How do ATMs work? (And other money questions from you!)
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Welcome back to Million Bazillion, where today, Bridget and Ryan are answering brilliant listener questions. Before we get started, this episode of Million Bazillion is brought to you by Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids and teens. Greenlight gives kids their own debit cards, helps them track their spending in real time, and shows them where their money goes. Learn how money really works with Greenlight. Sign up now at greenlight.com slash million.

Ah ha! Look Bridget, here's my old Memorex Polyproto Synclapitronulator. This puppy was state of the art back in the day. Ew, Ryan, there's like an inch of dust on all this stuff. How long has this equipment been sitting in your attic? I guess it's been a while. I probably had frosted tips the last time I recorded anything with this old Quantum Wave Matrix 300. Does this stuff even work anymore?

Maybe we should just go back to the studio. We have so many questions to answer today, and I think that most of our listeners listen digitally through a podcast app or a smart speaker, you know? Nonsense. Retro is cool now, Bridget. I read an article about it in Hi-Fi magazine, all about how kids these days are into old school technology like vinyl records and cassette tapes. Wow, really? Cassette tapes?

You mean like the small plastic rectangular cases with the two little spools of magnetic tape inside and we like make mixtapes with them? That cassette tape. The real deal, Bridget. Kids these days crave an authentic experience that isn't just zeros and ones inside their phones. Enough with the digital. We're going to make the first ever analog episode of Million Bazillion. It'll be a hit with Gen Y or Alpha or... I can't keep track of all the generations. Oh.

Okay, if the kids are really into retro stuff these days, I guess it won't hurt to give it a try. I have a blank cassette tape and a classic Neon Synth Reel 400 right here. As soon as you're ready, I'll press the record button. Ready. Okay, here we go. ♪

Hey everyone, welcome to Million Bazillion on tape. I'm Bridget. And I'm Ryan, and we help dollars make more sense. And we're going to record this entire episode using analog technology. That means non-digital, kids. No computers involved. And that goes for the questions we answer, too. Non-digital. We want to create our most authentic episode yet. Free from the chains of modern technology, but very chained by old technology.

And we have a ton of questions to answer today, but our cassette only has a certain amount of tape we can record with. So that means we only have so much time before it runs out. So let's get right to it and listen to our first question. All right, let me just pop the cassette of kid questions into my old ultra-quadraphonic maximizer boombox, and we can play the first question here. Here we go.

Oh, wrong tape. Wrong tape. Oh, I used to love this song. Wait a minute. Does that tape say, for my prom date 1998? Was this a mixtape for your high school prom date? What? No. I don't even know where that came from, Bridget. You know I hate all that mushy stuff. This one here is the right tape. Here we go.

Hello, my name is Rosie from San Francisco, California. My question is, where did the penny get its name? Thanks, Rosie. Good question. Where did the penny get its name? The U.S. penny actually got its name from the British penny. The British penny? Oh, geez, not the accent again. But yes, so before the United States made its own money, it was common for people to use all kinds of coins from different countries, including the British penny.

When the United States started making or minting their own coins in 1793, they chose to make a one-cent coin of their own. But people were, I guess, already used to calling a one-cent coin a penny. And so now it's tradition. Well, would you look at that? We answered Rosie's question and digital technology didn't even come up once. Press the play button again, Bridget, and we can listen to the next question. We're on a roll. We live in the wild and

Uh, Ryan, what happened? Did I break something? This old ultra-quadraphonic maximizer can be tricky sometimes. Hang on, let me mess around with some of these buttons and see what happens. No. Okay. I think that should do it. Hi, my name is Aisha. And my name is Veer. We live in Mumbai, India. And we would like to know how do ATMs work?

Oh, how do ATMs work? You've come to the right podcasters, Ayesha and Beer. Ryan and I use ATMs all the time. We are practically experts. ATMs are most certainly not analog. But come to think of it, I need to get some cash out to pay Skimbleshanks' cat sitter for watching him while we were visiting your Grammy Gracie. So I guess I'll make an exception this one time. I think we should take this show on the road and visit a real ATM. Thankfully, this tape recorder...

While heavy is portable. So we can take it on the go. All right, let's do it. We're going to pack up our equipment and we'll be back to visit an ATM IRL RAT. RAT? Right after this. Oh.

And now it's time for asking random kids not-so-random questions. Today's question is, if you could use ATM machines to dispense something other than money, what would you want to get? Well, I personally would want to get cars with their car keys. I would like a pet dolphin.

