Where Does The Money Go When You Buy What You Want?
Answer: When you give money to a store owner or a salesperson, that person puts it in a safe place, such as a drawer, a safe, or a bank.
Later the store owner can use the money to pay the employees and to pay for things he or she wants.
The employees then go out and buy things that they want. And the store owners who get those dollars do the same thing with the money they get.
Let’s say you give Mr. Jones a dollar to buy a toy you want. Later, Mr. Jones uses that dollar to buy a stamp at the post office.
Then the postal clerk gives the dollar to Mrs. Smith as change.
Mrs. Smith goes home and gives her son the dollar for his allowance. The money just keeps going from person to person!
Key verse: When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons.” (2 Kings 4:7)
Related verse: Proverbs 14:23
Related questions: When you buy with a check, what does the person you gave the check to do with it? What happens after you give someone a check?
Note to parents: It’s not immediately obvious where money goes when you buy something, so this is a logical question.
Just try to explain that it simply changes hands. One person gives it to another.
Why Isn’t A Dollar Worth A Dollar Anymore?
Answer: When people say that a dollar isn’t worth a dollar anymore, they mean that a dollar doesn’t buy as much in a store as it used to.
Let’s say that ten years ago a dollar bought ten chocolate chip cookies. But today when you go to the store you only get seven cookies for your dollar.
You would be getting less for your money than you used to. This happens for many reasons, but it’s a little like a circle of dominoes.
The store owner, the baker, the chocolate- chip maker, and the cocoa-bean farmer are all dominoes in the circle.
If a hurricane wipes out part of the cocoa-bean crop, the cocoa-bean farmer has to raise his prices.
The chocolate chip maker has to pay more for cocoa, so he then has to raise his prices.
The baker has to pay more for chocolate chips, so he has to raise his prices.
And the store owner has to pay more for cookies, so he has to raise his prices.
It is not always that simple, but that’s one reason prices go up.
Don’t worry about it, though. No matter what a dollar is worth, God is in control, and we can trust him to take care of us.
Key verse: The Lord will not let the godly starve to death, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:3)
Related verses: 1 Kings 10:29; Proverbs 11:28; Ezekiel 7:19
Related question: Why did prices inflate so much from what they used to be?
Why Do We Put Our Money In The Bank When We Have To Keep Going Back There To Get It?
Answer: The main reason that people put money in banks is for safety.
At home you can lose your money or someone can steal it. But it is very difficult to steal from a bank.
It’s also easier to keep your money in a bank than to keep it all in your house or in your pocket. Banks are safe and easy to use.
Banks also pay you a little bit when you save your money there. That’s called interest.
Key verses: The master replied, “You wicked and lazy servant! You think I’m a hard man, do you, harvesting crops I didn’t plant and gathering crops I didn’t cultivate? Well, you should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest.” (Matthew 25:26-27)
Related questions: Why do we have banks when they just get robbed? Why can’t we just keep our money at home?
Note to parents: Children who are old enough to have their own bank accounts are still years away from being able to get to their money without your help.
It’s a good idea to let them keep enough of their spending money at home that they are not frustrated by this.