Answer: It depends on how you define money. From $7.6 trillion (physical currency) to $90 trillion (broad money). 

This audio and infographic below are great ways to bring the concept of money to life and also help provide context to the size of the various markets and the U.S. position relative to the rest of the world. 

Audio from Marketplace (hat tip to Sonia; duration, 3:19): 

Questions: 

• What type of money is included in M0 (zero)? 
• What is included in the term "broad money" and how much larger is it than M0? 
• Is there more money in physical form (coins, currency) or digital (ledgers in bank balances)? 
• Is all the money saved in banks sitting in a bank vault somewhere? Where is it? 
• Why is the dollar considered so important when it comes to the global economy?
• List three key facts that you gleaned from the infographic below. 

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Here are the ready-to-use slides for class. Here's an awesome infographic from our friends at Visual Capitalist which takes the concept of money and adds the value of various asset classes to the equation (bitcoin, stock markets, real estate, bond markets, derivatives).

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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