Reading the book Rich Dad Poor Dad changed how I look at money.

The one line that stuck with me -
"An asset puts money in your pocket. A liability takes money out."

Simple and Brutal Truth!

Let's understand this in detail 🧵 Most of us are taught to measure wealth by what we own.
House, car, gold, etc.

But the real measure isn’t ownership, it’s cash flow.
Does it pay you, or do you keep paying for it?

Given the uncertainty around Atlas right now and the constant rumours of a possible devaluation/card closure, would you still use Atlas for your forex spends?

A thread on the math and the risks 🧵
Every foreign transaction on Atlas comes with:
1⃣3.5% forex markup
2⃣+18% GST on that fee

Total cost is 4.13%!

Continuing my series on the lesser-known perks of ICICI Emeralde Private Metal (EPM).

Last time I covered the ₹3 Cr Air Accident Cover.✈️

Today I'll cover a benefit that sounds simple but has some fine print you really need to know -

Purchase Protection! 🛒 EPM gives you ₹1.4L Purchase Protection.
If something you bought on the card is lost in a fire or burglary, the insurer (ICICI Lombard) can reimburse you.

Starting a series on the lesser-known/talked about benefits of the ICICI Emeralde Private Metal (EPM) card.

These aren’t spoken about as much, but can be quite powerful if you actually know how to use them.

Bookmark this! 📕

I'll start with - Air Accident Insurance ✈️
EPM comes with a ₹3 crore Air Accident Cover!

1⃣If you die in an air accident, your nominee gets this payout.
2⃣Valid only if the air ticket was purchased using the EPM card.
3⃣You must have used the card at least once in the last 60 days.

A colleague asked me yesterday “Can I take a home loan and set autopay via my credit card (like Infinia)?”

You probably already know the answer! It's a strict NO!

You can run subscriptions on card mandates, but not EMIs!
Here’s the full picture of the WHY!🧵

1⃣In India, EMIs are collected via NACH/e-mandate from your savings account.
2⃣NPCI designed NACH specifically for recurring debits like EMIs, SIPs, premiums.
3⃣Banks like HDFC clearly ask you to set up an e-mandate/NACH for loan repayment.

One small mistake while swiping your card abroad can cost you 5–7% extra 💸

Saw @pk037 break this down so well in his youtube short, had to share here in detail 👇 When you swipe at a POS in Europe (or anywhere abroad), the machine often asks:
“Pay in Local Currency (EUR, USD, etc.) or INR?”

The choice makes a BIG difference!

A lot of folks think, “Why do I need miles when my card lets me book hotels directly on an OTA platform?” 🤔

Here’s why it actually matters, and why EPM must start a miles transfer program soon 🧵👇

I had some reward points on my HDFC DCB.
At the same time, I was short of points in Accor for upcoming hotel stays.
70% of my stays were already going via Accor → so the decision was -
1⃣ Use DCB points to book hotels directly via Smartbuy
2⃣ OR transfer them to Accor

I wish I knew this hack much before to SAVE LAKHS IN FUTURE TAXES!
It’s called Tax-Gain Harvesting i.e. using the ₹1.25L LTCG exemption every single year!

Here’s why it’s a game-changer 👇 🧵 For equity shares & equity MFs (held >12 months, STT paid) -
- First ₹1.25L LTCG = tax-free
- Beyond 1.25L → taxed at 12.5% + cess

If you don’t use this limit each year, it’s gone forever.

Should you keep a loan or prepay it fast? That's one question most of us struggle with.

Quick answer: if your post-tax investment return > your loan’s post-tax cost, invest wins.

Let’s do the math in detail👇 1⃣ Assume a 7% loan and an investment return of 12–15%?
Amount: ₹50L home loan, 7% p.a., 20 yrs
EMI ≈ ₹38,765/month
Total interest over 20 yrs ≈ ₹43.0L

Who do you think end up being credit card geeks?

The rich?
Not really.
In fact, a lot of business folks and service-class rich don’t even bother.
They’ll just pay by cash/UPI or swipe any card lying around.
They don’t want the “math headache.”
So then,who does become a CC geek? It’s less about money.
It’s more about mindset.
These are the typical personas 👇