The ability of money to timeshift resources is magical when it works: I can forego goods and services now, save more money, and then purchase more goods and ser

The ability of money to timeshift resources is magical when it works: I can forego goods and services now, save more money, and then purchase more goods and services later. However, this has limits. It doesn't work for large scale shortages like the oil shocks of the seventies. If everybody had saved money beforehand, there still wouldn't be more oil available in total. When the oil price doubles, you'll only be able to buy half as much with your savings.