What actually moves your credit score (and what doesn’t)
Checking your own score, closing an old card, one missed EMI — which of these matter? A working tour of the CIBIL model, minus the folklore.
ANANYA RAO · 02 JUL 2026
THE PDS LEDGER
Money, written plainly.
Credit, borrowing and household finance — explained the way our advisors explain it on WhatsApp: specific, honest, useful.
Flat vs reducing interest: the 30-second check that saves lakhs
A "12% flat" quote is not cheaper than a "16% reducing" one — it is dearer. The one question to ask every lender before comparing anything.
VIKRAM SHETTY · 24 JUN 2026
The 50/30/20 rule, rewritten for Indian households
Family obligations, festival seasons and single-income years don’t fit a Silicon Valley budget template. A version that survives contact with reality.
MEERA KULKARNI · 15 JUN 2026
Collateral-free credit: what NBFCs really look for
No property to pledge? Digital-first lenders underwrite on three signals instead. Get them right and unsecured credit stops being a lottery.
VIKRAM SHETTY · 08 JUN 2026
Prepay the home loan or invest the bonus?
The eternal March question. The arithmetic is simple; the behaviour is not. A framework instead of a slogan.
ANANYA RAO · 30 MAY 2026
646 to 758 in six months: a repair diary
A real borrower’s month-by-month log — the disputes filed, the balances paid, and what moved the number (with her permission, and her name changed).
PDS ADVISORY DESK · 21 MAY 2026
Loan against FD vs personal loan: the quiet alternative
If you hold a fixed deposit, you may already have the cheapest loan available to you — at your own bank, against your own money.
MEERA KULKARNI · 12 MAY 2026
Emergency funds: how large is large enough?
Three months? Six? Twelve? The right answer depends on two questions about your income — not on a universal rule.
PDS ADVISORY DESK · 05 MAY 2026