EMERGENCY FUND
How much emergency fund should a woman in India actually have?
The standard answer is three to six months of expenses. For most Indian women the honest answer is longer, and the reason has nothing to do with being cautious.
BUDGETING
Where does my salary go every month?
Shruti earns ₹65,000 a month in Pune and had no idea where most of it went. The exercise that fixed it took one evening.
INFLATION
Is it safe to keep my savings in a savings account?
Alpa kept ₹8 lakh in a savings account for fourteen years and called it her safe money. She never lost a rupee, and she lost nearly half of it.
DEBT
Should I pay off my credit card debt or start investing first?
If you are carrying a credit card balance at 42% a year, no investment is going to outrun it. The arithmetic is not close.
CREDIT
What is a good CIBIL score in India and how do I improve mine?
A credit score decides what you pay to borrow for the next thirty years. Most women check theirs for the first time when a loan is already being refused.
TAX
Old or new tax regime: which should a salaried woman choose?
Shweta worked for six years before discovering her employer had been deducting ₹18,000 a year for NPS that she had never claimed.
INSURANCE
How much term insurance does a working woman need?
If somebody's life gets harder financially when you die, you need life cover. Most working women in India have none, because nobody ever suggested it.
BIG PURCHASES
Should I buy a house or keep renting?
In most Indian cities the rent on a flat is far below the EMI on the same flat. That gap is the whole argument, and it cuts both ways.
INVESTING
How do I start a SIP with ₹500 a month?
When Shailee started earning, investing was the last thing on her mind. Rent, groceries, small indulgences and the quiet adjustment of living on her own money came first.
CAREER
What happens to my money if I take a career break?
A career break costs far more than the salary you miss during it. Almost nobody is told the second number.
ESTATE
Do I need a will if I'm unmarried and have no children?
A nomination is not a will. Most Indian women have filled in the first and never written the second, and the two do entirely different jobs.
PROVIDENT FUND
How do I check whether my EPF is actually being deposited?
It is deducted from your salary every month. Whether it reaches your account is a separate question, and one worth asking annually.
WINDFALL
What should I do with a large lump sum I wasn't expecting?
Geetha is a teacher and a single mother. She lost her only son in a car accident, and the insurance settlement that followed was worth several crores, with no guidebook attached.
INSURANCE
Is an endowment or money-back policy a good investment?
It is the most widely held financial product in Indian households and one of the most poorly understood. The returns are knowable, and most policyholders have never calculated them.
FAMILY
How should a couple split expenses and money after marriage?
There is no single correct structure. There is a correct process, and most couples skip it because the conversation feels unromantic.
BUSINESS
How much should I save before quitting my job to start something?
The usual advice is six months of runway. For anyone leaving a salary in India to build something, that figure is optimistic by about half.
BUDGETING
Does the 50-30-20 rule work on an Indian salary?
Half on needs, thirty percent on wants, twenty percent saved. It is the most quoted budgeting rule in the world and it was not built for Indian rents.
FAMILY
How do I say no to a family loan request without a fight?
This is a money question that no spreadsheet answers, and it is one of the most common ones Indian women face.
INVESTING
Gold or mutual funds: what should I do with the gold I already own?
Most Indian women hold a meaningful share of their net worth in gold they did not choose to buy, cannot easily sell, and have never valued.
COMPOUNDING
How long will it take my money to double?
There is a one-line calculation that answers this, and understanding it changes how the rest of the decisions feel.
