Personal Finance & Market Compass Guides
Plain-language, India-specific guides — from a first money plan to how the opening-bias score actually works. Pick whichever one matches where you're starting from.
Start Here: Build Your 1-Page Money Plan (India)
If your money feels disorganised even though you earn okay, start here. Six short steps — assess where you stand, set real goals, design your cashflow, build defenses, and start investing — that fit on one page you'll actually reuse.
How to Create a Realistic Budget That You'll Actually Follow
Most budgets fail in week two — not from a lack of discipline, but because the budget itself was unrealistic. The needs/wants/savings split, why budgets actually break, and how to build one that survives real life.
11 Common Budgeting Mistakes Indians Make (and How to Fix Them)
If you earn well but the money still slips away, the problem is usually not income — it's a handful of repeatable mistakes, from budgeting on CTC to lifestyle inflation and the March tax scramble. Each one, with a concrete fix.
How Big Should Your Emergency Fund Be in India?
"Build an emergency fund" is easy advice and hard to act on without a number. How many months to target based on your situation, how to calculate your real monthly essentials, and where to actually keep the money.
Creating a Monthly Money Routine: Weekly and Monthly Check-Ins
A budget and an emergency fund only work if you actually review them. Two short scripts — a 10-minute weekly check-in and a 30–45 minute monthly review — plus how to anchor them to your salary, SIP, and EMI dates so the habit sticks.
Investing 101 for Indian Beginners: From Savings to Simple Portfolios
You don't need to pick stocks or time the market to start investing well. Why investing beats saving alone, the basic asset classes, SIPs explained simply, and one sensible way to begin.
What Is GIFT NIFTY and Why It Matters Before the Indian Market Opens
The single most-watched number every pre-open morning, and one of six inputs in Market Compass' opening-bias score. What premium and discount actually mean — and why it's not the whole story.
What Should I Do Before Markets Open Today?
A non-advisory playbook broken down by how you actually participate in markets — intraday trader, swing trader, long-term investor, SIP investor — plus the mistakes worth avoiding regardless of which one you are.
Why USD/INR, Crude, and Global Markets Matter To Your Indian Portfolio
Three of Market Compass' six morning signals aren't Indian stocks or indices at all — they're the rupee, crude oil, and "global cues." Understanding them is key to reading the market's mood.