Coded Language

Two websites that teach the technically challenged how to code their way into the future

Someone, somewhere, just spent a ton of money buying Rosetta Stone Spanish and Mandarin as holiday stocking stuffers for their loved ones this year.

But unfortunately, those aren’t the only languages you need to know.

If you really want to position yourself or someone else for success in the future, you'll want to pick up a few technical skills--specifically, coding languages.

Luckily, we found two websites that make it easy for you to do just that without having to shell out the big bucks.

CodeAcademy.com is an interactive way to learn programming by actually coding. The free site gives you a crash course in the Ruby, Python, and Javascript coding languages. Code Academy makes the process fun by rewarding users with badges and allowing them to compete or collaborate with friends.

TeamTreehouse.com has three different learning tracks designed around specific projects: web design, web development, and iOS for mobile. While you can access some of the lessons for free, you’ll have to pay $25 or $45 per month to unlock their vault of video/interactive courses and badges. This option is definitely worth the cash if you already have an end goal in mind.

So go ahead--talk in code. You may even have time to return that Rosetta Stone software.