Money articles that end in your own numbers
16 in-depth reads on the money questions people in India actually ask: the ₹12 lakh tax rule, a layoff, a home loan, moving abroad or back. Every example is worked out with our calculators, and every one has a button that opens the calculator with that example filled in, so you can swap in your own numbers.
Salary, tax & work
“No tax up to ₹12 lakh”: what it really means for your salary
The headline is true, but it hides three surprises: your CTC can be higher than ₹12 lakh and still pay nothing, a small raise can shrink your take-home, and ₹50,000 of FD interest can cost you ₹52,000.
Read →Two job offers? How to compare them beyond the CTC
A ₹4 lakh higher CTC can leave you just ₹3,300 a month better off, or even worse off. Here is a five-step way to compare offers in money you can actually spend.
Read →Gratuity explained: the 5-year rule, the rounding trick and the new labour codes
Gratuity is the one part of your CTC that depends on your exit date. Leave a month too early and you can lose it all; leave a month later and it can grow by a full year’s worth.
Read →Laid off in India? A money plan for the first 30 days
A layoff brings two questions at once: how long can I last, and what do I do first? This plan answers both in order, with the numbers worked out for two typical cases.
Read →Paying rent to your parents for HRA: does it still save tax?
It is legal if the arrangement is genuine, and it used to be a favourite tax trick. Since the new regime, the maths has changed. Here are the rules, the paperwork and the real numbers.
Read →Your 30% hike isn’t 30% in your bank. Here’s what it really adds
Tax, PF and inflation all take a cut before a raise reaches you. Here is how much survives at different salaries, and how to judge a raise or a job switch in take-home terms.
Read →Loans & savings
How FD interest is taxed, and how much of that 7% you really keep
The same fixed deposit can keep all of its interest, two-thirds of it, or almost none. It depends on what else you earn. Here is how to work out your own number.
Read →Monthly income from mutual funds: how much can you take without running out?
A systematic withdrawal plan (SWP) turns a lump sum into a monthly income. The hard part is choosing an amount that still pays you in year 25, after inflation. Here is how to find it.
Read →Prepay your home loan or invest the money? And should you cut the EMI or the tenure?
On a ₹50 lakh loan you pay back more than ₹1 crore. Small prepayments change that a lot, but so does investing. Here is how the two compare at different returns.
Read →Starting a SIP at 25 vs 35: the real cost of waiting
Ten years of delay doesn’t cost you ten years of savings. It costs you the last, biggest decade of growth. Here is what that looks like in rupees, and what helps if you’re starting late.
Read →Big life decisions
How to calculate your net worth, and what most people get wrong
It is the one number that adds up every money decision you have ever made. It takes twenty minutes to work out, and a few honest choices to get right.
Read →Is a job abroad really worth more? How to compare it with your Indian salary
Multiplying a foreign salary by the exchange rate makes every offer look huge. Once you count tax, rent and what you could have earned at home, the answer can flip, and the city matters as much as the country.
Read →A wedding, a home, a child, a car: what life’s big events really do to your wealth
We ran one 28-year-old’s life through to 58 and switched each event off in turn. The results upend some common beliefs about what makes people rich, or keeps them from it.
Read →Moving back to India? The money questions to answer first
Whether it is a stuck green card, a visa scare or simply wanting to be near family, the first question is the same: could I afford to go back now? Here is how to answer it, and what changes the answer most.
Read →Rent or buy a house in India? The honest maths
“Rent is dead money” and “a house is a liability” are both slogans. The real answer turns on a few numbers you can look up, and one of them matters more than all the others.
Read →How much money do you need to retire early in India?
Your “FIRE number” is less mysterious than it sounds. It comes from just two things: what you will spend, and how long the money must last. Here is how to find yours, and what moves it most.
Read →Quick reference guides
Short pages with the tables people look up most.