Money
39 explanations and counting.
What is wealth inequality?
Some people have millions while others struggle to buy food — but why does this happen, and what does it mean for everyone?
How do supermarkets make money?
Supermarkets use clever tricks beyond just marking up prices — from premium placement fees to their own-brand products that cost less to make.
What is a subsidy?
Governments hand out billions in subsidies every year — basically paying people and companies to do things they want more of.
What is globalisation?
The story of how your trainers, phone, and breakfast probably travelled thousands of miles before reaching you this morning.
How does the minimum wage work?
The minimum wage is like a speed limit for pay — it sets the lowest amount employers can legally pay workers per hour.
What is a bond?
A bond is basically an IOU that governments and companies sell to borrow money — and you can buy one to become a lender who gets paid back with interest.
What is foreign aid?
When countries help each other out with money, supplies, or expertise, it's called foreign aid — but why do they do it, and does it actually work?
How does bankruptcy work?
Bankruptcy is like hitting a financial reset button when you can't pay your debts — but it comes with some serious consequences.
What is a startup?
A startup is like a business experiment where people try to solve problems in brand new ways, hoping their idea will grow huge.
What is universal basic income?
What if everyone received free money from the government every month, no questions asked — would that fix poverty or create chaos?
How do companies go bust?
Even big famous companies can run out of money — here's how businesses collapse and what happens when they do.
What is austerity?
When governments cut spending to reduce debt, it's called austerity — but economists argue fiercely about whether it actually works.
What is a trade union?
Trade unions give workers a collective voice — so that individuals aren't negotiating alone against large, powerful employers.
What is a monopoly?
When one company controls an entire market, it can charge whatever it likes — and that's bad news for everyone else.
What is GDP?
GDP is the number politicians use to say how well a country is doing — but what does it actually measure?
What is a trade war?
When two countries start hitting each other's goods with tariffs, prices rise, businesses suffer, and everyone loses a little. That's a trade war — and they're messier than they sound.
What is quantitative easing?
When the economy is struggling, central banks can create new money out of nowhere and use it to buy things. It sounds like cheating — here's why they do it and what the catch is.
What is a hedge fund?
Hedge funds are exclusive investment pools for the very wealthy that use clever — and sometimes extremely risky — strategies to make money whether markets go up or down.
What is venture capital?
Some investors don't want safe bets — they want to find the next big thing before anyone else and put millions behind it. That's venture capital, and it funds the companies that reshape the world.
How does the housing market work?
Why do houses cost so much? Why do prices go up in some places and crash in others? The housing market has its own strange rules — and they affect almost everyone.
What is a tariff?
When countries buy and sell things from each other, governments can slap an extra charge on imported goods. That charge is a tariff — and it ripples through every price you pay.
Why do petrol prices go up so much?
One day a tank of petrol costs £60, the next it costs £80. Nothing changed about your car — so why does the price keep bouncing around?
How does the NHS work?
The NHS is the world's largest publicly funded health service, treating over a million patients every 36 hours. Here's how it's organised — and how it's paid for.
What is a credit card?
A credit card lets you spend money you don't currently have. Used well, it's a useful tool. Used carelessly, it's an extremely expensive trap.
What is cryptocurrency?
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and thousands of others. Cryptocurrency promises to reinvent money — but what is it actually, and how does it work?
What is interest?
Interest is the price of borrowing money — and the reward for saving it. Understanding it is one of the most useful things you can ever learn.
What is insurance?
Insurance is a way of sharing risk with a large group of people so that when something goes wrong, it doesn't completely ruin you financially.
What is a pension?
A pension is money you save during your working life so you can afford to stop working later. The sooner you start, the better — and here's the maths that explains why.
What is a credit score?
A three-digit number decides whether you can get a mortgage, a phone contract, or a credit card — and most people have no idea how it's calculated.
What is a recession?
The economy shrinks, jobs disappear, and everyone feels worse off. Here's what a recession actually is and why they happen.
Why do exchange rates change?
One day your holiday money goes further; the next, it doesn't. Here's why the price of one currency against another is constantly shifting.
What is supply and demand?
It's the most fundamental idea in all of economics. Two forces — how much is available and how much people want it — determine the price of almost everything.
What is the national debt?
The UK owes over £2.5 trillion. Who does it owe it to, does it ever get paid back, and should you be worried?
What is a budget?
A budget isn't just a spreadsheet for boring adults. It's one of the most powerful tools for actually getting what you want in life — at any age.
What is the stock market?
Every day, billions of pounds of company ownership changes hands through the stock market. Here's how it actually works.
How do banks make money?
Banks keep your money safe and don't charge you for it. So how are they some of the most profitable businesses on earth?
What is a mortgage?
Houses cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Almost nobody has that in the bank. A mortgage is how most people buy one anyway.
What is inflation?
Why does a can of Coke cost more than it did when your parents were kids? That's inflation — and it affects everything.
Why do we pay taxes?
Nobody likes paying tax. But without it, no roads, no NHS, no schools. Here's how it actually works.