How to make a monthly budget (Introduction) When Riya, a young pharmacist in Nagpur, looked at her bank app halfway through the month, the balance felt like a bucket with a leak. Rent had gone, electricity and internet were due, a cousin’s wedding had added a new sari expense, and a few late night food […]

EPF Form 5 is a simple monthly return used by an employer to tell the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) about everyone who became an EPF member for the first time in the previous month. Think of it as a fresh-joiners list. When HR follows EPF Form 5 properly, the new employee’s UAN and PF […]

If you’ve spent any time reading about markets, you’ve probably come across the word carry. It sounds simple, but in finance, it carries a lot of weight. At its core, it’s about the cost or return from simply holding on to an investment. Let’s see what it really means in practice. What is Carry? So, […]

Every investor wants growth but hates the idea of sudden losses. That’s where the collar strategy comes in. It’s like putting boundaries around your money—one to stop losses and one to cap gains. Let’s look at the collar meaning in simple words and see why people use it. What Is a Collar? So, what is […]

Money runs on promises. When someone cannot keep up with those promises—like paying back a loan or honoring a contract—it’s called a Default. It sounds technical, but in reality, Default is simply about trust being broken in finance. And once trust is broken, the effects spread quickly. What Is a Default? People often ask: what […]

Markets never move in one direction for long. Sometimes your investments grow, and other times they slip. To handle this uncertainty, investors use hedging. It works like a safety net. A hedge does not remove risk completely, but it helps reduce losses when markets turn against you. What Is a Hedge? So, what is a […]

In finance, nothing works in isolation. Markets breathe together. Stocks, bonds, gold, oil—they all have their own rhythm, but often their moves are linked. That link is called correlation. Think of it like cricket and monsoons. One may not cause the other, but they often show up at the same time. Spotting such links helps […]

For generations, Indian savers have relied on the familiar comfort of bank fixed deposits (FDs). They are simple, secure, and a cornerstone of conservative investing. However, in a world of rising aspirations, many investors find themselves asking: “Can my money do more?” If you’re looking for a way to earn higher returns without straying too […]

Introduction Every year, many salaried people and small business owners see TDS cut from payments and then struggle to track it. The government has a simple website for this—TDS TRACES. It helps a taxpayer see how much TDS was deducted, fix mistakes, and download important files for filing returns. TDS Traces TDS TRACES (short for […]