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Practical guides on finance, health, math, and more — written to help you get more out of every calculation.
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Prepay Your Home Loan or Invest? Run the Numbers, Not the Advice
An extra ₹5,000 a month saves ₹11.4 lakh on a ₹25 lakh loan. The same ₹5,000 in an equity SIP might do better. Here is how to decide, including the tax angle most people get backwards.
Old or New Tax Regime? The One Number That Decides It
Forget the rules of thumb. There is a single figure — your break-even deduction — that settles the question for your salary, and most people are nowhere near it.
CTC vs In-Hand Salary: How to Compare Two Job Offers Properly
A higher CTC can pay you less every month. Here is where the money goes between the offer letter and your bank account, and how to compare two offers that look nothing alike.
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SIP vs Lumpsum: The Same ₹12 Lakh Ends ₹14 Lakh Apart, and When Each One Wins
₹12 lakh at 12% for ten years grows to ₹37.3 lakh as a lumpsum and ₹23.2 lakh as a ₹10,000-a-month SIP. The gap is not a flaw in SIPs; it is the same money arriving later. When each wins, the falling-market case for SIP, and what to do with a bonus.
How to Calculate GST: Adding It, Extracting It and Splitting CGST, SGST and IGST
Add 18% to ₹10,000 and you get ₹11,800. Ask what GST is inside ₹11,800 and the answer is ₹1,800, not the ₹2,124 you get by taking 18% of the total. The arithmetic for both directions, the CGST/SGST/IGST split, and the two-slab structure in force since 22 September 2025.
Crypto Tax in India: The 30% Rule, the 1% TDS, and Why a ₹40,000 Loss Does Not Reduce Your Bill
Gain ₹1,00,000 on one coin, lose ₹40,000 on another, and your tax is ₹31,200, not ₹18,720: a 52% rate on what you actually made. How Section 115BBH works, when the 1% TDS applies, what goes in Schedule VDA, and how gifts, airdrops and staking are treated.
The 75% Attendance Rule: How Many Classes You Can Still Miss, and How Many It Takes to Climb Back
At 68 classes attended out of 80 you can skip 10 more before you drop under 75%. At 52 out of 80 you need 32 straight classes to get back. The formula behind both numbers, what condonation actually covers, and the point after which the maths stops working.
CIBIL Score: What Actually Moves It, and How Long 650 to 750 Really Takes
A 770 borrower and a 700 borrower can pay ₹1,595 a month apart on the same ₹50 lakh home loan, ₹3.8 lakh over twenty years. What the score is built from, what NA/NH means, how long a missed EMI follows you, and a realistic timeline from 650 to 750.
FD vs RD: Same 7% Rate, So Why Does the FD Earn Almost Double?
₹1.2 lakh in a one-year FD at 7% earns ₹8,623. The same ₹1.2 lakh paid into an RD at ₹10,000 a month earns ₹4,621. The rate is identical; the difference is how long each rupee stays invested, and it tells you exactly which product you need.
Rent vs Buy a House in India: The Comparison Nobody Actually Does
"Rent is money down the drain" ignores what your down payment would have earned. On an ₹80 lakh flat in a metro, renting and investing was ₹23.9 lakh ahead after ten years.
Home Loan Tax Benefits: Section 24(b), 80C and the Joint Ownership Trick
A ₹40 lakh loan saves ₹83,169 of tax in year one and less every year after. Two borrowers on the same loan can claim the caps twice — if the paperwork is right from the start.
Professional Tax in India: Which States Charge It and How Much
It is capped at ₹2,500 a year by the Constitution, four major states charge nothing at all, and it is the reason the same CTC pays differently in Gurugram and Bengaluru.
EPF vs NPS: How India’s Two Retirement Systems Actually Compare
One is a guaranteed rate you cannot touch until you leave your job. The other is market-linked, locked until 60, and forces you to buy an annuity. Over 25 years the gap is about ₹50 lakh — and one of them still works under the new tax regime.
Section 80C: What Is Already Filling Your ₹1.5 Lakh Before You Invest a Rupee
Most salaried people discover in March that EPF, home loan principal and school fees already used the limit. Here is how to check before you buy an insurance policy you did not need.
PPF vs ELSS: Where Your ₹1.5 Lakh Under 80C Should Actually Go
One is sovereign-backed, tax-free and locked for 15 years. The other is equity, locked for 3, and taxed on exit. Over 15 years the gap is about ₹17 lakh — and under the new tax regime the question changes entirely.
Loan Against Property in India: How LAP Works and When It Beats a Personal Loan
LAP is the closest India gets to a home equity line of credit — cheaper than a personal loan, secured against a property you already own, and considerably more dangerous if it goes wrong.
Home Loan Balance Transfer: When It Is Worth It and When It Is Paperwork
A 0.5% rate cut on ₹30 lakh saves ₹1.47 lakh and pays back the fee in 17 months. A 0.1% cut takes seven years. Here is where the line sits — and the free call you should make first.
Step-Up SIP: Why Raising Your SIP 10% a Year Nearly Doubles Your Corpus
A ₹10,000 SIP over 15 years builds ₹50.5 lakh. The same SIP raised 10% a year builds ₹86.8 lakh. The extra contributions do less than half that work.
CGPA to Percentage: Every Major Indian University Formula in One Place
The same CGPA of 8.0 is 72.5% at VTU, 75% at GTU, 76% at Delhi University under CBCS and 80% at Anna University. Two universities also changed their rule mid-decade.
