‘Invisible money’ caught my attention

A representative from Junior Achievement, Vanessa Jensen, came as a speaker to last week’s meeting of the Waseca Exchange Club. Either in this edition or in one to come, you will find an article that summarizes her full presentation, but in this column I feel inspired to talk about a term she used which caught my attention.

“Invisible money.”

The phrase made sense immediately. It is likely true that most people these days receive their pay, cover the cost of their bills, and circulate throughout society performing many functions without ever actually seeing any cash.

As soon as Vanessa mentioned Junior Achievement has made it a goal to help young learners overcome the concept of invisible money, it became crystal clear what she meant.

This past fall, I took my 13-year-old granddaughter to an amusement park located at the north end of the Chicago metropolitan complex. We drove all the way there, dining at her favorite restaurant, Culver’s. We entered the amusement park. We rode roller coasters, shopped at the overpriced stores, and ate at an overpriced restaurant–although only once. Even knowing it would be expensive, I was appalled when it cost nearly $75 for the two of us to eat. After that, we made a point of dining outside the park.

On the way home on Sunday, it was an astoundingly pleasant day. When we passed a sign that said “Ride the original Wisconsin Dells Ducks,” I decided we would add that experience to our weekend.

To use a platitude, “a good time was had by all.” 

I tell this story here not because I have any regrets, but because it is a fantastic example of invisible money. If any cash was spent during that whole weekend, it was a miniscule percentage of  the cost of the trip.

Money has become a progressive spreadsheet in our heads. Our income is deposited electronically, we spend it electronically. The conveniences are obviously numerous. I do not have to run to the bank for cash to make my expenditures. In an emergency, I have access to “all” my money. Even when I’m far from home, it makes no difference–my card goes through.

But our offspring are not acquiring an understanding of the way things work. First of all, they know we disappear somewhere every day saying “I have to go to work,” but they seldom see the work take place–and in many cases, even if they saw it, they would not recognize it as effort. 

Then they see us come home, none the worse for wear, and proceed to go places and do things, all with no apparent cost or effort, simply sliding a card or our smart phones past a little electronic box. Heck, sometimes they see the card slide and then cash appears: Magic!

It makes me think there might be children around who, upon receiving some cash, might have no idea what it’s for. 

Back when my children were children, lo 30-some years ago, I could show them there was “nothing” in my wallet and the point would be clear.  These days, there’s “nothing” in my wallet most of the time, yet I am out and about, doing and acquiring things.

Clearly, we manage to make our “progressive mental spreadsheets” work, but we shouldn’t be surprised when young children don’t believe us when we say, “I don’t have money for that.” After all, we don’t seem to have any “money” at all, and life proceeds as normal.

Vanessa mentioned that some parents, upon recognizing the faulty perception, have made a point of carrying cash, and showing their children that, once it’s spent, it’s “gone.” It seems it might be helpful for a fair number of families to give that a try.