Articles & guides
Guides, tips, and plain-English explainers about the Android apps we publish — written to be practical and easy to follow.
Credit Life Insurance on a South African Loan: What It Costs and What It Adds to the Total
Credit life insurance on a South African loan is priced per R1 000 of the amount you owe each month, under a cap widely cited as R4.50 per…
Flat Rate or Reducing Balance: The Difference That Changes What You Repay
A flat rate charges interest on the original amount for the whole tenor, while a reducing balance rate charges it only on what you still…
Consolidating FFEL Loans Into a Direct Consolidation Loan: What You Gain and What You Lose
Consolidating FFEL loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan converts legacy debt into a Department-held Direct Loan, which is what unlocks…
The 7% Pension Deduction on an Ethiopian Payslip: Who Pays It, and What It Buys
The 7% line on an Ethiopian payslip is the employee pension contribution, withheld monthly and paid into the scheme that covers the job…
The Affordability Assessment a South African Lender Must Do, and the Documents It Asks For
Before granting credit, a South African credit provider must by law run an affordability assessment: verify your gross income, subtract…
Processing Fee Plus GST: What It Really Adds to the Cost of a Loan in India
A processing fee is a service charge, so GST applies to it, which means a 2 percent fee costs about 2.36 percent once tax at 18 percent is…
Rolling Over a Short-Term Loan: How Four Extensions Multiply the Cost
A rollover pays the interest and an extension fee but leaves the principal untouched, so each extension reprices the whole loan again. On…
Does Repaying a Short-Term Loan Early Actually Save You Money?
Repaying early saves money only when interest is charged per day on the outstanding balance and the foreclosure charge costs less than the…
Late Payment Charges on a Short-Term Loan: How Fast Do They Stack Up?
Missing the due date on a short-term loan adds three charges at once: a flat late fee, a penal charge for every day the amount stays…
Per-Day Interest on a Short-Term Loan in India: Why a Small Number Is Not a Small Cost
A per-day interest rate charges you for every day you hold the money, so 0.1 percent a day on Rs 20,000 is Rs 20 a day and Rs 600 over a…
What Is an FFEL Loan, and How Is It Different From a Direct Loan?
An FFEL loan is a federal student loan made by a bank or other private lender under a federal guarantee, through a programme that stopped…
How Ethiopia Taxes Salary Band by Band, and Why a Raise Never Arrives in Full
Ethiopian PAYE income tax is charged band by band, so a raise is taxed only at the rate of the top band it reaches, and never at that rate…