JEE Main Percentile to Rank: How the Conversion Actually Works
Percentile is not percentage. At 99.9 you are rank 1,200; at 99.0 you are rank 12,000. Nine-tenths of a percentile, ten thousand places.
Notice Period Buyout in India: What It Costs and How to Pay Less
The same 60 unserved days can cost ₹1,60,000 or ₹64,000 depending on one clause in your contract. Find it before you negotiate anything.
Leave Encashment on Resignation: What You Get and What Is Taxed
Unused leave is money, but it is calculated on a 30-day month while gratuity uses 26 — and the accumulation cap is usually lower than people think.
Can You Claim HRA by Paying Rent to Your Parents? Yes — With Conditions
It is legal, it is common, and it goes wrong in the same three ways every year. What the arrangement needs to look like, and what makes it collapse under scrutiny.
Gratuity in India: The 5-Year Rule, the 6-Month Rule, and What You Are Owed
Four years and eleven months earns nothing. Seven years and seven months earns eight years of gratuity. Two rules decide the whole payout, and both hinge on dates.
Flat vs Reducing Balance Interest: Why a "10%" Loan Can Really Cost 17%
A flat rate and a reducing balance rate are not the same number and never have been. Here is the arithmetic that turns a 10% flat loan into a 17.3% loan, and how to spot one before you sign.
CAGR vs XIRR: Which One Actually Measures Your Returns?
If you have ever divided your gains by your investment and been disappointed, you used the wrong measure. CAGR and XIRR answer different questions, and for a SIP the difference can be double.
Why Your Money Buys Less Every Year (Inflation, Explained)
A coffee that ran $3 a decade back now costs $4.50, and the cash in your savings is quietly shrinking. Here's the plain math behind inflation, plus what $100 today is really worth in 10 and 25 years.
Debt Snowball vs Avalanche: The Fastest Way to Get Out of Debt
Three debts. One spare $300 a month. Two ways to swing at them. We run a real $9,500 example both ways so you can see which method clears debt faster, saves more interest, and actually fits the way you budget.
How Many Calories You Actually Burn When You Exercise
Your watch says 412 calories burned. It's probably off by a hundred or more. Here's the actual MET formula behind exercise calorie burn, a worked example you can follow along with, and why trackers and gym machines keep guessing high.
How Currency Exchange Rates Actually Work (and Why You Get a Worse Rate)
That number on Google is almost never the number you walk away with. Here's how exchange rates actually work, why banks and kiosks quietly shave off a few percent, and how to claw most of it back.
Pregnancy Due Date Calculator: When Is Your Baby Really Coming?
Work out your pregnancy due date free using LMP, conception date, IVF transfer, or ultrasound. You'll get the three standard formulas, two worked examples, trimester milestones, and the reason only about 5% of babies actually arrive on the predicted day.
Loan Calculator: How to Compare Personal, Auto, and Home Loans Before You Sign
Compare personal, auto, and home loans with a free loan calculator. See your EMI, total interest, and the full amortization schedule before you sign anything.
Body Fat Percentage Calculator: 3 Free Methods That Actually Work
Work out your real daily calorie needs with the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula and an honest activity multiplier for TDEE — two worked examples, the full method, and a free calorie calculator to skip the math.
Tip Calculator: How to Split a Restaurant Bill Without Awkward Math
Figure out a fair tip and split any restaurant bill evenly or by what each person actually ordered. You'll get the formula, two worked examples, country-by-country tip standards, and a straight answer on whether to tip on tax or subtotal.
Daily Calorie Calculator: TDEE, BMR & How Many Calories You Actually Need
Work out your real daily calorie target with BMR and TDEE, the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, two worked examples, and a free calorie calculator that does the math for you.
How to Calculate Your GPA on a 4.0 Scale (Weighted & Unweighted Examples)
Learn how to calculate your GPA on the 4.0 scale, with clear weighted vs unweighted examples, semester and cumulative methods, and a free calculator that handles international transcripts.
Age Calculator: How to Calculate Your Exact Age in Years, Months, and Days
Percentage math really comes down to three formulas. Here are 9 worked examples — percent of a number, increase, decrease, reverse, error, and chained discounts — plus a free calculator that solves every variation.
Compound Interest Made Simple: Formula, Worked Examples & a Free Calculator
A plain-English walk through the compound interest formula, with two full worked examples, monthly vs annual compounding, the mistakes that trip people up, and a free calculator to check your own numbers.
SIP Calculator: How to Plan Mutual Fund Investments the Smart Way
A free SIP calculator turns "how much per month?" into a clear answer in seconds. Grab the future-value formula, two worked examples for ₹1 crore and a child's education, plus the inflation and return traps that quietly sink most plans.
How to Calculate Percentage: 9 Real-World Examples Solved Step-by-Step
Percentage math feels slippery until you spot the pattern. Here are 9 worked examples — percent of a number, increase, decrease, reverse, error, chained discounts — plus a free calculator that solves every variation in two clicks.
BMI Calculator: What Your Body Mass Index Score Really Tells You (2026 Guide)
A plain-English guide to BMI — the formula, WHO categories, Asia-Pacific cutoffs, why it misreads muscle, and how to read your own score without panicking, plus a free calculator to run the numbers.
EMI Calculator Explained: The Formula, Amortization Table & How to Pay Off Loans Faster
EMI math is one formula plus an amortization table. See how each payment splits between principal and interest, why a lower EMI can quietly cost more, and how to use a free EMI calculator to test prepayments on any home or personal loan worldwide.