Blog
What the numbers said — fund returns and costs, foreign and domestic flows, index valuations, gold and silver — plus tax, retirement and personal-finance basics, written from the same data the rest of this site shows, with the date on every figure.
Belated and revised ITR: what to do after a missed deadline
02 Oct 2026
Missed 31 July? A belated return for AY 2026-27 can be filed until 31 December 2026 with a fee. What you lose, and how revised returns now work.
Tax
Why bond fund prices fall when yields rise
02 Oct 2026
A 5-year 7% bond falls to about ₹96 when yields rise one point; longer bonds fall more. How duration turns this into a rule.
Debt & Hybrid Funds
Capital gains tax on stocks and property, explained
02 Oct 2026
Holding periods, rates, the ₹1.25 lakh exemption, the property indexation choice and reinvestment relief, as they stand for FY 2026-27, with worked examples.
TaxInvesting Strategy
The 20/4/10 car rule, tested on an Indian budget
02 Oct 2026
20% down, a loan of at most four years, and total car costs under 10% of income. We run a ₹10 lakh car through the rule and show what it implies in India.
Personal Finance
How your CIBIL score is calculated, factor by factor
02 Oct 2026
The five things behind a CIBIL score, a utilisation example in rupees, hard versus soft enquiries, and your rights under the RBI's 2025 credit-report rules.
Personal Finance
Clubbing of income: gifts to a spouse or child, and the tax
02 Oct 2026
A gift to your spouse is tax-free, but the income it earns is added back to yours. How clubbing works, who it excludes, and what you can do instead.
Tax
Couples and money: joint, separate or a mix?
02 Oct 2026
Three ways couples in India can organise money, with a proportional-split example, the clubbing rule on gifts to a spouse, and what to put in both names.
Personal Finance
Credit card rewards without the debt trap
02 Oct 2026
A card that is paid in full is a free 50-day loan with rewards. One that revolves costs about 42% a year. How to keep a card on the right side of that line.
Personal FinanceDebt fund returns, overnight to gilt: October 2026
02 Oct 2026
Over the year to 1 October 2026, ultra-short funds returned a median 6.53%; gilt funds 2.45% and long-term funds 1.26%. Fourteen debt categories compared.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund Returns
Direct stocks or mutual funds: what should beginners pick?
02 Oct 2026
Buying stocks yourself versus owning them through a mutual fund: diversification, cost, tax, time and behaviour compared, and a sensible way to do both.
Investing StrategyDirect vs Regular plans: how 1.2% a year costs lakhs
02 Oct 2026
A regular equity plan costs a median 1.2 points a year more than its direct twin. On a ₹10,000 SIP over 20 years, a gap that size is worth about ₹12 lakh.
Costs & FeesInvesting Strategy
Tax on dividends in India: stocks, funds and TDS
02 Oct 2026
Dividends are taxed at your slab rate, with 10% TDS above ₹10,000. How equity and fund dividends differ from capital gains, with a worked comparison.
TaxDividend investing: building passive income from stocks
02 Oct 2026
How much income dividend stocks really pay in India, how dividends are taxed, and how dividend yield funds and SWPs compare, with data as of 1 October 2026.
Investing StrategyMarket ValuationsTax
Dividend yield funds: a median of -2.2% over the year
02 Oct 2026
The median dividend yield fund lost 2.22% in the year to 1 October 2026 and made 10.90% a year over three. Ten funds ranked, against value and large-cap funds.
Fund Returns
Diwali to Diwali: Nifty 50 returns in every Samvat
02 Oct 2026
From Samvat 2064 to 2081 the Nifty 50 rose in 14 of 18 Hindu calendar years, with a median gain of about 10%. Every Samvat, and what Muhurat trading means.
Market RecapDoes Nifty P/E predict the next five years' returns?
02 Oct 2026
We matched 169 monthly Nifty 50 P/E readings since 2007 to the five years that followed. A low P/E raised the worst case, but barely moved the typical one.
Market ValuationsInvesting StrategyDoes your SIP date matter? 1st, 5th or 25th
02 Oct 2026
Which day of the month to set your SIP. What a 20-day gap does to ten years of instalments, the cut-off rules, and why salary timing is the better guide.
Investing StrategyDonations and tax: doing good while saving more
02 Oct 2026
How the donation deduction (old Section 80G, now section 133) works in FY 2026-27: the 50% and 100% categories, the 10% cap, the ₹2,000 cash rule and Form 10BE.
TaxPersonal Finance
Education cost inflation: how to plan a goal 12 years out
02 Oct 2026
Fees can outrun inflation. A worked example turns a ₹10 lakh course today into a future cost and the monthly SIP needed, with assumptions you can change.
Personal Finance
Emergency fund for freelancers with irregular income
02 Oct 2026
Freelancers need a bigger buffer than salaried people, plus a way to smooth lumpy months. A worked 12-month example, tax set-asides and where to park the money.
Personal Finance