Yarn so I can knit. Baby dragon eggs because you could actually live how to train your dragon. I think it would be cool if they would dispense Lego sets because they're really fun. I would want to get a snake from the ATM machine and then an autograph from every sports player.

That was Kai in Florida, Ella in Kentucky, Cecilia in Colorado, Stella in California, Riel in Edmonton, and Benjamin in Texas. This has been asking random kids not-so-random questions. ♪

And we're back. Ryan and I are walking over to his neighborhood bank to use an ATM. So ATM stands for automated teller machine, and it lets you do some basic banking tasks like putting money into your account or taking money out without actually going into the bank. Back in the old days, people had to go inside the bank and talk to a teller every time they needed to get money from their account.

Now it's all computerized and a robot can do it all for you. Ryan, I'm pretty sure banks are not using robots, but ATM machines... Hey, ATMs! Saying ATM machine is redundant. It's like saying automated teller machine machine. Okay, anywho, ATM machine... I mean, ATMs...

They can do a lot, but they can't do everything. We still need human tellers for some banking stuff. Like, sometimes those ATMs run out of money. So the banks have to send a person to go refill them. All right, we made it. We're standing outside my local bank, First Unemployed Actors Credit Union. Here's the ATM. All right, and now Ryan's going to walk us through how to use it. Ryan, take it away. Okay, for starters, you need to have a banking card, like a debit card.

Here's mine. I paid extra to get a card with a baby panda eating a stalk of bamboo on it. See?

Totally worth it. Wow, that is a very cute panda. Now go ahead, put it in the card slot. Okay, the machine just took my card, and now it's prompting me to enter my PIN. That's a special four-digit code I made up when I opened my bank account. At the bank, they told me 1, 2, 3, 4 wasn't very secure, so I created a code so genius it's virtually uncorrectable. It's Skimbleshanks' birthday, isn't it? What?!

No? You think I can't think of a better code than my cat's birthday? How dare you, Bridget? Okay, now if you would, I'd like a little privacy while I enter my PIN number. Thank you very much. Fine, fine. I'll turn around. Also, it's just PIN. What? Saying PIN number is redundant. It's like saying personal identification number number. You got me there, Bridget. Hoisted in my own petard, am I? Ha ha.

All right, we're in. Now the ATM connects to my bank account digitally so I can keep track of how much money I put in or take out. There's a few options on the screen here. View account balance. We will not be doing that today. Then deposit and withdraw. All right, since Ryan is getting cash out to pay his cat sitter, he's going to press withdraw, which means take money out. And if he wanted to put money into his bank account, he'd press withdraw.

Um, excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but you're kind of holding up the line. Oh, uh, sorry. We were just wrapping up. And what's that old clunky tape recorder you're using? You know, it'd probably be easier to use a smartphone. What business is it of yours? I'll have you know this is a Neon Synth Reel 400. Show some respect. It was state-of-the-art back in 1982. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to banking. Let's just try to pick up the pace, okay, Ryan? Oh, no, I got the light on.

Okay, hold on, hold on. I got it, I got it. Okay, I think it's still recording. Just keep going, Ryan. Uh, where were we? Uh, right. I'm going to select the amount of money I need. Then the machine will find the right bills and pop them out of this little basket below the screen. And here it is. Cold hard cash. Crispy bills. Can you hear the crispness? Listen to the crispness. Crispy, crispy. Yes, yes, it's very crispy. And then just don't forget to put your card back in your wallet and take your receipt. And there you have it, folks. Now let's, uh...

let these other people take their turn and we will just move on to our next question. Okay, let's hear the next question on the tape. We can play it on this portable Echo Max 88 tape player that I brought along. Hi, my name is Bennett from Honolulu, Hawaii. And my question is, how do airlines determine the price of a ticket? Thanks. Thanks.

Ooh, great question, Bennett. So I think that we need an expert to help us answer this one. You know, grown-ups like to complain about airfare prices and how unpredictable they can be. Yeah, it's not like there's one set price to fly from one city to another. It seems like they're always changing, and some seats in the plane cost more than others. And what are those seats at the very front of the plane? Why have I never sat there once? It doesn't seem to make much sense. Well, let's

call up an airline and see if we can talk to someone in charge who knows all about this stuff. Just gonna pull out my smartphone here. Bridget! That smartphone is not analog, and it does not belong in our analog episode. But this is my phone. Like, how else are we supposed to talk to an expert? We need to talk to a real-life human being in person, Bridget. That's how we're gonna make the most authentic episode with genuine human connection, not some voice talking out of a device. You realize that

For all our listeners, we are voices talking out of a device. I know, but I want to be authentic. Authentic.

