The teardown archive
Season One puts thirteen everyday money objects under the shop light. Episodes link straight to YouTube the moment they premiere.
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.
On the bench
A bank fee schedule
The fee-schedule pamphlet, fully dissected. A $35 fee on a $4 coffee is a short-term loan at a comically astronomical rate.
On the bench
A Summary of Benefits + a pizza
You buy the first slices, then split slices 80/20, until the plan buys the rest of the pie. Three numbers, one machine. Penny guards the pizza.
On the bench
A benefits enrollment packet
“50% of the first 6%” is an instant 50% return — compensation you have to claim. Then there's the vesting schedule in the fine print.
On the bench
An HSA card + an FSA form
Two lookalike accounts dissected side by side. One is the only triple-tax-advantaged account in the entire tax code. The other one expires.
On the bench
A hotel folio + a ticket receipt
Resort fees, convenience fees, processing fees — the drip-pricing machine that makes the advertised price fictional.
On the bench
A 1099-NEC
The app made you a business. Nobody withheld anything, self-employment tax is 15.3%, and the quarterly estimates were your job.
On the bench
A payday loan agreement
$15 per $100 for two weeks, annualized on the bench. The product is engineered around the rollover, not the loan.