The Purpose Served By Money

Money seems to divide the world into the have’s and have not’s. Given this disparity, one might wonder why whether it is worth it. Well, here is your answer!

In the beginning of the social interaction between human beings, the barter system worked quite well. The barter system is basically a trade arrangement and requires that two or more parties have a mutual desire to trade and have goods that the other one wants to acquire. In the small and primitive cultures of pre-history, this was often enough. The only commodities that anyone had any interest in were food, clothing, and weapons. If one man had a weapon, and the other had some food, a deal could be easily arranged.

The barter system could not last forever. It was because of the ability of the human mind to under stand symbols and to assign value to them that we were able to develop a means of moving past the barter system. Money became the means by which civilization and socialization took place. Now, when a person wished to do something beyond the production of the basics, such as a work of art, he did not have to wait for someone willing to trade the food he desired for his art. He could trade the art for money, and trade the money for the food. Money became the middle man that allowed diversification and growth.

Money had to accomplish three distinct missions in order to become a workable replacement for the barter economy. It had to be a medium of exchange. This means that people needed to recognize its value and be willing to except it in trade for goods or services. This acceptance and recognition had to be universal within the society. If your money was not accepted for the goods or services you desired, it was worthless.

Money also served as a unit of account. This means that it must have a set value that could be assigned to a product or a service to determine where it stood in the overall economic picture. If you made a piece of art, you needed to be able to set a money value on it, and that same money value needed to be accepted by a food merchant. In the barter system if one art piece was worth four cows, then the cows must have a value of one unit of money and the art piece must be worth four units.

You must also be able to store the money at value. This means that the money and its value had to be durable and relatively unchanging. This means that you did not have to go and buy four cows as soon as you sold your art piece. You could save your money, and accumulate it for use at another time. This was the beginning of the idea of wealth. Money has been called the root of all evil, but actually it is the root of all growth.

Winston Goldstein is with MoneyMakerstop.com - your source for advice and information on money.

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Barter Items - An Alternative Economic System

Bartering was a very important part of the economic systems of early communities. The primary economic activity was bartering food for services or non-food items. When little, valuable barter items were starting to be utilized as a way to receive items and services without using cash is how our modern monetary system grew out of bartering.

The internet is what may have reintroduced bartering back into our economic systems. The internet is capable of connecting an infiniate number of traders where the loss of physical marketplaces once hampered the barter system. Now anyone with barter items can just list them and what they want in return on the internet and just wait until they are contacted by someone interested in the trade.

Through the global internet there is unlimited opportunities for trade partners, yet for barter items a local barter network provides the best opportunities. Through local partners there are many costs that are reduced especially transportation. When you live in California and would love to trade your piano for a new furniture set from an owner in New York, the cost benefit disappears when you take into account the shipping expenses.

To be reassured that you won't cheated you may find that using a local network for your barter items to be your best option. This way you can make the trade in person thus giving both parties a chance to thoroughly examine the items being traded so that either side can decide to back out on the trade without a total loss. This can also make it easier for you to determine that the person you're bartering with is allowed to trade what they are trading or is licensed to provide any services being offered.

Others, in addition too individuals, are able to profit from barter. Businesses can profit by engaging with local barter networks. Businesses might be presented with more economical opportunities to get business-to-business services such as design and accounting rather than paying with money. Also, barter can be an interesting way to increase local knowledge of a new business, such as a boutique or bakery, while preventing the waste of money by purchasing inadequate advertising.

We live in a cyclical world, and that which was once popular will be again. One example of this is barter, the oldest economical system. If you have something that has no value to you but may to someone else, the climate may be right for trading barter items.

Barter activity evolved when small, valuable barter items began to be used as a way to get the items and services needed without using cash. The internet has reintroduced bartering back into our economic systems. Now anyone can just list their items and what they want and wait until they are contacted by someone interested in the trade. Though through the global internet there is unlimited opportunities for trade partners, for bartering a local network provides the best opportunities. Your exchange can take place in person, with both parties given time to examine the goods they're exchanging, thus allowing a reluctant partner to back out without a total loss. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terry_Lamb

Bartering And The Benefits Of Swapping

What is Barter

Barter is a type of trade that do not require any medium of exchange, in which goods and services are exchanged for other goods and/or services. It is a transaction where no money changes hands. Note that services can be exchanged for goods and vice versa. Bartering can be easily used in environment where a monetary system is not required.

Value of Swapping

Swapping is a bartering system in which participants in Internet communities trade items of comparable value on a trust basis. This type of bartering system is a good way to find and obtain items that interest you. Your unwanted item could be valuable to someone else so swapping is suitable for a win-win situation for both parties.

Why Swap

* Save money!

* Establish a fun relationship among the active swapping community.

* Create new business contacts and references when trading services and goods.

* Help the environment by avoiding the need to throw away your unwanted stuff in the dumpster. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse!

* Monetary system is not required to complete a swap transaction.

Where to Swap Online

The best way to find sites that offer bartering services is to use the Google or Yahoo search engine. Type something like "swap stuff" or "barter swap" in the search box and the first two pages should present a good list of sites for you to try out. Local swap meets are also good sources for obtaining recommended bartering sites. Be sure to avoid sites that require you to pay anything for listing your goods and services.

SwapTreasures http://www.swaptreasures.com is a swapping community focused in helping people swap just about anything via our online bartering service. Members can easily search for goods and services and submit requests to swap for free. Authors: Jeff Brown and John Blane.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Blane