Authentic. Okay, okay. Oh, look, there's a travel agency right next to the bank. Let's just go in and see if someone can help us out. Oh, yeah. A travel agency is one of the most retro businesses out there. Back before booking plane tickets and hotels and stuff became easy to do on your own with a computer or cell phone, a lot of people would hire travel agents to book their vacations for them. Amazing. This travel agency is called Dream Getaway, and the sign in the window says voted number one travel agency.

Doesn't say voted by who, though. Seems legit. Let's go inside. Hello? Is there anyone here? Oh, hello. What are you doing here? Oh, I'm sorry. Is this a travel agency? Oh, yes. I'm just not used to people being in here. Welcome to Dream Getaway. My name is Martha. Where are we planning a getaway to today? Dover, Delaware? Stockton, California? Either of the Peorias?

Oh, we're not actually planning a vacation. My name is Bridget and this is Ryan. We're podcasters who answer kids' questions about money and we're just hoping that someone can help us understand how airlines set ticket prices. Oh, I see. It's just that it's been so long since I've had a new client, but being a travel agent, I do know a thing or two about airline prices. I'm happy to help. Come, have a seat.

Okay, so we're wondering why plane ticket prices are so weird. Like, why is it that two people could buy tickets for the same flight and pay two totally different prices? It's the same flight, right? Well, a lot of factors go into how airlines determine the price of a plane ticket. It can depend on how far you're flying, of course, but also when you buy the ticket, how popular the flight is, and what kind of seat you

pick, like first class or economy. That seems complicated. Why not just charge everyone the same price? Think of it like this. The airline has to pay for a flight to take off, no matter what, so their goal is to sell as many seats as possible and make as much money off those seats as possible. Say you're flying to get somewhere, like to get to your vacation. You might want to save your dollars for when you get

to your vacation destination. So you're okay with fewer perks as long as the price is right. As in lower? Exactly. But let's say you're a business person who flies for work all the time. You might want to be a little more

more comfortable. And maybe your company is willing to pay a higher price for the perks you get in first class. Right. Okay, so like in first class, you sit in the front of the plane, you get tons of leg room, your seat leans all the way back, and they bring you all kinds of fancy snacks. Not just those little pretzels. It's very fancy. Oh,

So that's what those people at the front of the plane are doing. They're in first class. And airfare prices also depend on timing. Have you ever noticed how it's more expensive to fly around the holidays? Yeah, I have noticed that.

Airlines know that a lot of people will want to book flights around the holidays to visit family. So they'll raise prices around those times because those flights will be more popular, meaning there's more demand. And generally speaking, ticket prices go up the closer it gets to the date of a flight. It's a good rule of thumb to book as early as possible if you want to get the best price.

Wow, a lot of factors at play here. How do airlines manage something so complicated? A lot of this work of setting ticket prices is done by algorithms nowadays. Algorithms are kind of like a recipe that you can give a computer to do a task over and over, so the algorithm will adjust prices to make the airline the most money possible.

I knew a robot was a foot. Yep, so much for this whole non-digital thing. This reminds me, Bridget, I still haven't booked my flights to San Francisco for that financial literacy podcast convention we're going to. Ryan, it's two weeks away. The prices are going to be outrageous. I hear you need help with a flight. Maybe I can help you find a deal. No, thanks. We've got a mixtape to finish, but thanks for your other help. Ah, it was worth a try. Thanks, Martha. Anytime.

We're running out of tape on the first side of our cassette. Listeners, we'll see you on the flip side for more Million Bazillion. Flip side. Get it? Because we're making a mixtape. Yep. Ryan, I get it. Okay. Oh, the tape's about to run out now. Hey, Bazillionaires. This episode of Million Bazillion is presented in partnership with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids and teens.

We've been talking about ATMs and how they magically spit out money, as long as there's actually money in your account, of course. The ATM isn't a mystic money printer. It's just the one part of the banking process we can put our fingers on. Learning about the rest will help you build confidence with your cash in hand. With Greenlight, you get your own debit card and learn how to manage money in real time, track spending, set savings goals, and always know what's in your account.

And unlike those old cassette tapes, keeping tabs on your money will never go out of style. Learn how money really works with Greenlight. Sign up now at greenlight.com slash million. Once again, that's greenlight.com slash million. Okay, right. You can go ahead. Press the record button. Rolling in 3, 2, 1.

