Student Money Basics: Track, Save, Grow (FREE) with Raghu Datta

College money comes in small amounts: pocket money, a first tuition fee, a scholarship. Small amounts are the best place to learn. This free guide covers the basics every BSc, BCA or degree student can use this month, with real numbers from official sources.

Inside: a one-page tracker and the Sunday review; the ₹100 day, multiplied once; hostel, PG or home compared in rupees and in hours; how much emergency fund to keep, where (a separate account, RBI's basic savings account, DICGC insurance) and how to build it from ₹100 a month; splitting a first earning before you spend it; what ₹1,000 a month from 22 grows to at an assumed rate, with the one spreadsheet formula; education loans in three words (interest, moratorium, subsidy), the central schemes and the PM-Vidyalaxmi common form; the credit score from 300 to 900 and the free yearly report; 14 copy-paste AI prompts grouped by job; a four-week plan; and a printable monthly checklist.

Educational only, not investment advice. Free, 40 pages, phone friendly, drawn illustrations throughout.

What you'll learn:

A tracker that takes minutes: Four columns, five types, a ten-minute Sunday review and one weekly limit, with a worked month of ₹3,000.

Real numbers, with sources: UPI data from PIB, SBI savings and recurring deposit terms, DICGC insurance, small savings rates, CIBIL and RBI rules, each linked.

An emergency fund from ₹100: How much to keep, where to keep it, and a 12-month recurring deposit to build it.

Education loans in three words: Interest, moratorium and subsidy, the income limits of the central schemes, and three questions to get answered in writing.

Credit score, simply: What 300 to 900 means, the two habits that move it, and how to read your free yearly report.

14 AI prompts and a plan: Prompts that do the arithmetic with your numbers and never decide for you, a four-week plan and a printable checklist.

FAQs:

Is this investment advice?

No. It teaches the basics so you can read a bank page or a loan form with confidence. Rates and rules change, so check the official page before you decide.

Do I need a job or income to use it?

No. The tracker, the daily card and the emergency fund start with pocket money. The first-earning and loan chapters are there for when you need them.

Which AI tool do I need?

Any AI chat assistant works: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or another. The free versions are enough.

Is it really free?

Yes. Download it, use it, and share it with a classmate.