Finance in a minute

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

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.

For many teenagers in India today, paying someone doesn’t mean digging out cash or waiting for change. It simply means opening an app, typing a number, and tapping PAY to transfer the money and collect their items. This shift didn’t happen slowly as one would expect. Infact, India leapfrogged from a mostly cash economy to one of the world’s most advanced digital payment systems within a few years. The main reason: UPI (Unified Payments Interface ) So what exactly is UPI?  UPI