.  We can do that by reducing our dependence on dollars.  Get as many of our needs met as we can, spending as little money as possible. This frees us up for boycotting, striking, or simply surviving.

Time banks are for anyone who sees how messed up the current system is, and needs some relief.  Time banks build community, increase our sense of care and concern for each other, and facilitate true mutual aid.  Time banking is for people who:

1. Join a local time bank, or if there isn't one in your area yet, join the interest list for your state

2. We’ll email you when there are enough people in your area.  (Our threshold number per area is 100.)  Once we have enough people in your area, we will email you a link to create an account.

3. Once you're in, you can start exchanging with your neighbors!

   • • Post an Offering of what you can do.

     • Post a Want asking for help when you need it.

     • Respond to your neighbors’ offerings and wants. 

     • Record the exchange using the built-in currency, RINGS.

No dollars. Just hours in, hours out!
 

Questions?

• What if I’m busy? Join anyway. You can offer later and still request help.

• What if I can’t drive/lift/cook (whatever)? Everyone has something to offer, nobody is useless!  Wellness check-ins, filling out forms, phone calls, organizing paperwork, tutoring, the possibilities are endless. If you’re not sure what you can offer, someone from our onboarding team can help you figure out where you shine. Time banks around the world are full of stories of people the mainstream system dismissed, who ended up becoming essential to their communities through an exchange.

• Is it safe? Each exchange is hyper-locally run, with neighbors meeting neighbors, and friends helping friends.  Follow basic security precautions, like any other interaction. We do not allow the exchange of any illegal materials or services.  Please see our Safety & Fairness page for more details.

• Is it legal?  Time banking follows the same logic as a carpool or a potluck: everyone brings something, and everyone receives something. Informal swap systems like carpools or potlucks are not regulated.  As society slips further into corporate rule and authoritarianism, the legality of neighbors helping neighbors might be jeopardized in the future, but as of today, mutual exchange systems are legal, as long as they follow certain guidelines. As long as the services exchanged stay in the logic of "informal gift economies" or "community aid," and as long as they are for personal use only and do not incur commercial value, there should be no tax liability. Even though Rings are a type of "currency," they are not tender per se, and do not violate any US laws.

For further questions, contact us.

Last updated: 6/16/2026

We currently have active, launched exchanges in the following areas:

• Des Moines, Iowa

• Iowa City, Iowa

• Cedar Rapids, Iowa

We currently have waiting lists (waiting for at least 100 people) in the following states: