Budgeting, debt payoff, salary, fraud protection and life-stage planning — practical guidance for Indian households, with the numbers worked out.
Budgeting and saving
Where the money goes, and how to redirect it. The 50/30/20 split rarely survives contact with an Indian salary structure, because so much of the pay packet is fixed before it reaches you. Start from what actually lands in the account: the budget calculator checks a 50/30/20 split against what you really spend, and the emergency fund calculator sizes the safety net that has to come first.
Managing debt
Getting out, and dealing with those chasing you. Credit card revolving interest runs at roughly 42% a year, which makes it the first debt to clear whatever else is outstanding. The debt payoff calculator puts a rupee figure on avalanche versus snowball on your actual balances, and debt consolidation loans cover when one loan to replace the rest is worth doing.
Salary and career money
Making sense of your CTC. The headline number an offer letter quotes is not the money you will be paid, and the gap is often a fifth of it. CTC vs in-hand salary decodes every component, and the take-home salary calculator works out what reaches your account each month.
Fraud and protection
India’s fastest-growing financial risk. Most of the money that is recovered is recovered because it was reported quickly. UPI fraud sets out the common scams and the three-day reporting window that gets money back, and the “digital arrest” scam explains how the impersonation works and what to do if you are targeted.
Life events and estate
Marriage, children, inheritance, death. The point most families discover too late is that a nominee is not the same thing as an heir — a nomination decides who the bank pays, not who is entitled to keep it. Getting the will and the nominations to agree with each other is what avoids the dispute.
Schemes and advice
Government benefits and who to trust for guidance. The low-premium central schemes — PMJJBY, PMSBY, Atal Pension Yojana, Jan Dhan and Mudra — each carry their own eligibility test and their own benefit ceiling. On advice, the distinction that matters is between a SEBI-registered investment adviser, who is paid by you, and a distributor, who is paid by the product.
Personal finance calculators
Run the numbers before you talk to anyone selling you something. Fifty-eight of them are listed under all calculators; these are the ones this section leans on most.
| Calculator | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Budget calculator | A 50/30/20 split of your income, checked against what you actually spend. |
| Net worth calculator | Assets minus liabilities — the one number that measures financial progress. |
| Take-home salary calculator | What actually lands in your account each month, from your CTC. |
| Debt payoff calculator | Avalanche versus snowball on your actual debts. |
| Emergency fund calculator | How large your safety net should be, and how long to build it. |
| Cost of living comparator | The salary you need in another city to keep the same standard of living. |
| Rent vs buy calculator | Which leaves you wealthier after N years — owning, or renting and investing the difference. |
| Inflation calculator | What today’s money will actually be worth later. |
Everything in Personal Finance in India
Rankings and comparisons
The one rule that separates a safe budgeting app from a dangerous one: how it reads your bank data.
CTC is what you cost your employer
How to
The 50/30/20 rule fixed for Indian pay slips: budget on in-hand, not CTC, and what the last 20% should fund first.
SEBI RIA or distributor: who pays them, the fee caps, and the five questions to ask.
Snowball versus avalanche, with the rupee difference worked out, plus the RBI rules that protect you while you repay.
Report an unauthorised transaction to your bank within three working days and your liability is zero. The clock is the whole story.
Cut recurring costs, not treats — the four levers that compound, and what a ₹1,000 a month cut is actually worth.
Guides and explainers
How many months of expenses to hold, where to park the money, and why the ₹5 lakh deposit insurance limit shapes the plan.
The document trail for banks, demat accounts and insurers, and why a nominee is not an heir.
When one loan to clear the rest actually pays — the rate test, the upfront fee with GST, and the RBI prepayment rule that may not cover you.
You are taxed twice: as salary when the shares vest or are exercised, and as capital gains when you sell. Here is what each step costs and when.
What to do with money at 25, 35, 45 and 55, and the age gates that close permanently.
Official education inflation is 3.52%, not the 10% every article quotes — which changes what you should buy.
PMJJBY, PMSBY, APY, Jan Dhan and Mudra — who is eligible, what each pays, and what it costs.
How to check whether a lending app is regulated, and exactly where to report one that is not.
Update your nominees first — up to four are allowed since November 2025 — then joint accounts, insurance and goals.
Transfer the EPF rather than withdraw it, file Form 12B on day one, and cover the insurance gap before it opens.
Advance tax, presumptive taxation and the GST threshold, plus how to budget on income that swings.
Bank, locker, demat, insurance and EPF nomination compared, and why a nominee is usually a receiver rather than an owner.
Under the new regime, one salary component still saves real tax. The rest is noise.
Card interest runs at 45% a year on one published schedule. Here are the routes out, ranked by what they actually cost.
How to verify a SEBI registration in two minutes, how fake advisory groups and dividend scams are built, and what to do the day after you have paid.
The 8am to 7pm rule, the conduct RBI bans outright, and exactly where to complain.
There is no such thing as a digital arrest
Almost every UPI fraud in India works by getting you to approve something
The ₹15,000 autopay rule, the 24-hour pre-debit notice, and what the bank owes you when a payment fails.
What makes a will valid under section 63, why registration is optional, and what the law decides if you leave none.
Related reading
About Credsir
What Credsir is, why it exists, and the rules every figure on the site has to follow.
6 Sep 2026 · 2 min
Banking
Savings accounts, fixed deposits and current accounts compared on the numbers that matter — interest, minimum balance penalties, and the fee schedule nobody reads.
15 Sep 2026 · 1 min
Banks and lenders, rate by rate
Every provider we hold a rate for — 24 in total — with the home loan, personal loan and fixed deposit rates each one publishes.
2 Oct 2026 · 2 min