Money was invented to make exchanges more comfortable, not needing to take your herd of donkeys to the market anymore in order to get some food in return.

It seems there aren't many people who understand this. Money is a tool that was invented to make trading more efficient, and it's an exceptionally useful invention.

Without money, if you have a donkey and want a loaf of bread, you need to find someone who has a loaf of bread and wants a donkey. That might be nearly impossible, and even if you do find that perfect trading partner, you're going to have problems making change. Your donkey is worth much more than a loaf of bread, so how do you make that exchange? You can't.

So you then find someone who's willing to give you rice in exchange for your donkey. You take that rice, not because you want the rice, but because you know that rice is more marketable than your donkey, plus you can make change with your rice. Now, you can take your rice and exchange some of it for a loaf of bread.

In this example, rice just became a form of currency.

p.s. We miss you Marly! See ya in Lisbon!