Income & Tax
Personal finance rules of thumb for India, with sources
50/30/20, the Rule of 72, 28/36, the 4% rule and 16 more personal finance rules, each with its source (SEBI, RBI, IRDAI or research) and India's twist.
9 min read
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38 articles
- Investments
Rule of 72: how many years to double your money in India
Divide 72 by the return: an FD at 7% doubles money in about 10 years, equity at 12% in 6. And doubling in 5 years needs 14.4% a year.
5 min read
- Loans
Debt avalanche vs snowball: which loan to pay off first?
A card at 42%, a personal loan and a bike loan: clearing the costliest first saves ₹13,106 over smallest-first. And when the snowball still makes sense.
5 min read
- Investments
How much to invest in F&O or crypto: the 1% rule
SEBI's 2026 F&O study: 87.7% of individual traders lost money in FY26, ₹1.17 lakh each on average. Why any one bet should stay under 1% of net worth.
5 min read
- Retirement
Net worth by age in India: how much at 30, 35 and 40?
Age × yearly income ÷ 10, from The Millionaire Next Door. At 35 on ₹18 lakh CTC, that's ₹63 lakh. See the number at your age, and how to read it.
5 min read
- Loans
How much of your net worth should be in real estate?
RBI found 84% of Indian household wealth sits in property and physical assets. Why that's risky, and how to bring a 75% share down without selling.
5 min read
- Investments
Pay yourself first: meaning, and how to set it up in India
A ₹20,000 SIP on payday grows to ₹2 crore in 20 years; saving what's left at month-end, about ₹80 lakh. How to set it up, plus the 24-hour rule.
5 min read
- Income & Tax
How to reduce income tax on salary: levers that still work
In the new regime, 80C and 80D don't count. Employer NPS and booking ₹1.25 lakh of gains do: on ₹18 lakh CTC they save about ₹36,000 a year.
6 min read
- Investments
Tax harvesting on mutual funds: ₹1.25 lakh tax-free a year
Book ₹1.25 lakh of gains each year and buy back. On ₹20 lakh with a ₹20,000 SIP, it cuts the tax on selling by ₹1.6 lakh over 10 years. See how.
6 min read
- Investments
How much equity should you have? Asset allocation by age
About 100 minus your age in equity, 10% gold, the rest debt. See the mix by age, how far each falls in a 30% crash, and how to rebalance without tax.
6 min read
- Insurance
How much health insurance do you need in India?
About ₹10 lakh for one person in a metro, ₹20 lakh for a family of three. See cover by family and city, why employer cover isn't enough, and top-ups.
6 min read
- Insurance
Term plan or investment plan? Buy term and invest the rest
₹1 lakh a year buys ₹10 lakh of cover in an endowment plan, or ₹1 crore of term with ₹85,000 left to invest. See what each leaves after 20 years.
6 min read
- Loans
Break your FD to repay a loan, or keep both?
A 7% FD keeps 4.8% after 30% tax. Using ₹10 lakh of it to prepay an 8.5% home loan ends ₹10 lakh ahead in 15 years. See when to keep the FD.
6 min read
- Investments
What should you do with ₹10 lakh? Four situations
Fill the emergency fund, clear costly debt, then prepay or invest. See where ₹10 lakh goes in four situations, and what it grows to in 10 years.
6 min read
- Retirement
Can you retire at 40 in India? The corpus and the SIP
Spending ₹60,000 a month at 30, retiring at 40 needs about ₹4.4 crore, 34 times a year's spending. See the SIP it takes, and what retiring at 50 needs.
7 min read
- Loans
Should you pay off debt or invest? Compare the rates
Credit cards and personal loans cost more than equity earns, so clear them first. See the race for each loan, and which to pay off first.
6 min read
- Insurance
What happens if you lose your job for six months?
With ₹1 lakh saved, the money runs out in month 2 and ₹2 lakh must be borrowed. See how an 8-month emergency fund carries you, and where to keep it.
6 min read
- Income & Tax
Got a ₹20,000 raise? Spend it, invest it or split it
Invest half of a ₹20,000 monthly raise and it grows to about ₹50 lakh in 15 years at 12%. See where a hike really goes, and the habit that keeps it.
6 min read
- Investments
What happens if you increase your SIP by ₹5,000?
Raising a ₹20,000 SIP to ₹25,000 adds about ₹50 lakh in 20 years at 12%. Start it 5 years later and it adds half that. See the maths and the step-up option.
5 min read
- Retirement
How much money do you need to retire in India?
