[Video] You Time-Traveled Through 5,000 Years of Finance - And It Explains Why You’re Still Broke

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You Time Traveled Through 5,000 Years of Finance — And It Explains

Introduction: The Money Game You Were Born Into

You didn’t choose this system — but you live in it every day.Your rent, your paycheck, your credit score… all part of a game that started over 5,000 years ago.

From barley and clay tablets in Mesopotamia to Bitcoin and digital wallets, money has always been a story of trust, control, and survival. And understanding that story might explain why you’re still broke — and how to break free.

1. Mesopotamia (3000 BCE): When Debt Was Invented

In ancient Mesopotamia, people didn’t have coins or banks.They traded grain and livestock, and when someone owed too much, they recorded it on clay tablets — the world’s first receipts.

Temples became vaults. Priests became bankers.Interest was born — 10 sacks borrowed, 12 returned.

💡 Debt isn’t new. It’s been shaping lives for 5,000 years — and it’s still one reason people stay broke today.

2. Lydia, Greece & Rome (600 BCE): Coins, Credit, and the First Investors

Fast forward to 600 BCE. The kingdom of Lydia mints the first coins — stamped with lions, backed by kings.Trade explodes. Greece builds banks.And in Rome, citizens buy shares in government contracts — an early version of the stock market.

They invented returns, dividends, and risk.The same game we play today — just with gold instead of apps.

3. Tang Dynasty China (820 CE): The First Paper Money

During the Tang Dynasty, merchants on the Silk Road needed something lighter than gold.So they created “flying cash” — the first paper money.

It was backed by trust in the emperor, not metal.And for the first time, money became an idea, not a thing.

Sound familiar? Today’s money — dollars, crypto, even your Venmo balance — works the same way.

4. Florence, Italy (1400 CE): The Medici Bank and the Power of Ledgers

In the 1400s, Giovanni de’ Medici built an empire in Florence using double-entry bookkeeping — a revolutionary system that tracked every debit and credit.He financed popes, kings, and artists like Michelangelo — all through clean math, not military power.

That system became the foundation of modern banking. Today’s Excel spreadsheets, accounting apps, and crypto ledgers? All born here.

5. England (1100–1800s): The Wooden Money Hack

In medieval England, the king’s tax collectors used tally sticks — wooden sticks split in half to track payments.One half for the crown, one for the taxpayer.

They couldn’t be forged.They were used for over 700 years — longer than cash or credit cards have existed.

A reminder that even simple systems can last when built on trust and transparency.

6. Amsterdam (1637): The First Financial Bubble

The Dutch East India Company created the first stock market.But what went viral wasn’t stocks — it was tulips.

At the peak of Tulip Mania, a single bulb could buy a mansion.Then the bubble popped — and people lost everything.

💡 Different century, same story. From GameStop to crypto hype, FOMO still makes people broke.

7. The Industrial Age (1800s): Money Goes Global

By the 1800s, families like the Rothschilds turned finance into a global network. They financed railroads, wars, and entire governments — faster than nations could move armies.

Money was no longer local. It became a worldwide system of trust — the early form of the global economy we live in today.

8. 1929: When Trust Collapsed

Then came the Great Depression. Stocks crashed. Banks failed. Millions went broke overnight.

In response, the U.S. created the FDIC (to protect deposits) and the SEC (to regulate markets). The message was clear: if trust dies, money dies.

9. Modern Era (1971–2009): From Gold to Code

In 1971, President Nixon ended the gold standard — meaning your dollars stopped being backed by anything physical.Money became pure belief.

Then in 2008, another collapse hit.And in the chaos, a new idea emerged: Bitcoin.

A currency with no borders, no banks, and no middlemen.The same trust game — rewritten in code.

Back to Today: The Game Never Ends

You wake up. Your phone buzzes.Your balance: $16.42.

But now you know — money was never real.It’s a story we all agreed to believe. And those who understand that story don’t just survive the system…They use it.

The Takeaway

You’re not broke because you’re lazy or unlucky.You’re broke because you were never taught how the system really works.

And that’s why Clear Path Gen exists — to teach money in a way that’s smart, fun, and real.

Start early. Think sharp. Learn right. That’s your Clear Path.