Reflection on Money and Banking

This week in Economics was about money and banking. We learned that money is not a very easy term to describe. Luckily, we were given a very clear and concise definition of money: money is any good that is widely accepted for the purposes of exchange and in the repayment of debts. There are many qualities that an item must have to be money. The object must be durable, scarce, stable in value, accepted, divisible, portable, and difficult to counterfeit.  Money is given value by people and that is how people can exchange goods. This allows for people to make transactions in a more efficient manner. Money is also good for exchanges because it sets a value to everything and prevents a debate over the value of each item every time people want to buy or sell something. We also began to learn about banks and their function. Banks exist to store and loan money. They are a business and make money by charging interest on loans. There is the constant struggle between the bank wanting to make interest rates high on loans and wanting to make interest rates high so that their customers will keep putting money in their bank. Banks are looking to make the most profit without losing money.
We are learning first hand in Weserville about the value of money and the banking system. Everyone opened checking accounts. We received our first pay checks and quickly saw that taxes took away much of the money we earned. Personally, this made me a little upset, but that might just be me. After we made our checking account, we had to pay our electric bill. This was a significant deduction from our account so the value of money became more apparent. The freedom to withdraw and spend our money at the market on things we wanted was a nice option. I didn't want to take out too much money though because I was afraid we would get another bill and have to take out even more money. Needless to say, it has been an interesting experience keeping track of the money we spend with a mock bank account.
I think that learning about money and banks by actually experiencing the concepts being taught will prepare us more for life. I feel already that I know more about how to use a bank account. I have already learned how to write a check which is an essential part of having an account. People need to know first the concept of what a bank wants in order to be successful with using their money. Depositing money in the bank has benefits, but a person needs to be prepared before the start spending their money so that their bank balance won't go under.