TLDR Money Blog

Money mechanics, explained.

The arithmetic behind EMIs, rent vs. buy, and your FIRE date — for Indian salaries, in rupees. No sales pitch.

Five years of EMIs, and 88% of the loan is still there

On a 20-year home loan, five years of EMIs clears just 11.9% of the principal. The arithmetic behind it, and the one instruction that changes it.

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Life cycle funds: what SEBI actually built, and what leaving costs

SEBI created life cycle funds in February 2026. One AMC has launched any. The glide path is real, the exit load is 3%, and most coverage has the bands wrong.

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India rewrote its income tax law. Your tax bill did not change.

India replaced its 1961 income tax law on 1 April 2026. Rates, slabs and deductions did not change. Here is what did, and the part now in court.

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Is that flat overpriced? Its rent already told you

A flat's rent is the one number nobody can inflate. Divide it by the asking price and you get a fast, honest read on whether that price is defensible.

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Built for both platforms

Android exposed the SMS inbox and iOS never did. How one platform decision shaped India’s expense app market, and what it leaves iPhone users with.

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Tracking without the SMS inbox

SMS permission grants every message, not just bank alerts — including OTPs. What Google Play now restricts, the real risk, and how to judge an app.

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Tracking that works the same on iOS

iOS blocks apps from reading SMS, so India’s usual tracking method does not exist here. What actually works on an iPhone, and what each option misses.

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See what your inbox already knows

Your bank emails every UPI debit, card spend and salary credit. How those alerts become a spending record, what parsing reads, and where it breaks.

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UPI is changing. Here's what's law, what isn't, and what it costs you.

A sorted, sourced breakdown of every UPI rule change in 2025-26 — what is already live, what is signed but not in force, and what is still only a proposal.

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Your SIP earns 11.7%. Your EMI charges 16%. Do the math.

Your SIP is up 11.7% this year. Your phone EMI charges 16%. Here’s the comparison almost nobody runs — and the 7% rule that settles it.

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We read 50 credit card statements. Here’s where ₹8,000 a month disappears.

The minimum-due trap, the no-cost EMI lie, and the other lines on your statement worth actually reading.

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The ₹500 subscription trap: where your salary quietly disappears

42% of people are paying for a subscription they’ve forgotten. What India’s UPI Autopay boom is actually costing you every month.

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₹16,000 vs ₹10 crore. You were never playing the same game.

India runs on two economies — one where you sell time, one where money makes money. The structural gap, and the one move that crosses it.

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93% of F&O traders in India lost money. The 7% weren’t smarter.

SEBI data: ₹1.8 lakh crore in losses. The winners weren’t smarter — they just had a plan for losing.

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Your dad bought his flat at 18× his salary. You’re being sold the same one at 72×.

Everyone assumes buying beats renting. Run the 20-year numbers on a ₹1 crore flat and see what renting and investing the difference actually does.

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You’re not middle class. You’re EMI class.

40% of smartphones, two in three premium phones, and roughly 80% of cars in India are bought on EMI. Here’s what that’s actually costing you.

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