We're rolling. Ryan, I think this is your line. Oh, right. Hello, listeners. You're listening to the B side of our Million Bazillion mixtape. That means the second side of the tape as opposed to the A side. We're back to answer more of the questions that you have about money. Yeah, now usually the B side has the less popular songs on it, but I think this B side is going to be even better than our A side. Ryan and I are still outside the travel agency where we just learned about how airlines set ticket prices.

Spoiler alert, it's complicated. We're going to play the next question from Ryan's tape on the Echo Fax 8000. It's an Echo Max 88, Bridget. Right, right. Of course it is. Okay, now go ahead. Play our next question. Hi, Million Bazillion. I'm Alice and I live in Houston, Texas. I was wondering how much people in the government, like the president, make and how do they decide? Thank you.

Thanks for the question, Alice. Coincidentally, I know this one off the top of my head. Hang on, Bridget. I think something's wrong with the Echo Max 88. It looks like the recessed spooling flange is jammed and the tape sounds all garbled. Then just take it out. Oh, no. The Echo Max 88 ruined our tape. It looks like spaghetti now and not the kind I want to eat. Oh, bummer.

I guess that's the end of the mixtape then, huh? Fear not, Bridget. I know what to do. I just need to put a pencil through this little sprocket and I'm going to feed the tape through here and then I can just wind this up here and there we go. That's an old trick I learned in my old high school A.V. club days. Let's keep rolling. All right. Back to Alice's question. I was saying I recently won second place at a government trivia game night, so I know how much the president makes.

Government trivia game night? Do you really want to admit that's what you do for fun to all our listeners? Well, I'll have you know it's because of my love for government trivia that I know the answer to Alice's question, so ha! And you said we were supposed to be authentic on this episode. I guess I did say that. All right, go on. Tell us the answer. The President of the United States makes...

$400,000 a year. It's actually a law. Whoa! $400,000 and free housing for four years? Yep. So put another way, that's over six times what the average American worker makes.

Well, it's a pretty big job, I suppose, running the country and all. And get this. Way back in 1789, when George Washington became our first president, his salary was $25,000. But you know how inflation makes the price of things go up over time? So using one of those fancy equations that tells you how much you can buy with today's dollars, we know that George Washington's salary in today's money would have been $900,000. Wow.

Sheesh, that's over double what presidents make today. But why did George Washington get paid that much in the first place? Like, it's the first president of the United States of all time. How did they come up with that number? Like, pull it out of a hat? That's a good question. I don't know. Maybe we should...

go somewhere where we can learn more about history, like a history museum or something. Now you're talking, Bridget. Genuine hands-on podcasting. Wait, look. That sign over there says President's Day Sale. Maybe the folks over there know something about George Washington's salary. Ryan, that is a used car dealership. I don't think they specialize in U.S. history. I think they specialize in cars. Let's go anyway. It's worth a shot.

Whoa! There's a ton of red, white, and blue balloons in this parking lot. A big cardboard cutout of Mount Rushmore. And over there, one of those big dancing inflatables decorated like Abe Lincoln. Hey there. You two looking to buy a car? My name's Jeremy. We're having a huge President's Day sale. And I can get you set up for a test drive in this handsome 2012 sedan if you want.

That sounds great and all, but we're actually interested in the patriotic decor in the parking lot here. We're hoping to learn more about how presidents get paid for our podcast, and we noticed your sign. Oh. Well, we sell cars here, but...

I actually do have a master's degree in U.S. history. I just do the used car thing to help pay my rent, so maybe I can help. See, Bridget? This guy is a presidential expert. I knew it when I saw the sign. So do you know anything about why George Washington got paid what he did when he first became president? Yeah, so it's interesting. George Washington didn't even want a salary at all when he was elected.

We get that, sir. But we need to make it known that anyone, even a farmer or blacksmith, not just the wealthy, can become president in this country. If we don't offer a good wage, some good people won't be able to take the job. How is Jeremy doing all these different voices?

And getting paid well to be the president might keep you from being tempted to make decisions in your own financial self-interest, rather than choosing to do what's best for the public. Plus, the whole point is that the president works for the people of the country. They're your boss. They pay you to work for them. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. I agree. I guess when you put it that way, it makes sense for the head of the country to earn a sizable salary.

A president shouldn't need to worry about making enough money. They should only have to worry about what's best for the people. And while I don't need the money, maybe the next president will. Wow. Forget history, Jeremy. You should be an actor, doing all the different voices and using the Mount Rushmore cutout as a prop. That was great. Really, it's a pleasure to watch you work. Really, you're fantastic. Yeah, yeah. So was the next president a farmer or a blacksmith who couldn't have taken the job if it didn't pay well? Oh.

