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Explanations that sit alongside the tools. The aim is that after using a calculator you understand why the number came out that way — not just what it was.
How a strait you will never see reaches your fuel bill
Oil falls twenty per cent and petrol barely moves. The reason is arithmetic, not conspiracy — and the same arithmetic says a higher fixed tax makes the pump less sensitive to oil, not more.
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India has an official inflation number. It is 4%
The RBI does not aim at whatever inflation happens to be. A statutory target of 4% CPI, with a band of 2% to 6%, is notified every five years — and the band matters more to your planning than the target does.
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How RD interest is calculated, and why it looks too small
A recurring deposit at 7% for five years pays about 19.9% on what you put in, not 35%. The rate is not the problem — most of the money has not been in the account for long.
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Real returns — why you divide, not subtract
A 12% return against 6% inflation is not a 6% real return. It is 5.66%, and over twenty years that small gap compounds into a figure 6.6% too optimistic.
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CAGR, XIRR, and which one your returns actually need
Two different questions about return. Using the wrong one is how people end up comparing numbers that were never comparable.
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How compounding actually works
Why the last few years of a long investment contribute more than the first ten combined, and what that means for when you start.
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Why your EMI is mostly interest at the start
On a twenty-year home loan, about four-fifths of the first instalment is interest. Here is why, and what it means for prepayment.
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