About TeenBucks
TeenBucks is a free personal finance blog for Indian college students and people starting their first job. If you’ve just got your pocket money, opened your first bank account or seen your first salary slip and thought “okay, now what?”, this site is for you.
Who writes this
TeenBucks is written by one independent writer who uses the pen name Dhruv Patil. There’s no team, no newsroom and no company behind it, just one person writing and checking every page. I’ve chosen not to put my real name on the site, and I’d rather tell you that plainly than invent a profile, a photo or a list of qualifications.
What I can show you instead is how the work gets done, so you can judge it for yourself. That’s all on the authors page.
What the site covers
- Bank accounts, zero-balance accounts and bank charges
- UPI, AutoPay mandates and common payment scams
- Budgeting on pocket money or a first salary
- SIPs, mutual funds and how compounding works
- Credit scores, credit cards and app-loan traps
- Basic income tax for first jobs and freelancers
- Free calculators for SIP, SWP and loan EMI
I try to explain things the way an older sibling would: plainly, without hype, and without pretending to know your situation better than you do.
How numbers are sourced and checked
- Official sources first. Every figure is checked against an official page: the RBI, SEBI, NPCI, AMFI, the Income Tax Department, or a bank’s or fund house’s own page.
- Dated checks. I note when I checked a figure, for example “checked 14 Oct 2026”, next to it or in the sources list.
- No guessing. If I can’t verify a number, I leave it out and say so. I don’t copy figures from other blogs.
- Examples are labelled. When a guide shows what an SIP might grow to, it uses an assumed return and says so. Real returns can be higher, lower or negative.
- AI is a helper, not the author. I use AI tools for research and first drafts, but every fact is checked by hand before a page goes live. Nothing is published automatically.
The full process, including corrections and affiliate rules, is in the editorial policy.
What TeenBucks is not
This is education, not investment advice. TeenBucks is not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser, and I’m not a Chartered Accountant. I don’t know your income, goals or risk tolerance, so nothing here is a personal recommendation. For decisions that matter, check the official source and consider a SEBI-registered adviser. See the disclaimer for details.
How the site pays for itself
Everything here is free to read. The site may show ads, and some pages carry affiliate links, which are always marked next to the link. They never decide what I recommend or how products are ranked.
Get in touch
Spotted a mistake, or want a topic covered? Please use the contact page. If it’s a correction, include the page and, if you can, the official source. Confirmed errors get fixed.