Summary:
Economical concepts can be extremely intricate, but Matthew Scott’s new children’s book The Illusion of Money breaks down the creation and functioning of money into simpler terms for the young reader. The plot is lighthearted and centers around a kingdom that acquires a new ruler; he creates the concept of paper money allegedly backed by gold. It is a fun story that essentially gets children to think about how money works without getting too complex. Tune in to hear more about Scott’s book and some of the inspiration behind the story.

Highlights:
-Matthew is American and studied finance in the US. He has always been interested in how money is created
-He went to Austria and took an alternate career path because he could not speak German—he took the English teaching route and then started teaching at university, working kids camps, etc.
-Matthew recently wrote a children’s book called The Illusion of Money
-How money comes to be, gets destroyed, and functions are all very complex concepts, so it is intriguing to look at how Scott describes them in simpler terms
-Scott started with children’s books to make use of his financial expertise without merely writing a larger nonfiction book centered around finance
-The book is a fun story with the intention of getting children to think about the nature of money
-It takes place in a kingdom where the king has died, and there is no heir to the throne
-The new king promises paper money, but there is no gold to back it, which causes a surplus of inflation, and leads the kingdom towards near collapse
-Ludwig rounds up his friends, and they try to exchange their paper money for gold
-The king refuses, so they overthrow the kingdom
-Money creation is ultimately a form of wealth extraction
-The story doesn’t even mention the term ‘inflation,’ but frames this concept in a way that is digestible for young readers
-A scheme where money is created out of nowhere
-The kickstarter campaign for the book is launching September 7th and will have early bird deals
-It should be available on Amazon around early November

Useful Links:
Financial Survival Network
The Illusion of Moneyhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theillusionofmoney/the-illusion-of-money