58 Money Rules to Stop Guessing and Start Deciding
Simple, battle-tested formulas for budgeting, saving, investing, borrowing, insuring and retiring, decoded for India, and paired with a free calculator so you can run your own numbers, not someone else's.
Pick a Rule, Get the Full Story
Every guide below explains where a rule comes from, when it holds up in the Indian context, and where it doesn't, with a calculator to turn the formula into your own rupees.
Budgeting Rules 2 rules
Know where the salary is actually going before it quietly disappears.
Split income into 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings: India's most-searched budgeting formula, with an interactive split calculator.
Save 20% the moment the salary lands, and build the lifestyle around what's left over.
Savings & Emergency Fund Rules 1 rule
The safety net that has to exist before anything else does.
The minimum cushion of expenses to park aside before investing a single rupee elsewhere.
Investing Rules 7 rules
The formulas that quietly separate disciplined wealth-builders from everyone else.
A classic shortcut for how much of the portfolio should sit in equity, based on age.
Divide 72 by the expected return to find, in seconds, how long money takes to double.
₹15,000 a month, at 15% returns, for 15 years, closing in on ₹1 crore. India's favourite SIP motivation rule.
The globally-cited safe withdrawal rate for drawing down a retirement corpus without running dry.
SEBI's old investor-awareness benchmark for realistic long-term returns from equity, debt and savings.
Raise the SIP by 10% every year as income grows, almost without feeling it.
Debt & Loan Rules 2 rules
Borrowing isn't the enemy. Borrowing without a rule is.
The affordability guideline Indian lenders quietly use to decide how much loan is really manageable.
20% down payment, a loan no longer than 4 years, transport costs under 10% of income.
Insurance Rules 1 rule
Protection first, growth second.
Term insurance cover should be 10 to 15 times yearly income: the formula most advisors reach for first.
Tax & Spending Rules 2 rules
From rent decisions to real-estate math, the rules that protect cash flow.
Monthly rent should be at least 1% of the property's price, or the investment may not pay off.
Compare 5% of a home's price against annual rent to settle the rent-vs-buy debate with real numbers.
India-Specific Rules 2 rules
Rules shaped by Indian regulation and Indian habits.
The PFRDA-mandated ceiling on how much of an NPS corpus can sit in equity.
India-specific framing of automating savings: save before spending, deduct automatically from salary.
Why These Rules Matter
None of these formulas are magic. What they are is memorable, simple enough to recall mid salary-negotiation, mid loan-application, or mid market-crash, when detailed planning is the last thing on anyone's mind. That's the real power of a good money rule: it does the thinking in advance, so the future self doesn't have to improvise.
As each guide above goes live over the coming days, it arrives with the one thing most finance content skips: a calculator that turns the rule into real numbers. Bookmark this page; it keeps growing.
Trusted Resources, Beyond Our Own Guides
These rules give the shortcut. These bodies set the actual regulation behind them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these finance rules really free to read?
Yes. Every rule guide and calculator here is free, with no sign-up and no paywall. The goal is to make Indian money decisions easier, not to collect data.
Are these rules accurate for India, or just translated from US blogs?
Each guide is built or adapted for the Indian context, with Indian examples, rupee figures, and the relevant regulator (SEBI, PFRDA, RBI) cited where the rule touches regulation.
Is this financial advice?
No. Every rule here is an educational starting point, not personalised investment advice. Always confirm specifics with a SEBI-registered adviser before acting.
Why do some rules say "Coming Soon"?
The 58 rules on the roadmap are scored and prioritised by how often people search for them and how well they fit Stock Charcha's calculators. "Coming Soon" rules are next in line and publishing within days.
How is this different from a generic "money rules" listicle?
Most listicles stop at the formula. Each guide here pairs the rule with a free calculator, so the number isn't abstract. It's built from actual income, EMI or SIP figures entered.
Can I suggest a rule that isn't on this page yet?
Absolutely. Reach out through the Contact page. Several rules on the roadmap started as reader requests.