Long before anybody swiped plastic, West Africans traded in cowrie shells, caravans crossing the Sahara used salt as currency, and the empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai moved gold that helped finance Europe’s banks. Money has always been a tool for exchanging value. It was never meant to be the thing itself, and we get into trouble when we forget that.

In this episode I walk through how we got from barter to the card in your wallet. Diners Club arrived in 1950, then American Express, and both were charge cards, which means you pay the full balance every month. Bank of America launched the first revolving credit card, the BankAmericard that later became Visa, and a group of banks answered with Master Charge, which became Mastercard. A debit card is different again. It pulls straight from your account the moment you swipe, so the days of floating a check are over.

I also share how I use these tools today. I put nearly everything on a charge card, pay it in full, file expense reports, and let the points cover flights, hotels and rental cars. At twenty years old I was running a tab at a Beverly Hills hotel and managing cash flow the only way I knew how. And yes, I tell the story of the fake car phone antenna from Radio Shack. You will have to hear that one for yourself.

My friend Tony Ressler once told me, you make money during the day, you build wealth in your sleep. Understanding the difference between cash, charge and credit is where that journey starts. Nobody gave us the memo, so consider this your copy.

🎧 Listen now — wherever you get your podcasts, or simply click below.

Prefer to watch? The full episode is on YouTube.