🌸 Is Today’s Monetary System Dehumanizing Us? Let’s Talk About It!
In our latest reading club discussion, we dove into Chapter 4 of The Hidden Cost of Money by @Seb Bunney and it sparked some powerful conversations about how money shapes not just our wallets, but who we are as people.
We talked about how today’s system is pushing us from long-term thinkers into short-term survivors, where we're forced to focus on meeting basic needs rather than striving for higher goals like creativity, community support, and personal growth. This shift is all about time preference—we’re more focused on the present because the future feels so uncertain.
One member shared a story about her family’s work in a factory, where corporate quotas are so impossible that managers feel forced to manipulate data just to avoid the backlash.
Another member brought up the monetization of caregiving, where she’s paid by the government to care for her mother. It’s a helpful program, but we wondered: Is turning caregiving into a transaction taking away from its humanity?
We also touched on how many young people today are choosing not to have children because of concerns about the future—whether it’s financial insecurity or fears about climate change.
💬 Does any of this resonate with you? If you’ve been feeling the pressure to meet impossible targets, the weight of financial uncertainty, or concerns about the future, join our reading club! We’re diving into these topics to better understand how we can navigate today’s challenges—together.
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em just shrugs it off, leaving people powerless to create meaningful change. This led us to think—how many of us feel trapped in a system we can’t change?
Another member pointed out something that’s happening right under our noses: Property owners push management companies to constantly raise rents to “market” levels, even for long-term tenants who have always paid on time. The result? People are being priced out of their homes because their incomes can’t keep up with the rising cost of living. Can you imagine paying rent faithfully for years only to be evicted because of a rent hike? It’s happening all around us.
We also had a real “Aha!” moment when one member admitted she had no idea that banks, not just the Federal Reserve, increase the money supply. Banks are able to lend more due to lowered reserve ratio requirements, which fuels inflation. This concept shocked many of us—most people don’t realize how the system works and how it’s affecting our wallets.
And perhaps the most heartbreaking comment came from a member whose 26-year-old son doesn’t expect to ever own a home. He’s already accepted that homeownership is out of reach due to skyrocketing prices. Imagine being in your 20s and feeling like you’ll never achieve one of the most fundamental milestones of adulthood. It’s a harsh reality that many young people are coming to terms with today.
These aren’t just stories—they’re real-life impacts of a system designed to benefit those with assets while leaving the rest to struggle. The discussions we’ve had in our reading club go beyond just reading; they’ve helped us see how these hidden forces shape our lives in ways we often don’t realize.
Are you ready to join the conversation?
Reading alone only scratches the surface. Together, we can dive deeper into the hidden cost of money and how to protect our families’ futures.
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Highlights from the Orange Hatter Reading Club...