Guides
The calculators show their working, so most "how is this calculated" questions are already answered on the page itself. These are for the questions a calculator cannot answer: which option costs less for you, what a figure actually means, and where the rules surprise people.
- Simple vs compound interest The difference is small over a year and enormous over twenty. What separates the two, when each is used, and how to tell which one a product is quoting you.
- How compounding frequency works Daily, monthly, quarterly or annual compounding, what the difference is actually worth, and why the effective annual rate is the only figure worth comparing between products.
- Old vs new tax regime in India The new regime has lower rates and almost no deductions; the old has higher rates and allows them. How to tell which is cheaper for you, and why the answer changed after 2025.
- Gratuity in India, explained The five-year rule, why the formula divides by 26 rather than 30, what counts as wages, and the boundary cases that decide whether you are owed anything at all.
- UAE end-of-service gratuity, explained Twenty-one days a year for the first five, thirty after, on basic salary only, capped at two years' pay. What that means in practice and where the common mistakes are.
- End-of-service benefits across the Gulf The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain all pay an end-of-service benefit and all five calculate it differently. What identical service is worth in each.
- PPF vs fixed deposit The headline rates look similar. Tax treatment, lock-in and the deposit limit are what separate them, and they point in different directions depending on what the money is for.
- The UK 60% tax band No rate table shows it, but between £100,000 and £125,140 each extra £2 of income costs £1.20 in tax. Why that happens and what can be done about it.
- CTC vs take-home pay An Indian offer letter quotes a number you will never be paid. What is inside a CTC, which parts never reach you, and why the gap is roughly a seventh even before tax.
- FD vs RD A fixed deposit and a recurring deposit at the same rate pay very different amounts of interest, and the reason is not the rate. What each is for, and how to compare them fairly.
- What the NPS pays out The National Pension System does not hand you your balance at sixty. What the withdrawal rules require, what the small-corpus exemption changes, and the question people ask too late.
- CAGR vs average return Averaging a series of yearly returns gives a number that is almost always too high, and sometimes wildly so. What CAGR measures instead, and why the gap grows with volatility.