Finance in a minute

Financial scams are increasing not because people are careless, but because scammers have become very good at sounding convincing. They know how to create urgency, excitement, or fear, and that’s often enough to make someone act without thinking. The goal is to rush you into making a decision before you have time to question it. Common financial scams you should know about 1. The “You’ve won something” scam You receive a message saying you’ve won a prize, scholarship, cashbac

The world’s first stock exchange opened in Amsterdam in 1602 and it didn’t look anything like what we imagine today. At the time, global trade was risky and slow. Ships travelled for months to bring back spices, silk, and other goods. If a ship sank, investors could lose everything. Earlier, people funded these voyages individually, which meant one bad journey could wipe someone out. The Dutch East India Company solved this problem by creating a new idea. Instead of investing

Needing a lot of money to start investing is one of the most common beliefs about investing and also the most misleading. Many people believe that it is only the wealthy adults with large sums of money who are able to invest, but in reality investing is about habit, not how rich you are.  Investing is like planting a seed. You don’t need a huge garden to start growing the tree. If the seed is planted early and taken care of regularly, it can grow into something meaningful ove

Financial planning sounds like something only adults do, but in reality, it’s something we all do in small ways already. Anytime you decide whether to spend, save, or set money aside for later,  you’re planning out your financials. At its core, financial planning is about deciding what you want your money to do for you, both now and in the future. To understand it better, it helps to break it down into a few simple parts. Income Income is the money that comes in. For adults,

The word budget  may sound serious now, but in reality, it is just a plan for ones money. It allows you to keep track of how much you are earning, how much you are spending and how much you are saving. Instead of spending all the money, budgeting allows people to navigate their financial journey the right way by making more informed decisions.  A simple way to start is with the 50-30-20 rule.  What is the 50–30–20 rule? Think of your money as being split into three parts: 50%

An emergency fund is money kept aside for situations you didn’t plan for. Not vacations. Not shopping. It will only be used for real emergencies that need money immediately. Think of it like this: Your laptop suddenly stops working a week before exams. Or there’s a medical expense at home. Or an unexpected travel comes up. These moments don’t wait for you to save and then use. That’s what an emergency fund is for. How much should an emergency fund be? A simple rule people fol

Imagine two people who both say, “I have money.” One has cash in the bank, a laptop they use for work, and some savings set aside.The other has an expensive phone, designer clothes and a large credit card bill waiting to be paid. On the surface, both look fine. But financially, they are in very different positions. That difference comes down to what you own  and what you owe . What you own (Assets) Assets are things that have value and belong to you. This can be obvious thing

Most of us don’t like thinking about things going wrong. But life is unpredictable. A phone breaks. Someone in the family falls sick. A bike gets damaged in an accident. These events are rare but they can happen, and when they do, they are expensive. Insurance exists to make sure one unexpected event doesn’t turn into a financial crisis. The core idea Insurance works because many people pay a small amount regularly to an insurance company. Most of the time, nothing goes wrong

When people talk about managing their money, two words always show up: saving  and investing . They may seem similar because both involve putting money aside for future spending but they are different, and understanding this difference is crucial.  What is Saving? Saving is simply keeping money so you can use it later.This is the money you put into a bank account and don’t plan to spend immediately. Savings are meant for things you might need in the near future, like buying s

In the previous article, we spoke about saving and investing and how they serve different purposes of savings  keeping your money safe and investing  giving your money a chance to grow. But how does money actually grow? Most of us imagine growth in a straight line. You put some money away, it increases a little, and then it increases by roughly the same amount again the next year. But thats not how it works in most cases When you invest, the returns you earn don’t sit separat

Once you understand that investing helps money grow over time, the next obvious question is: Where do people actually invest their money? There isn’t one single place. Instead, people choose different options depending on how safe they want to be, how long they can wait, and how comfortable they are with ups and downs. Savings Accounts: The Parking Spot Most people start here. A savings account is where money waits. It earns a little interest, stays safe, and is easy to acces

Imagine you and a few friends decide you want to order food together. One person wants pizza, another wants pasta, someone else wants dessert. Instead of each of you ordering separately and hoping you picked the best dish, you all put your money together and let someone experienced choose a balanced spread for everyone. That’s basically how a mutual fund works. So what is a mutual fund? A mutual fund is when many people pool their money together, and that combined amount is i

By now, we’ve talked about saving, how money grows, and different ways to invest. This is where all of it comes together. Whenever people talk about investing, two words always appear: risk  and return . Return  is what you hope to earn. Risk  is the chance that things don’t go exactly the way you expect. The reason they’re always mentioned together is because you rarely get one without the other. Think about the safest place we have learnt to invest your money: a savings acc

If you’ve ever sent money to anybody instantly using a phone number or QR code, you’ve probably used UPI (Unified Payments Interface). It’s a system that lets money move from one bank to another within seconds, at any time, with no cash needed. UPI was launched in 2016, and since then, India has grown into one of the fastest-growing digital payment countries in the world. Millions of transactions happen daily, from paying for groceries and movie tickets to school fees and piz

In 1949, a businessman named Frank McNamara went out for dinner in New York with his clients. When the bill arrived, he realized he had forgotten his wallet. His wife had to rush over with cash to save him from the embarrassment. That night, Frank had an idea: what if people could pay without always carrying cash? A year later, in 1950, he launched the Diners Club Card, the world’s first credit card. It allowed members to dine but then pay later. At first, only 27 restaurants

A lot of people think the stock market is just luck, like playing cards or a coin toss. But it isn’t the same thing. When you buy a stock, you own a small piece of a company. If the company grows and makes profits, your share in the company grows in value too. It's not based on chance but rather on how the business performs. Yes, in the short term, prices can go up and down quickly. That’s why it sometimes feels like gambling. But if you look at the stock market over many yea

When you think of money, you probably picture coins, notes, or maybe numbers shown in the banking app. But what is it, really? Before money existed, people used barter: trading goods directly (like rice for cloth).  Imagine you want a sandwich, and your friend, who has that sandwich wants your notebook in return. That’s an easy trade. But what if you had to buy it from a sandwich seller who doesn't care about notebooks?  That’s the problem with barter… it only works if both s

At first glance, a bank may seem simple: a person puts their money in, and when they need it, they take it out. But banks are not giant vaults that just store the money for future use. They are actually constantly moving, lending and multiplying the money.  Banks are the middlemen in the entire cycle of money. On one side, people deposit money (your pocket money, your parent’s salary or a company’s profit). On the other side, the bank lends this deposited money to someone who

Now that we know that banks dont just store our money but use it, the next big question is: where do they earn from?  The main way banks earn is through something called the “interest spread.” Here’s how it works: First:   What’s an interest rate? It’s simply the price of money. If you borrow ₹100 at 10% interest, you’ll pay back ₹110. If you put ₹100 in the bank at 4% interest, you’ll get ₹104 back. When you deposit money in a savings account, the bank pays you a small inter

Now that we know how banks earn money, let’s look at the main types of accounts people can open. Savings Account – The Everyday Wallet Riya, a college student, keeps her pocket money in a savings account. She can withdraw anytime, pay digitally, and the bank even gives her a small interest (of about 3-4% a year) just for keeping money there. Perfect for her day-to-day use, or any salaried people who want to save bit by bit.  Current Account – The Business Her dad runs a shop.