No. Actually, a lot of presidents throughout history were already wealthy before they took office. And a lot of them earn money in other ways, too, when they're done being president, like they write books. The old president to best-selling memoir pipeline. Many a book by Jimmy Carter I've finished cover to cover. The man wrote 32 bestsellers. And anyway, it's really more the principle of the salary that matters,

It signifies that the president works for us, the citizens, and that their own financial troubles shouldn't affect how they lead the country. Wow, it's comforting to know that the president in office would never make policy decisions for their own financial benefit.

But then what about the other people in government? Who decides how much they make? Well, that's Congress's job. They decide how much the members of the executive branch, like the president and vice president, make. And Congress even gets to decide how much Congress makes.

Ah, not to be confused with the confidence one gains from carrying around an incredibly chic designer bag. The power of the purse means Congress gets to decide how the government spends its money. I wish I could set my own salary. If I were in Congress, I'd make myself a gazillionaire.

There are some downsides to choosing your own salary, actually. The average congressperson makes a little over $170,000. That's a little bit less than half of the president's salary. And they haven't given themselves a raise in a really long time either. It's kind of tough because you want people to vote for you, and it's a bad look to just be giving yourself raises all the time. Not if I were in Congress. I'd make giving myself a raise look very cool. Sure.

Sure you would, Ryan. I think that answers Alice's question, though. Thanks, Jeremy. Thanks a lot. Happy to help. See ya. And if you change your mind about that sedan, hit me up.

Well, we're about to run out of tape on the B-side, so I guess that's all the questions we can answer today. Gee, Bridget, all this analog podcasting is tough work. And have you noticed how digital technology is, like, everywhere? ATMs, airline prices. You just can't escape the digital revolution, I guess. Yeah, and maybe we should stick to recording our episodes, like, in a studio, you know?

It's a lot easier than handling all this tape and bulky equipment. But anyways, I can't wait for our listeners to hear this. I just know this is the kind of cool retro stuff kids are looking for. I can just picture it. Everyone listening on their Vivitrex 900 scan tronulators, digging their feet into thick brown shag carpet, and just disconnecting from screens and phones.

Do you think that any of our listeners even have a scantronulator? Well, not all of them yet. But as a geriatric millennial, I can continue to hope this retro technology trend will really take off and soon everyone will be asking their parents for one when their birthday rolls around. Just you wait.

Well, I guess until then, this episode will remain a hidden gem. If any of our listeners out there have a money question you want us to answer, send us a tape of your question. Or you can send it to us at our website. That is marketplace.org slash million. All right, play us out with that theme music. Wait, Ryan, is that another love song from your prom date mixtape? No. Stop laughing at me.

All right, that's it for the first ever mixtape episode of Million Bazillion. Thank you for listening. If you want to learn more about any of the questions we answered, we'll have information at our website, marketplace.org slash million, and in the show notes for this episode. And did you know we have a newsletter? So sign up at marketplace.org slash million to get new episodes delivered straight to your inbox and a tip sheet for this topic.

with conversation starters and more. Million Bazillion is brought to you by Marketplace from American Public Media. This episode was written by Courtney Bergseeker and hosted by me, Ryan Perez, and Bridget Bodner. We had some extra help voicing this episode from Courtney Bergseeker, Henry Epp, Drew Jostad, Megan McCarty Carino, Nick Perez, and Daniel Shin. Million Bazillion's editor is Jasmine Romero. Our producers are Courtney Bergseeker, Menju Park, Zohal Mullock,

and Marissa Cabrera is our senior producer. Sam Baer sound designed this episode, Becca Weinman did the mixing, and our theme music was created by Wunderly. Bridget Bodner is the director of podcasts at Marketplace. Francesca Levy is the executive director of digital. Neil Scarborough is the VP and general manager.

Million Pazillion is funded in part by the Cy Sims Foundation, partnering with organizations and people working for a better and more just future since 1985. And special thanks to the Ranzetta Family Charitable Fund and NextGen Personal Finance for providing the startup funding for this podcast and continuing to support Marketplace and our work to make younger audiences smarter about the economy.

If Million Bazillion is helping your family have important conversations about money, consider making a one-time donation today at marketplace.org slash givemillion. And thanks for your support. Hey, Bazillionaires. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode presented in partnership with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids. Today, Bridget and Ryan took a blast to the past and answered your questions via the retro technology of cassette tape.

Old school or new, good money habits are always in style. Learn how money really works with Greenlight. Sign up now at greenlight.com slash million. Once again, that's greenlight.com slash million.