And That, Is Money, My Friend

Everybody, over the ages has had an opinion on money. "Money makes the world go round. " "Money talks. " "It's all about the money. " Money has an important role to play in our day- to- day lives.

And that, is money, my friend. Think about our three basic necessities of food, and shelter, clothing, and you know that there is a fourth basic necessity which is more important than these three. We may abuse it. We may call it the curse of modern life. We may associate it with criminals and conflicts. But, whatever we may say, the fact is that living without money is an impossibility. It displaced the barter system in the ancient times.

Money has seen a lot of historical developments. Then currency came to the fore to provide for the many transactions that had to take place. The coins that we see today are not made of pure metal. We have changed a great deal from the days of metal currency in gold, bronze, silver, and copper. They are made of cheap alloys. Slowly, this paper currency is being subordinated to the power of plastic. The currency these days is made up of paper that costs far less than its face value.

Credit cards have made their own place in the global arena. The old days of being anxious about large stashes of cash in flimsy briefcases are gone. They are quickly gaining in the popularity charts and are quickly becoming the new face of money. With the virtual world taking over our twenty- first century reality, even money is becoming a virtual entity. Just the knowledge that that rectangular piece of plastic is comfortably seated in our wallets is assurance enough. We no longer feel the need to have tangible forms of money. Earlier on, people were not to keen to make use of credit cards because of the feeling of being indebted.

It is no wonder that credit cards are slowly taking the place of the paper currency that had been the standard till very recently. However, with the rise, these days of things like cash back credit cards and 0% balance transfers, people have acquired a new attitude towards credit cards. Thanks to the rising living standards, and with the rising demand for instant gratification, people have begun to flock to credit card companies. Is paper currency becoming obsolete? It is quickly becoming the rule to possess multiple credit cards while most of our cash remains in the banks. Perhaps.

And it is not yet possible to pay for these transactions by using paper money. After all, online transactions are becoming increasingly popular today. Credit cards are slowly gaining in stature.