What you’ll learn to do: explain what money is and what makes it useful

When we think of money, the paper bills in our wallet or the coins that are in our pockets come to mind. But money is much more than that, and how we define money determines where and how we use it to obtain the goods and services that businesses offer the consumer. In this section we’ll look at what money is, why it’s useful, and what may be the future of money. 

The specific things you’ll learn in this section include:

• Explain the three key functions of money
• Discuss the advantages of using money versus barter
• Differentiate between commodity money, fiat money, and virtual currency