originally posted from models & moguls on http://www.modelsandmoguls.com/2010/08/05/history-of-bartering-and-money/

History Of Bartering And Money

Money makes the world go round.

Money is the root of all evil.

A fool and his money are soon parted

Few things directly affect the quality of our lives more than money.

• Where we can live
• How we must spend our time each day.
• Who we can date
• What we eat
• Where we go to school
• How healthy we are.

Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy freedom and options.

By the time most of us can talk, we realize money is something that’s very, very important.

Yet as much as money influences our lives, most of us go through our entire lives without really understanding what money really is.

Here is a brief and simple article on the definition and the history of money for the average person.

The word money comes from the Latin word “moneta” which means, “warning.”

By itself, money is nothing except maybe a strip of paper or a bit of metal. Sometimes and in some places, money can be a sea shell, a bead, a rock or even a lump of salt.

Nowadays, much of the world’s money doesn’t even exist in real life….its just bits of data on an outdated computer, hidden away in a dingy basement somewhere.

If you can’t eat it or wear it, then what good is it?

The value of money has nothing to do with what you can physically do with it.

Money gets its value from being a “medium of exchange, a unit of measurement and a storehouse for wealth.”

Money lets you trade goods and services and allows you to “save” value for future purchases.

If you are a chicken farmer and have a bunch of eggs, you can only “save” your eggs for but so long. But you can trade your eggs for money (sell them) and save your money almost indefinitely (barring inflation)

The value of money comes when everybody will accept it as payment for goods or services provided.

So how and when did people start using money?

As far as historians know, people have been using money for no less then 3,000 years.

Before then, people mostly traded or “bartered” for what they wanted.

“I’ll give you 100 eggs, if you give me your goat.”

“I’ll give you 4 goats, for your lion skin coat”.

“I’ll give you 10 lion skin coats if you let me have your daughter”

Bartering is great system of exchange which is still used today!

But bartering has it’s problems.

People often tend to disagree on what’s a fair trade. Then theres that issue again that sometimes the things we trade have expiration dates on them.

Money helps solve both of those problems.

Over time, crude “prehistoric currencies” evolved where people went from trading things like food, animal hides, salt, weapons and tools to standard mediums of exchange.

Ancient Chinese Cutlery

Tools and weapons, like arrowheads, spades and hoes (both the garden tool and the other kind) became some of the earliest mediums of exchange for pre-historic man.

But who wants have to keep reaching in their pockets and get their hands cut handling sharp objects over and over again?

Around 1,100 B.C., the ancient Chinese started making miniature rounded replicas of their tools and weapons. These became some of the first coins.

Coins and Currency

At around 600 B.C, the King of Lydia (the area now known as Turkey) began “minting” coins out of a natural mix of silver and gold (called electrum) and then stamping pictures on them to let people know how much each coin was worth.

This new form of currency helped Lydia to become a wealthy kingdom by increasing domestic and international trade.

(Though Lydia’s wealth could not protect it from being conquered by the Persian Empire.)

China Kicks Economic Ass…Even 2500 years ago

By the time European Marco Polo got to China in 1,200 A.D., the Chinese had a well developed paper monetary system.

And they meant business. Just like how American bills say “In God We Trust,” Ancient Chinese bills said “All counterfeiters will be decapitated.”

Europe stayed big on coins as currency for a minute, especially after they started bringing in more gold and silver from The New World.

Only thing was, lugging gold and silver currency everywhere started to become a real pain, so gradually banks started to issue “bank notes” that were easier to carry around and could be taken into the bank and exchanged for their face value of silver or gold coins.

Of course people started trading these bank notes for goods and services as though the notes were the gold/silver coins themselves.

Some historians say that the first paper currency issued by European governments, as opposed to banks, were actually issued by the colonial governments of North America!

This was because colonist would run out of money waiting for shipments between Europe and the colonies.

Instead of going back to bartering the colonial governments would just issue paper IOUs which were traded like money.

For instance part of the history of money in  Canada, involves how,around 1685, French soldiers would use playing cards signed by the Governor like cash.

History Of Paper Money

The more people started using paper money, the more international trade took place.

As Banks, Royals and Rich people started buying currencies from other countries, the first currency markets started to emerge.

If a King( or Queen) could keep a stable rule over their country then their countries currency would be stable and that country would had an advantage over other countries, trading goods internationally.

Currency wars were waged where countries would try to affect the value of the competitor’s currency by

• driving currency value up to make enemy’s exports too expensive
• driving currency down to reduce the enemy’s buying power (and ability to pay for war)
• eliminating the enemy’s currency all together.

(Hmmh wonder how much things have changed since then?)
“Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.” – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, 1790

So is money really “the root of all evil”?

Who knows (I don’t).

But what I do know is that, no matter what people tell you, money is the untold story behind  most of what we hear on the evening news.

And if you want money to be a solution in your life, rather then a problem, you need to know everything you can about it.

Originally posted on http://www.usmagazine.com/momsbabies/news/edie-falco-i-buy-unisex-clothes-for-my-kids-to-save-money—needs-pic-2010287

Edie Falco: I Buy “Unisex” Clothes for My Kids to Save Money

Edie Falco doesn’t go overboard shopping for her children, Anderson and Macy.

“It’s hard to justify spending a lot of money on kid’s clothes because they grow out of them in five minutes,” Falco, 47, tells UsMagazine.com. “And my kids don’t really care what they wear.”

“So I occasionally buy something for my son and he wears it until he grows out of it, and my daughter wears it,” the Nurse Jackie star goes on. “I just make sure that it’s unisex.”

Falco, who adopted her Anderson in March 2005 and Macy in April 2008, says she asks her 94-year-old grandmother for parenting advice.

