World 1 · Foundations

Money foundations

Start from zero: what money is and the words it uses. You will understand the basic language of money — what it is, why it has value, and how it moves.

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Start from zero: what money is and the words it uses.

By the end of this world

You will understand the basic language of money — what it is, why it has value, and how it moves.

What money is

• What money is and why it exists — Money is an agreement that solves a very old problem: trading without it is slow and awkward. (6 min · Foundation)
• How money evolved — From barter to coins to paper to numbers on a screen — and the difference between money and currency. (7 min · Foundation)
• Why money has value — Paper and pixels are worth something because of trust — and what that trust buys changes over time. (6 min · Foundation)

The words of money

• Price and value — What something costs and what it is worth to you are different questions, and prices move for reasons. (6 min · Foundation)
• Income, wealth, assets and liabilities — What comes in is not the same as what you keep — and what you own is not the same as what you owe. (7 min · Foundation)
• Cash flow and liquidity — Money moving in and out over time, and how quickly what you have can become spendable. (6 min · Foundation)
• Opportunity cost — Every choice has a hidden price: the best thing you gave up to make it. (5 min · Foundation)

Where money lives

• How banks work — What a bank actually does with your deposit, and why your balance is a promise rather than a pile of cash. (7 min · Foundation)
• How the financial system fits together — Banks, markets, payment networks and central banks — the plumbing your money runs through. (7 min · Practical)
• Inflation — the basic idea — Why the same amount of money buys a little less most years, and what that means for savings. (6 min · Foundation)