I have no clue whether I am good at writing, but I am poor in excel. I have no doubt about that.

So when I have a nice calculator idea I had to sit with one of the kids in our office and TEACH personal finance. Sure they have created personal finance trackers, variable sip (where the sip amount varies from year to year – obviously when your income increases, your SIP increases) calculators etc….not really cribbing.

Then suddenly one day Mr. Pattabiraman (https://www.facebook.com/freefincal/app_153284594738391) found me. He sent me a mail saying that he has designed some calculators and could I please look at it.

http://freefincal.wordpress.com/

So here was a man who understood that mean has to be read with standard deviation (99.99% of understanding equity markets), compounding works (100% of understanding wealth creation), …I was really overjoyed when I saw what he had created. Here was a techie who understood finance. Ha ha..and that too a professor of physics. My interaction with other scientists has been amusing – either they take to it brilliantly or very arrogantly they feel nuclear physics is far superior to markets.

Here was a man who was trying to understand market mechanisms!

So I pestered him for a few calculators – and I got them. When I asked others, I would get an effort sheet, a ‘business justification note’ and a request for an additional resource with Rocket science Major and Chemistry Minor.

So thank you Pattu, as he calls himself. I have no commercial interest EVEN in my own blog, so just clarifying that I have not yet met Pattu – but hopefully we will both try to set it right next trip of mine to Chennai…or when he comes for a lecture to IIT, Mumbai.

Go to his blog – the lead up here is a link to his FB page – which will lead you to his blog. Take a look at his calculators they are very nice, user friendly and practical. Most of you know that I deal with a few mutual funds and banks – NONE OF THEM have such nice calculators. When I ask them I get very polite, cultured replies, but no cal. Sad, but true. Not that they care about what I say, but MF’s ability to attract the simple ‘aam aadmi’ to their site sucks. I will write a more detailed note about the calculator on debt fund vs bank fd…soon..