Everyday money
Parking account or CMA: where does your money go?
Two places to keep spare cash, with different ways of holding it.
Economics, explained
34 guides
Everyday moneyA first read
Why do monthly deposits earn less at the same rate?
Put money in all at once or add it each month: it has a different amount of time to earn interest.
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Everyday money
Equal principal or equal payments?
How the monthly bill and total interest change.
Everyday money
Rates fell. When does my loan get cheaper?
What changes for fixed and variable rate loans.
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6 topics · 34 guides
Everyday money
5 guidesMoney you save, borrow and repay.
Monthly savings or a lump sum
The first deposit earns interest for longer than the last.
Parking accounts and CMAs in Korea
Deposits, investments, protection and access when the next bill is due.
Equal principal or equal loan payments
One loan, two schedules, different monthly bills and total interest.
When a rate cut reaches your loan
Fixed periods and reset dates can keep next month’s bill unchanged.
Your overdraft limit and the interest you pay
A month of withdrawals and repayments, with interest calculated day by day.
Rates and the economy
5 guidesThe rates, prices and growth figures behind the headlines.
Your bank rate and the policy rate
Interest on savings, central bank decisions and the meaning of a percentage point.
Why countries set different interest rates
Prices, jobs and currencies behind a country’s policy rate.
Lower inflation, but groceries still cost more
A slower rise does not undo the earlier price increases.
What CPI, PCE and core inflation count
Different purchases, weights and dates behind the inflation figures.
GDP and GNI: production and income
What an economy produces, who earns the income, and what averages miss.
ETFs and portfolios
9 guidesWhat a fund holds and how you divide your money.
What you own through an ETF
A fictional three-company fund, from its holdings to its trading price.
Comparing ETFs that track the same index
Annual expenses, trading costs and returns that can differ from the index.
The same stocks inside different ETFs
Two funds can put more of your money into the same company.
Monthly ETF payouts and your total return
Cash payments can arrive while the investment loses value overall.
Hedged and unhedged ETFs: the currency effect
Asset prices, exchange rates and what a currency hedge can change.
What twice the daily return really means
A flat index can leave a loss after two days of leveraged returns.
Investing a lump sum all at once or gradually
The same starting cash, different purchase dates and money left waiting.
Rebalancing a portfolio back to its target
Selling holdings or adding cash to restore an equal split.
From cumulative return to an annual rate
A compound annual rate can differ from the average of yearly returns.
Shares and dividends
6 guidesBuying shares, receiving dividends and understanding changes to share capital.
The rights behind common and preferred shares
Dividend priority, voting rights and the terms behind a price difference.
Market and limit orders: your actual trade price
Seven shares ordered, several prices paid, or some shares still waiting.
Dividend yield and payout ratio measure different things
One dividend compared with the share price or the company’s earnings.
Reading P/E, P/B and ROE together
Share price, earnings and book equity behind three familiar ratios.
Share counts and prices after a split
More or fewer shares do not by themselves change the company’s value.
Rights issues, bonus shares and your ownership
What you pay for new shares and what fraction you own afterward.
Company finances
3 guidesWhat a company earns, spends and keeps.
A profitable café with cash running short
Unpaid sales, a new machine and a loan in one café’s cash movements.
From revenue to operating profit and net income
A café’s sales after ingredients, wages, interest and taxes.
Debt-to-equity, current ratio and bills coming due
Assets on the balance sheet may not pay tomorrow’s bill.
Currencies and bonds
6 guidesCurrency values, bond prices and rates across countries.
Dollar interest and what comes back in won
More dollars can still be worth fewer won after the exchange rate changes.
Why higher yields mean lower bond prices
The promised payment stays fixed while the price a buyer offers changes.
A bond’s maturity and a bond ETF
A bond can mature while the fund holding it keeps investing.
Comparing policy rates across countries
Rate names, source dates and the difference between zero and unconfirmed data.
Two ways to calculate the Korea–US rate gap
The US upper bound and midpoint produce different gaps from Korea’s rate.
What a 90% exchange-rate discount saves
The exchange margin you save and the won you pay for 100 dollars.
The examples explain how money works; they do not recommend investments. How we write and check our guides