The news assumes you know this
Rates, inflation and growth are discussed as if everyone follows.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How to understand economics in everyday life
Make sense of prices, wages and the news with real economics.
Economic reasoning asks what is scarce, which alternatives are available and what a choice gives up. Start with a concrete tradeoff before trying to explain a whole market. The bus example below distinguishes a saving in money from a saving overall.
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A starting goal
I want to understand economics well enough to make sense of prices, wages, inflation and the news. Explain the core ideas through things I meet every day.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Three things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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State two feasible alternatives
Original example: a bus trip costs $3 and takes 45 minutes; a taxi costs $18 and takes 20 minutes. With all other conditions held equal, the taxi costs $15 more and saves 25 minutes. These figures are invented, not current fares.
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Make the tradeoff explicit
Paying the extra $15 exchanges money for 25 minutes. Whether that is worthwhile depends on your budget, deadline, accessibility needs and alternatives. There is no universal answer hidden in the arithmetic. Time saved is not automatically money earned.
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Check the explanation against evidence
If a fare changes, price alone does not reveal whether demand, fuel costs, policy or another factor caused it. Seek relevant dated evidence rather than inventing a motive. One price movement also does not describe inflation across an economy.
- Best for
- Business
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons
- Pace
- Yours. One lesson at a time, as often as you like.
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store and Google Play, with an optional early testing list
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What prompts this: the news, money decisions, work, or curiosity?
- Did you study any economics, and did it stick?
- Which economic word do you most want to actually understand: inflation, interest rates, GDP, or something else?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You have opinions and no framework
You know what you think about prices and cannot say why.
Econ at school was graphs
None of it connected to a rent increase or a pay rise.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Scarcity and trade-offs
The one idea underneath everything else, in your own week.
Supply and demand, honestly
Why prices move, and where the simple story breaks.
Incentives
Why people and institutions do what they do, and how policy changes it.
Inflation and interest rates
What they are, how they connect, and what central banks are trying to do.
Wages, jobs and growth
How labor markets work and what GDP does and does not measure.
Reading the news
Applying the ideas to this week's headlines.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Explain prices and wages
See supply, demand and bargaining power in things you pay and are paid.
Understand inflation and interest rates
Know what they are, what moves them and why they matter to you.
Read economic news
Follow the argument in a headline and spot when it is missing something.
Ideas this course corrects
Every choice is only about money
Time, access, resources and competing needs can matter as well.
An incentive explains all behavior
An incentive is one possible influence. Information, constraints and other goals can also affect the decision.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to understand economics in everyday life: what can I do today?
State two feasible alternatives. Original example: a bus trip costs $3 and takes 45 minutes; a taxi costs $18 and takes 20 minutes. With all other conditions held equal, the taxi costs $15 more and saves 25 minutes. These figures are invented, not current fares. Make the tradeoff explicit. Paying the extra $15 exchanges money for 25 minutes. Whether that is worthwhile depends on your budget, deadline, accessibility needs and alternatives. There is no universal answer hidden in the arithmetic. Time saved is not automatically money earned. Check the explanation against evidence. If a fare changes, price alone does not reveal whether demand, fuel costs, policy or another factor caused it. Seek relevant dated evidence rather than inventing a motive. One price movement also does not describe inflation across an economy.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
Economic reasoning asks what is scarce, which alternatives are available and what a choice gives up. Start with a concrete tradeoff before trying to explain a whole market. The bus example below distinguishes a saving in money from a saving overall. It sits under Business in the Work & ambitions part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Most courses run 7 to 30 lessons. The course length is sized to what you asked for. You set the pace: one lesson at a time, as often as you like. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
A starting goal
I want to understand economics well enough to make sense of prices, wages, inflation and the news. Explain the core ideas through things I meet every day.
Want new features first?