Money Explained

Geld Uitleg is an asset that has three primary functions: a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account. While many things have been used as money over time, including cowry shells, salt, barley, and peppercorns, today money is mostly comprised of paper notes and coins. These items serve the same function as anything else that people use to buy and sell goods and services, and to pay for debts.

The first function of money is to allow people to easily and quickly trade one good for another. For example, imagine your friend wants to give you a painting but she only has guitar lessons that you don’t want. By using money, you can easily buy what she wants and still have something left over. This is what enables us to travel around the world and buy homes without having to worry about finding an acceptable trade.

Money 101: Understanding the Basics

A second function of money is to keep track of the value of goods and services in a community. It also allows people to compare the prices of different goods and services. This is why we have units such as the pound, the dollar, and the euro.

For an item to be considered money, it must hold its value over a long period of time. If it decreases in value over time, then it is no longer useful as a medium of exchange. For this reason, we have a rule called Gresham’s Law that states that “bad money drives out good.” For example, if you find a $20 bill in your coat pocket from last year, then you know it has held its value over time and can continue to be a medium of exchange.