Money, Explained From the Inside

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Two ways in. Both are useful.

The website is a free companion to Money, Explained From the Inside. Use it to see whether the book is for you, or to get far more out of it once you have it.

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A health check, a calculator, a checklist, the opening and a case. Twenty minutes to see whether this is the book you wish you had been given.

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Track your chapters, keep private notes, save what matters, and focus with a timer. Everything stays on your device.

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Start from your situation

What is happening in your money life right now?

Each moment below points to the chapters, the tool and the case that help, whether or not you have the book yet.

The free sampler

If this is what is free, imagine the book

Seven things you can do today without buying anything, chosen to show how the book thinks: plainly, with real numbers, and on your side of the desk.

  1. 01The Financial Health CheckEighteen questions, six areas, a kind readout with chapter pointers.5 min
  2. 02“6% flat” is not 6%The calculator behind one of the book’s central warnings. Change the numbers.2 min
  3. 03Ask Before You Sign cardPick a product, print the questions to take to the bank, insurer or adviser.3 min
  4. 04The opening of the bookThe first lines of the introduction: what the book is for.3 min
  5. 05Meet DavidA salary that never becomes wealth, and the numbers behind it.5 min
  6. 06A short note: the minimum-payment trapHow $3,000 on a card can last 15 years, and the one change that fixes it.4 min
  7. 07The Financial Decision ToolkitFree with the Reader’s Letter: a decision worksheet, question lists, red flags and a formula sheet.9 pages

What you will be able to do

Part by part

Part 1 · Chapters 1–5

How Money Works

The vocabulary and forces that sit underneath every money decision.

  • Read a statement, a quote or a pitch and name what each number is doing
  • See what inflation and compounding do to money over decades
  • Spot the habits of mind that make good decisions harder

Part 2 · Chapters 6–8

Running Your Own Finances

Turning income into a system you can run, and a plan for what to do first.

  • Build a simple system that runs your money without daily effort
  • Size a buffer that suits how stable your income really is
  • Know what to do first, second and third with spare money

Part 3 · Chapters 9–15

Inside the Financial System

How banks, lenders and products actually work, and what borrowing really costs.

  • Work out the true cost of a loan, card or mortgage beyond the monthly payment
  • Understand how a lender sees you, and how banks make their money
  • Test any financial product with the same set of questions

Part 4 · Chapters 16–18

Protecting What You Have

Deciding what to protect, what to absorb, and how not to be fooled.

  • Separate what would ruin you from what would only hurt
  • Decide what to insure and what to absorb
  • Recognise scams and bad advice by the behaviour they exploit

Part 5 · Chapters 19–22

Investing

What you actually own when you invest, what it costs, and how to keep it on track.

  • Know what you own when you invest, and what it costs you each year
  • Judge risk and return in practice, not just in theory
  • Keep a portfolio on track with a few simple rules

Part 6 · Chapters 23–25

From Stability to Wealth

Earning power, retirement and the long game.

  • Treat your earning power as your largest asset
  • Compare retirement systems when you have lived in more than one
  • Join the pieces into a long-term plan

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