Spend ₹60,000 a month at 35? You need about ₹6.5 crore by 60. See how the number is built, and why a SIP from 25 costs a quarter of one from 45.
7 min read
- Income & Tax
How much of your salary should you save and invest?
Save at least 20% of take-home. On ₹1 lakh a month, raised with your pay, that can grow to about ₹2.7 crore in 20 years. See 10%, 20% and 30% compared.
6 min read
- Investments
How much should you invest in a SIP every month?
About ₹10,000 a month makes ₹1 crore in 20 years at 12%. See the SIP for any goal and deadline, and how a yearly step-up lowers where you start.
6 min read
- Investments
SIP vs lumpsum: which is better for money you already have?
₹5 lakh invested at once ends ₹60,000 ahead of a 12-month spread in a steady market. If markets fall 20% first, spreading ends ₹1.7 lakh ahead.
6 min read
- Loans
Prepaying a home loan: reduce EMI or tenure?
Prepay ₹5 lakh in year 3 of a ₹50 lakh loan: cutting tenure saves ₹13.2 lakh of interest, cutting the EMI ₹4.5 lakh. See why, and when the EMI cut wins.
6 min read
- Loans
How much home loan can you afford on your salary?
On ₹1.5 lakh take-home with ₹25 lakh saved, a comfortable home budget is about ₹69 lakh. See the two limits, a loan table by salary, and what moves it.
7 min read
- Loans
The 20/4/10 rule: how much car can you really afford?
On ₹1.5 lakh a month with ₹2 lakh saved, the 20/4/10 rule allows a ₹3.5 lakh car, not ₹10 lakh. See why, and what buying now vs saving up costs.
6 min read
- Income & Tax
Freelance income with a salary: 44ADA tax and what you keep
₹40,000 a month of freelance work on an ₹18 lakh salary pays about ₹50,000 tax a year under 44ADA, half the tax on actual profit. See what you keep.
6 min read
- Investments
Got a ₹5 lakh bonus? Where each rupee should go first
Emergency fund first, then costly debt, then prepay or invest. See how a ₹5 lakh bonus splits, and what it grows to in 10 years three different ways.
6 min read
- Investments
LTCG tax on SIP returns: how much of your gain you keep
A ₹10,000 SIP held 20 years gains about ₹76 lakh; LTCG takes around ₹9.7 lakh. See the tax at every horizon, how SIP units are taxed, and tax harvesting.
6 min read
- Insurance
Is ₹1 crore term insurance enough? Work out your cover
₹1 crore of cover plus ₹15 lakh saved lasts a family 10 of the 25 years it needs. See how to size term cover from expenses, loans and goals.
6 min read
- Insurance
Emergency fund: how many months of expenses to keep
3 months for a secure job, 8 for a private-sector sole earner, 12 for freelancers. See your number, how long it takes to build, and where to keep it.
5 min read
- Loans
Prepay home loan or invest in a SIP? Find your break-even
On a ₹40 lakh loan at 8.5%, a SIP must earn about 9.1% a year to beat prepaying. See the break-even, the net-worth race, and how the old regime moves it.
7 min read
- Loans
Rent or buy a house in India: the price growth that decides
For a ₹1 crore flat renting at ₹30,000, buying wins only if prices rise over 8.4% a year. See the net-worth race, the hidden costs and your own break-even.
7 min read
- Retirement
Is ₹1 crore enough to retire in India? A withdrawal test
₹1 crore at 9% pays about ₹44,000 a month, rising with inflation, for 30 years. Take ₹50,000 and it runs out in year 25. See the drawdown and your number.
6 min read
- Investments
What pausing your SIP in a market fall really costs
A six-month SIP pause skips ₹90,000 but can cost ₹6.7 lakh by year 20. See why stopping in a correction hurts, and why an early pause costs the most.
6 min read
- Investments
Step-up SIP vs regular SIP: what a 10% yearly raise adds
₹10,000 a month for 20 years makes about ₹1 crore. Raise it 10% each appraisal and it makes about ₹2 crore. The maths, the catch and how to pick a rate.
6 min read
- Income & Tax
Old vs new tax regime: deductions the old one needs to win
At ₹20 lakh CTC the old regime needs about ₹6.5 lakh of deductions to beat the new one. See the number at your salary, and when a home loan tips it.
7 min read
- Investments
Why the last five years of a SIP matter most
A ₹10,000 SIP roughly doubles between year 15 and year 20. See why compounding back-loads your returns, and what stopping early really costs.
4 min read