The Money Decoded

We learned about money the hard way. We started this blog so you don’t have to.

The Money Decoded is a personal finance research blog written by someone who experienced firsthand what happens when you don’t plan for the unexpected.

Our story

For many years we ran a publication business. It was well-settled, stable, and profitable enough that we never once worried about money. We earned well, lived comfortably, and like many people who have never faced a financial crisis — we never really thought about saving.

In 2011, everything changed. Our business faced a severe downfall. The income we had always relied on disappeared almost overnight. Desperate to recover, we made the difficult decision to mortgage our home and use the funds to start a new business. That business failed too.

We could no longer pay the bank EMIs. The bank began proceedings to auction our house — the home we lived in. It was one of the most frightening and humbling experiences of our lives. It was only because of the generosity of close friends and family, who came forward to help us pay off the loan, that we were able to stop the auction and keep our home.

That experience changed how we think about money permanently. We realised — too late, in our case — that no matter how well things are going right now, you never know what is coming. A business can fail. A job can disappear. A medical emergency can wipe out years of income. The only protection is preparation. And preparation starts with understanding money.

We started The Money Decoded because we wish someone had explained these things to us in plain language before 2011. Not complicated financial theories. Not jargon-filled advice. Just clear, honest explanations of how money works — budgeting, saving, debt, building an emergency fund — the basics that can protect a family when life goes wrong. Everything on this site is the research we wish we had done earlier.

What this blog is

The Money Decoded is a personal finance research blog. We are not financial advisors. We are not certified planners. We are people who learned hard lessons about money and now spend our time researching personal finance topics and explaining them in plain English for everyday people.

Everything we publish is

  • Thoroughly researched from authoritative sources
  • Written in plain language — no jargon without explanation
  • Focused on education, not advice
  • Honest about what we know and what we don't

Who this is for

This blog is for anyone who:

  • Has never been taught how money actually works
  • Feels overwhelmed or intimidated by financial content
  • Wants to understand budgeting, saving, or debt without needing a finance degree
  • Is starting from scratch and just needs clear, simple explanations
  • Wants to be more prepared for whatever life throws at them

You don’t need to be rich to start. You don’t need a background in finance. You just need to start somewhere. This is that somewhere.

How we research

Before writing anything on this site, we research it properly. Our sources include:

We cite our sources in every article so you can verify anything we write and explore further if you want to.