MONEY: WHY Do WE NEED

IT? How Do WE MAKE IT?

Some people think a lot about money. Do you remember the first time you thought about it? Most likely, you first noticed money when you saw your mother or father use money to buy something. Or maybe they paid someone to repair the car or to cut the grass. One day you got your little mitts on some money. Your mother or father gave you money to buy something at a store. Maybe your grandparents gave you some money for your birthday. And money became a part of your life.

MONEY: WHY Do WE NEED IT? How Do WE MAKE IT? 5

With each coin or bill, your generous relatives were teaching you about money. You learned that you could use it to buy candy, CDs, and movie tickets. Through the years, you've seen your parents and others make choices about spending money. Should they buy the big SUV (a want) or repair the family car (a need)? Money helps you buy both your wants and your needs.

What exactly are wants and needs? Wants are things you can live without but would like to have. These things are different for everyone. You may want a new pair of expensive sneakers. Your friend might want a new video game. Needs are things people cannot live without. Food, clothes, and a place to live would be on everyone's list of needs. To meet your wants and needs, you need money. How do you get the money you need?

MONEY FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Money doesn't just fly out of automated teller machines (ATMs), grow on trees, or magically appear behind your

VALUE AHED

Bills (paper money) of the lowest value change hands more often than bills of higher value. Here's how long the typical bill lasts before wearing out:

$1 bill: 22 months $10 bill: 18 months $50 bill: 5 years

$5 bill: 16 months $20 bill: 2 years $100 bill: 8.5 years

6 EARNING MONEY

ears. Money usually has to be earned. Your parents have had to work to earn money. This work was either making something (a product) or doing something (a service) for other people. And people were willing to pay your parents money for the product or service.

People pay for products and services every day. Products are things you can touch or hold. Products include things like food, CDs, clothes, and cars. Services include acts, such as selling houses, paving driveways, and repairing cars or bikes. When people trade their money for a product or a service, they are saying, "What you have is as valuable to me as this money I hold." They exchange, or trade, their money for something another person has or can do for them. Most people work for money. They use the money they earn for the products and services they need or want.

WHERE DOES MONEY COME FROM?

The money that people work so hard for gets a workout. Money moves from hand to hand for a long time. The coin you picked up off the ground yesterday could be nearly thirty years old. Paper money wears

out sooner than coins, but it can also BANK In just one day,

ON IT the Bureau of

last many years.

Engraving and

Bills (paper money) stay in use until Printing makes they are worn out or badly torn. 37 million Then banks exchange their old bills bills with a

about

send old bills to the Federal Reserve $696 million.

System. The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. Workers there shred old bills and recycle or bury them. Old coins go to the U.S. Mint. Workers melt down old coins and use the metal again to make shiny, new coins.

Two U.S. Treasury Department agencies can make money. They are the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes paper money. The mint makes coins. You can visit these places to watch dollar bills and coins being made—but you won't get any free samples. Mints in Denver,

8 EARNING MONEY

The Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of twelve banks in the Federal Reserve System.

Colorado, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, make most of the coins people use. Mints in San Francisco, California, and West Point, New York, make coins to mark special occasions. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is in Washington, D.C.

How Do You GET YOUR HANDS ON SOME MONEY?

With all this talk about money, you're probably wondering, "How can I get some?" Well, you've come to the right place. In these pages, you'll find some thoughts, ideas, tips, and answers to questions that can help you earn money.

Text Box: You might not start a business out of your garage like Microsoft's computer wizard Bill Gates did. But you will learn a thing or two about earning money.

KNOW YOUR Bill

1	Portrait	8 Seal and letter of the Federal
2	Seal of the U.S. Treasury	Reserve Bank that issued the bill
	Department	9 Signature of the U.S. Secretary of
3	Serial number	the Treasury
4	Year the bill was designed	10 Great Seal of the United States
5	Printing plate identification	11 The eagle is an American symbol. It
	number	represents America's great
6	Number of the Federal Reserve	strength.
	Bank that issued the bill	12 The olive branch stands for peace.
7	Value	The arrows show that the United
	6 8	States will fight to defend itself.