Indian personal finance
Straight answers on Indian money
Credit cards, loans, deposits and tax — worked through the way you actually meet them: an application form, a rate table, a notice from the department. Every number here carries the date it was checked and a link to where it came from.
- Every figure sourced and dated
- Written under a real name in Mumbai
- Paid links disclosed above the fold
Calculators
All 15 calculatorsBuilt around how Indian products actually work — quarterly compounding on deposits, reducing-balance interest on loans, both tax regimes side by side.
Credit cards
All credit cards- Lifetime free credit cards: how to tell a genuinely free card from a conditional one Lifetime free means no joining fee and no annual fee, ever — not 'free for a year' or 'free if you spend enough'. How to check the MITC, and when a fee card wins.
- How to get your first credit card in India What issuers actually check, which documents you need, and why a no-history applicant gets rejected — plus the three routes to a first card that work.
- Credit card charges explained: what each line on your statement actually costs The interest-free period is conditional, the minimum due is a trap and cash withdrawal has no grace period. How each credit card charge works, with the arithmetic.
Loans
All loans- Loan against a fixed deposit: why the net cost is only the spread Borrowing against a fixed deposit costs only the spread over the rate the deposit itself earns. Why that usually beats breaking it, and where it stops being true.
- Gold loan or personal loan: cost, speed, and what you put at risk A gold loan is cheaper and disburses faster because your jewellery secures it. A personal loan costs more but nothing goes to auction. How to choose between them.
- Education loan for studying abroad: the secured versus unsecured decision Collateral is the fork in the road. A secured loan costs materially less and sanctions more; an unsecured one is faster and capped lower. Here is how to choose.
Savings
All savings- Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: how the account actually works Sukanya Samriddhi pays 8.2% for Q2 FY 2026-27 and the interest is tax free. Eligibility, the 15-year deposit period against 21-year maturity, and the honest catch.
- Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: how SCSS actually works SCSS pays 8.2% for Q2 FY 2026-27, and the interest is paid out quarterly rather than compounded. Eligibility, the ₹30 lakh limit, tax and early exit in full.
- Post office savings schemes: the whole family, compared Every small savings scheme in one place — PPF, SCSS, Sukanya Samriddhi, NSC, KVP, MIS, RD and time deposits — with Q2 FY 2026-27 rates, limits and tax treatment.
Credit score
All credit score- Your loan was rejected: what actually happened, and what to do now A rejection is not recorded on your credit report — only the enquiry is. What lenders really decline for, how to read your file, and the route back.
- How to improve your CIBIL score, and how fast it can actually move What genuinely moves a CIBIL score, how quickly a change shows up, and which fix is worth doing first — the documented mechanics, not the folklore.
- CIBIL score range: what the number means, and who decides the bands All four RBI-licensed bureaus score on 300–900, but CIBIL publishes no band table. What the number means, why bureaus disagree, and what lenders do with it.
Tax
All tax- Tax on fixed deposit interest: what you actually keep FD interest is taxed at your slab rate each year as it accrues, not at maturity. The TDS thresholds, Form 121, and why 80TTA and 80TTB now reach so few.
- Old vs new tax regime: the comparison, with the parts most pages leave out The new regime is the default, and its ₹12 lakh nil-tax headline works through a rebate rather than an exemption. Where the old regime still wins, and by how much.
- How to file your income tax return online, step by step Filing an ITR for AY 2026-27: picking the right form, reconciling the AIS, choosing your regime, e-verifying, and what a belated return actually costs you.
How this site works
Every figure is sourced
Interest rates, fees and tax thresholds are read from the bank, the RBI, the Income Tax Department or the relevant notification — never from memory. Each page lists what was checked and when.
One person writes it
Vinoth Kanna researches and writes everything here, under a real name and a monitored address. If something is wrong, there is somebody to tell.
We say when we are paid
Some links earn a commission. Comparison tables still list the products that pay nothing when they are the better answer, and every page that carries a paid link says so above the fold.
It is information, not advice
Nobody here is a SEBI-registered investment adviser and nothing on this site is a personal recommendation. It is the background you need to ask a bank or an adviser better questions.