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M
oney is used around the world. We use it to buy and sell products and services. Money is any
object of value that can be exchanged for a product or service. Nowadays we use coins and paper
notes, but in the past, many things have been used as money, such as animals, sacks of grain, shells
or beads.
Using metal coins as money became popular
because animals can die and shells can be broken.
Metal is a hard, resistant substance that's easy to
carry around. Paper notes were rst used in the
7th century A.D. in China. They were more
convenient because large amounts of coins are
heavy and di cult to carry around.
Spending habits have changed in recent years.
Most people now keep their money in a bank
account. We can use debit cards and credit cards
to pay for things without carrying large quantities
of money around.
Debit and credit cards make shopping easy, but we
sometimes spend too much without realising.
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