Paisa Samajh: the personal finance life game
पैसा समझ: पर्सनल फ़ाइनेंस लाइफ़ गेम
Pick your first job and city, then live one year per turn from 22 to 60. Split your monthly take-home between needs, wants, an emergency fund, FD, PPF, an index-fund SIP and gold; choose insurance; take (or avoid) loans; and face life events — a wedding, a child, a parent in hospital, a layoff, scam calls and market crashes. At 60 you get a retirement scorecard.
How to play
- Create your character, choose a career, a city, a difficulty and whether you start with an education loan. Take-home pay is worked out from CTC with income tax (new regime) and PF.
- Each year, pick a lifestyle and split what is left after needs, EMIs and premiums across your money jars.
- Turn insurance on or off and, if you like, make one big move: a bike, a car, a home or clearing your card.
- Live the year. Markets move, prices rise 6% a year and a life event asks for a decision.
- At 60, see your retirement corpus against 25–30× yearly expenses, debt-free age, insurance cover and personal lessons.
What you will learn
- Compounding: why a SIP started at 22 beats one started at 32
- Inflation: what ₹1 crore at 60 is worth in today’s money
- EMIs, credit scores and the 3.5%-a-month credit-card trap
- Emergency funds, health and term insurance — and cover for parents
- Spotting OTP, UPI collect, “digital arrest”, lottery, task-job and Ponzi scams
- NPS, SIP step-ups, gold loans, side hustles and the early-retirement (FIRE) path
A simplified simulation for learning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Everything runs in your browser; progress is saved only on this device.
Try the real calculators
- CTC to in-hand salary calculator
- PPF calculator
- FD calculator
- EMI and SIP calculator
- Learn AI: privacy and scams
- Digital safety and cyberfraud help
Also play: Founder Mode: startup simulator · All games
Frequently asked questions
What is Paisa Samajh?
A free personal finance game in which you live from age 22 to 60 in about 5–10 minutes. Each turn is a year: you budget, save, invest, borrow and react to life events, then get a retirement scorecard and lessons based on your choices.
Which rates does the game use?
PPF, FD and savings rates come from the current small savings rates in our Facts Registry; take-home salary uses the new tax regime and the EPF wage ceiling; credit cards charge about 3.5% a month; inflation is 6% a year. Equity and gold returns are generated from long-run averages with random good years, bad years and occasional crashes.
Is it good for students and first-jobbers?
Yes. It is designed for school and college students, first-time earners and parents who want to teach money basics. It runs on a phone, needs no sign-up and is free.
What scams does it teach?
Fake KYC/OTP calls, UPI collect requests (“enter PIN to receive money”), “digital arrest” video calls, WhatsApp lottery fees, Telegram task-job scams, fake electricity-disconnection SMS and Ponzi “double your money” schemes. Report real fraud on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
Is my game saved?
Your current life and your best results are saved only in this browser (localStorage). Nothing is uploaded.
Is this financial advice?
No. Both games are simplified simulations for learning. Returns, events and rules are modelled on real Indian concepts but simplified, and results do not predict what will happen to you. Use the linked calculators and a qualified adviser for real decisions.