Every week, one money object goes on the workbench — a credit card, a hospital bill, a 401(k) form — and comes apart, piece by labeled piece, until the trick makes sense.
New teardowns weekly · Season One begins August 2026
Welcome to the Splain Lab
Cash Splained is personal finance, taken apart. We show you how money actually works — credit cards, credit scores, insurance, loans, fees and taxes — one teardown at a time. No hype, no jargon, no guru energy — just a workbench, a pair of safety goggles, and the patience to find out where the trick is hiding.
Hosted by The Splainer — the smart friend at the workbench — with Penny the piggy bank and Bill the receipt looking on.
The series
Every episode belongs to one of four recurring teardown series — so you always know which part of your wallet is on the bench.
Insurance & fine print
Insurance, health plans & the fine print that gets you. The dec page goes on the bench, clause by clause.
Cards & credit
How credit cards, points & APRs really work — every layer of the plastic, peeled back and labeled.
Taxes & salary
Taxes, deductions & where your salary actually goes, traced from gross to net one line at a time.
Fees & traps
The fees & money traps hiding in plain sight — dissected so you see them coming next time.
Season One
Thirteen everyday money objects, each taken apart until it confesses. New teardowns land weekly starting August 2026.
On the bench
A credit card
Follow one swipe on its two-second round trip — terminal, processor, network, bank, and back. Money doesn't move when you swipe; an authorization does.
On the bench
The score itself
The number gets exploded into its five weighted parts. It's a default-risk prediction, not a report card on you as a person.
On the bench
An insurance card + an EOB
Premium, deductible, copay, out-of-pocket max — plus the “This Is Not a Bill” letter, decoded. “Covered” doesn't mean “paid for.”
On the bench
A renewal notice
The renewal notice splits into its rating factors. A big chunk of your rate has nothing to do with your driving.
On the bench
The minimum-payment warning box
That little box on your statement, blown up to poster size. The minimum is engineered to keep your principal nearly intact.
On the bench
A declarations page
Personal property, liability, and the hotel if the unit burns — plus the default setting that pays garage-sale prices for your stuff.
The lab crew
Every lab needs staff. Ours works for coins and reassurance, respectively.
Cream ceramic piggy bank. Goggles always on. Guards the coins, guards the pizza, and asks the questions you were too polite to ask your bank.
An actual receipt. Has read every word of the fine print and would very much like to talk to someone about it. Endearing. Slightly crumpled.
New teardowns weekly · Season One begins August 2026. Subscribe on YouTube so the next teardown lands in your feed — and keep your receipts everywhere else.