“[She] raised five kids who back in the day was doing everything. Grandpa was out making the money, and grandma was feeding one kid with her hand and rocking another kid in the cradle with her foot,” says Falco.

“She would explain to me about patience. It’s about teaching yourself to be patient. We all move at a pace and get used to it. And then you’re with kids who have their own schedule and own time frame. Part of me wants to just say ‘C’mon let’s go.’ But they’re not having it.”

“You can come to loggerheads if you don’t learn how to breathe and learn how to let them take the time they need. You have to let them be sometimes — to let them look at a book to let them brush their teeth,” adds the Emmy winner.

originally posted by James Haggerty on http://standardspeaker.com/news/down-economy-leads-to-more-bartering-1.911912

Down economy leads to more bartering

Donna Arnold sees a brighter future through the revival of her past.

“When I got married, I had my reception, my cake, my flowers and my wedding gown all on trade,” she said as she recalled her 1980 wedding.

Donna, 56, who plays bass guitar and sings in a band with her husband, Bill, sought a new direction after Pocmont resort near Bushkill closed in November. The couple had played there for six nights a week for many years and now they only perform about three times weekly, she said.

“I’ve got a great painter,” she said. “I’ve got a mechanic. I’ve got restaurants. I have counselors. I have a jewelry store.”

Bartering gains appeal in times of economic stress, tight cash and high unemployment.

“It’s grown at about a 15 percent annual rate over the last two years because of the economy,” said David Wallach, president of the International Reciprocal Trade Association, a nonprofit in Portsmouth, Va., that sets standards for the industry. “It’s a parallel capital system.”

Participants in trade exchanges acquire scrip, or bartering credits, by providing a service or selling goods within the network. Traders use scrip to buy from other partners in the exchange, who often meet online.

Each side in a bartered transaction pays a 6 percent fee to the exchange, along with monthly membership dues.

Bartering in a difficult economy has merits. It preserves cash, allows companies to find new clients and dispose of excess capacity. Traders often refer cash-paying customers to other exchange members.

“This is an efficiency that has been unrecognized,” Wallach said.

Bartering has detractors, though, who view it as value lost from the traditional cash system. Bartering thrives in unstable economies with weak currencies, said Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., a professor of economics and finance at the University of Scranton.

“People are getting spooked because of the long recession,” Ghosh said. “To be honest, I don’t see any value to it.

“Even if people are getting something at a deep discount, they will find that the goods and services they are providing to each other, they will not get at market value.”

Dan Dutka, though, sees value in his barter transactions.

“I’m using the barter system to go to Florida,” said Dutka, who operates a Mount Cobb vacuum cleaner sales and service business. “I got two four-bedroom condos. I’m going for a weekend and they are all paid for on trade.”

Dutka joined ITEX about a year ago and sells vacuum cleaners through the network, mostly in New England. He said his products trade at the manufacturer’s suggested price.

“It’s business I would never have had,” Dutka said. “It’s one of the best things I ever got involved in.”

“It’s all about promotion. I’ve never been involved in business, I’m a musician,” she said. “This is a nice way to get extras in an economy that you might not be getting otherwise.”

Posted on March 23rd, 2010
Originally posted by Melissa Riddle Chalos
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/03/23/college-debt-learn-the-barter-system

What do you want or need?
Maybe you need help with your English paper, a hand-made gift for your grandmother’s birthday or a few sessions with a personal trainer to keep the Freshman 15 at bay. There are ways to get it, even if your bank account is a desert wasteland. The trick is figuring out what you’ve got.

What skills, services or goods do you presently possess that you can exchange for what you want or need?
The answer to that question lies in YOU… in your head, in your hands and often in the back of your closet.

You’ve got skills
Identify your strengths, what you’ve excelled at that might be of use to others. Can you tutor someone in biology in exchange for help with English? Do you have a craft or a hobby that you could teach someone in exchange for a service they offer? There are plenty of real world opportunities out there to use what you’re really good at to get what you can’t afford.

Stuff you own
You may be living in the dorm, using public transportation and eating mac ‘n’ cheese, but the chances are good you’ve got something of value you could trade. Look in your closet, dresser, and in your car (if you have one). That extra iPod you got for Christmas, those expensive boots you never wear, the season tickets you don’t have time to use — they’re all worth something. And if you can’t sell ‘em, you’d be amazed at how much in trade you could get.

Sweat
If you don’t have the goods, but you’ve got the time and energy to spare, you can barter everything from childcare, lawn care, cleaning services (car, dorm, apartment, dog, etc.), baking, cosmetology help, organizational help-the list is endless. Convenience is valuable, so if you can make someone’s life easier and more efficient, the sky is the limit.

Set the value
If you’re swapping a service, do the math: Figure out what you would normally charge for the service, factor in supplies, then make an even exchange. To trade tangible goods, you’ve got to know the reasonable value of those items.

A BarterQuest Holiday

The snow is deep and my money is low,
And I’m tired of searching at thirty below
For the things that I want for myself and for others,
For my friends, for my parents, my sister and brother.

I have things to offer (everyone does).
I just bought a laptop, but my old one still purrs,
And my room won’t be used when I am away,
And I can paint all your walls while you are at play.

But what can I get without getting shot?
Craigslisters can be an uncertain lot,
And books are so dull, and so are CDs,
Where are the interesting things for under the tree?

Then lo and behold, BarterQuest comes into sight,
Full of the things that make holidays bright:
Scuba gear for me, earrings for mom, beach condo for dad,
Ipod for brother, and for sister…jeans that are rad.

BarterQuest has helped me do the holidays right,
To give a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!