Pillar 3
Debt and Credit
Debt and credit are two of the most misunderstood areas of personal finance. This section explains how credit scores are calculated, how credit card interest actually compounds, how debt payoff methods work, and what happens when debt goes unpaid. Understanding how these systems work is the first step to navigating them.
18 articles
What a payday loan is, how it works, and what it really costs: the 391% APR, the rollover debt cycle, payday vs personal loans, and how India's instant-loan-app reality compares.
14 min read
A debit card spends your money; a credit card borrows and bills you later. The real differences in fraud liability, disputes, credit-building, fees, and interest.
12 min read
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) splits a purchase into a few interest-free installments. How the 'pay in 4' model works, what it really costs, and how it compares to a credit card.
9 min read
How to check your CIBIL score for free in India, what the 300-900 score means, the four RBI-licensed bureaus, the one-free-report-a-year rule, and the steps.
9 min read
A personal loan is an unsecured installment loan repaid in fixed EMIs. How it works, secured vs unsecured, the real cost, and how it compares to a credit card.
9 min read
What is income-driven repayment, a clear breakdown of SAVE, PAYE, IBR, and ICR, the discretionary income formula, the 20- or 25-year forgiveness clock, and what India offers instead.
9 min read
What is a debt consolidation loan, the three main forms it takes in India and the US, and the conditions under which it actually saves money instead of just rearranging it.
9 min read
A good credit utilization ratio is under 30%, and top scores sit under 10%. Why 30% is not an official FICO or CIBIL rule, and how to lower yours fast.
13 min read
A good credit score is 670+ on FICO (max 850) and 750+ on CIBIL (max 900). See every band, what each one unlocks, and what a good score really saves you.
12 min read
What happens if you don't pay credit card debt? The 30/60/90/180-day delinquency timeline, late fees, penalty APR, credit score damage, charge-off, collections, and lawsuit risk in India and US.
9 min read
The student loan grace period explained, six months on US federal loans, course duration plus 6-12 months in India, with the interest accrual rules that decide what you actually owe.
8 min read
How student loan interest works in plain English, daily simple interest accrual, capitalisation rules, and the actual rates on US federal loans and Indian education loans for 2024-25.
9 min read
How long does it take to pay off credit card debt? Worked examples comparing minimum payments, fixed monthly payments, and avalanche/snowball methods, in both rupees and dollars.
9 min read
How the debt snowball method works, step by step: pay the smallest balance first, roll each payment forward, and stay motivated. Worked payoff examples in ₹ and $.
13 min read
How does debt consolidation work in practice, the application, qualification, funding, payoff, and credit-score sequence, with a worked example showing the interest-savings math.
9 min read
How the debt avalanche method works, the math on how much it saves vs the snowball, worked examples in rupees and dollars, and when avalanche is the right choice.
9 min read
How credit scores are calculated by FICO in the US (5 factors) and TransUnion CIBIL in India (4 factors), with the exact weights and what each one measures.
9 min read
Credit card interest is charged daily on your average daily balance once you carry a balance. The real math, grace periods, and the minimum trap, in ₹ and $.
13 min read