Bartering and Trading

A long time ago, people used to swap things that they needed A long time ago, people used to swap things that they needed. For example, let’s say a farmer needed tomatoes, and all he had was potatoes. Well, he might go to the farmer next door and trade his potatoes for the other farmer’s tomatoes. But, what if the farmer couldn’t find anyone who wanted his potatoes? He would spend all day trying to find someone to trade with. Then, how would he ever get any work done? But, that wasn’t the only problem!

Would you trade your favorite candy for When people used trading or bartering, they would also have to negotiate about what they thought was a fair trade. This led to many arrguments. Think about it…… Would you trade your favorite candy for a carrot???? Probably not!

Look at the following slides Look at the following slides. Decide if the trade being shown is a fair trade. Be sure to tell why you think that!

TRADE ME

Is this a fair trade?

Is this a fair trade?

Is this a fair trade?

Is this a fair trade?

SINCE THE BARTERING AND TRADING SYSTEM WAS DIFFICULT AND WASN’T ALWAYS ACCURATE…. People came up with a new way to get the things that they wanted or needed…..

MONEY

Money is a universal system, which means that it is used by everyone in the world. Unlike bartering, the money system gives every item a specific value. For example…..

$50.00

$2.00

$5.00

$15.00

$60.00

Money is a better system to use because everyone will pay the same amount for a good or service. Money makes it easier for people to buy and sell things. What types of money or currency do you know of?

What do you think? Why do we use money to purchase goods and services?