Debt
A minimum payment is calculated to move the balance slowly
The smallest permitted payment is set to cover the interest and a thin slice of the principal, which is why…
· 4 min read
Aarav Sinha
Contributing editor, Dollars & Decisions
Aarav covers spending, saving, debt and the questions readers actually send in and is happiest when a piece answers the question completely.
12 articles
Money & Mind
Two people sharing a household need a rule, and the three common ones trade different things
Joint money arrangements are usually inherited by accident rather than chosen, and the arrangement…
· 3 min read
Spending
A generous returns policy is part of what you are paying for
The ability to change your mind after buying has a cost, which is built into prices, and it quietly changes…
· 4 min read
Saving
An irregular income is budgeted from the bad months, not the average one
When earnings arrive unevenly, the household that plans around the mean spends the good months and then…
· 4 min read
Saving
Money in an account is a claim on an institution, not a box of notes
A savings balance is a debt the bank owes you, which is why the arrangements that protect deposits exist…
· 3 min read
Debt
Borrowing from family replaces the paperwork with the relationship
A loan between people who know each other removes the interest and the credit checks, and puts something…
· 3 min read
Investing Basics
What an adviser does depends a great deal on how they are paid
The service, the obligations and the incentives attaching to financial advice differ by arrangement, and…
· 4 min read
Money & Mind
The conversation about what happens to family money is postponed by everyone at once
Inheritance is a topic each generation assumes the other will raise, which is why so many families discover…
· 3 min read
Saving
Money sent to another household needs a limit, a form and a review date
Support given to a relative is one of the few household outgoings that begins without a figure, an end…
· 4 min read
Investing Basics
How easily something can be sold is a property of its market, not of the thing
Liquidity is the ability to convert a holding into money quickly at a price close to its stated value, and…
· 4 min read
Money & Mind
Generosity works better as a budget line than as a response
Money given away is usually decided at the moment of asking, under social pressure and without reference to…
· 3 min read
Money & Mind
How a payment is made changes how much it feels like spending
The discomfort of parting with money is a real signal that varies with the method of payment, and…
· 3 min read