Guides & Articles
Practical, India-specific guides on money, tax, health and everyday maths — each paired with a free calculator so you can run your own numbers.
finance · 7 min read
Form 16 from Two Employers: Filing Your ITR After a Mid-Year Job Switch
Both employers gave you a Form 16, both assumed they were your only employer, and both were wrong. Why a mid-year switch almost always means extra tax at filing — and the exact reconciliation.
finance · 7 min read
Leave Encashment Tax: Exemption Limits for Private and Government Employees
Encash leave while working and it is fully taxable; encash on retirement and up to ₹25 lakh can be exempt — via a least-of-four test almost nobody computes correctly.
finance · 7 min read
Notice Period Buyout and Tax: Who Pays, What’s Deducted, What Form 16 Shows
You pay your old employer to leave early, the new one reimburses you — and the tax treatment of both legs is nothing like most people assume. The rules, the rulings, and the numbers.
finance · 8 min read
EPF Withdrawal Rules: When You Can Take Your PF Out, and What It Costs
Full withdrawal, partial advances, the 5-year tax rule and TDS — every legitimate way to take money out of EPF, and what each one costs you.
finance · 8 min read
HRA Exemption Calculation: The Least-of-Three Rule, Worked Out
Actual HRA, rent minus 10% of salary, 50%/40% of salary — the least of the three is exempt. Worked examples, the rent-to-parents rules, and what the new regime changes.
finance · 8 min read
Gratuity Calculation for Private Employees: Formula, Eligibility, Tax
The 15/26 formula, the 5-year cliff, resignation rules and the ₹20 lakh tax shield — gratuity for private-sector employees, worked out with real numbers.
finance · 7 min read
Home Loan vs Rent: The Decision Worth More Than Your Career
A ₹1 crore flat rents for ₹25,000 but its EMI is ₹70,000. Whether that gap makes renting smart or buying urgent depends on three numbers most people never compute.
finance · 6 min read
Term vs Endowment Insurance: Protection or an Expensive Piggy Bank?
Endowment plans bundle weak insurance with a ~5% investment and charge you for the packaging. The unbundled route, with the arithmetic in the open.
finance · 6 min read
SIP vs FD: Growth With Risk or Certainty That Shrinks?
At 5 years it is a genuine contest. At 15, it never has been: the FD preserves rupees while the SIP multiplies them. The horizon rule, with numbers.
finance · 5 min read
RD vs FD: Same Bank, Same Rate — Different Jobs
On the same ₹3 lakh, the FD earns nearly double the interest of an RD — and the reason is obvious once you see it. But the comparison itself is usually wrong.
finance · 6 min read
NPS vs Mutual Funds: Retirement Lock-in or Full Control?
NPS buys you tax breaks and discipline at the price of a lock-in and forced annuity. Mutual funds buy freedom at the price of temptation. The split-answer.
finance · 5 min read
SSY vs PPF: Which Should You Open for Your Child?
SSY pays a full point more but locks money to your daughter’s milestones. PPF is yours and flexible. The real answer is about whose goal the money serves.
finance · 6 min read
FD Interest, Compounding and Tax: What Your Bank Doesn’t Spell Out
A "7% FD" actually yields 7.19% — and after 30% tax, just 5.03%. The compounding, the TDS thresholds, and the laddering tactic worth knowing.
finance · 6 min read
CTC to In-Hand Salary: Where Your Money Actually Goes
A ₹12 LPA offer typically lands ₹78–84k a month in the bank. The exact arithmetic, and the structure choices that move the number.
finance · 7 min read
Income Tax Slabs FY 2025-26: How Your Tax Is Actually Computed
Slab-by-slab, how a ₹15 lakh salary becomes a ₹1.05 lakh tax bill, why ₹12 lakh pays nothing, and what happens at ₹12,00,001.
finance · 6 min read
How SIP Returns Are Calculated (and Why the Maths Surprises People)
Each SIP instalment compounds for a different length of time. Here is the annuity formula behind the calculator, and what XIRR on your statement actually means.
finance · 6 min read
How EMI Is Calculated: The Exact Formula Banks Use
EMI = P × r × (1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1). What each symbol means, a full worked example, and why your early EMIs barely touch the principal.
finance · 6 min read
SIP vs Lump Sum: Which Actually Builds More Wealth?
Lump sum wins on average, SIP wins on peace of mind. Here is why both are true, and the STP route that gets you most of both.
finance · 7 min read
Old vs New Tax Regime 2026: Which One Saves You More?
The new regime is now the default — but the old one still wins if your deductions are high enough. Here is the break-even point and who should choose which.
finance · 6 min read
How Much Home Loan Can You Afford on Your Salary?
The 40% rule, FOIR, and how lenders actually decide your home loan limit — with worked examples for ₹50,000, ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh monthly salaries.
finance · 7 min read
FD vs PPF vs Mutual Funds: Where Should You Park Your Money?
They are not competitors — they are three different jobs. How to match fixed deposits, PPF and mutual funds to safety, tax-free growth and long-term wealth.
finance · 6 min read
How to Read Your Salary Slip and Understand Your CTC
Why your offer letter says one number and your bank account shows a smaller one — every line on an Indian payslip, explained in plain language.
health · 5 min read
What Is a Healthy BMI for Indians? (Why the Standard Chart Is Wrong for You)
A BMI of 24 is "normal" on the standard chart — but already overweight for an Indian adult. Here is the chart that actually applies to you.