Free topic in the app · 109 lessons

Money basics: pay, tax and inflation, a minute at a time

Money basics is where most people start in Scroll: what comes off your pay before it reaches you, how a budget can work without a spreadsheet, why prices rising 3% a year matters to your savings, and how interest earns interest.

Below are four lessons from the topic as they appear in the app, each with its quiz. Answer the question to see the explanation.

Lesson 11m 05s read · level 1

Pay yourself first: the only budget that survives

Move money to savings the day you get paid. Then live on what's left.

WhenPayday

Starting target10%

Most budgets fail because they treat saving as 'whatever is left at the end of the month'. There's never anything left. Flip it: save first, on payday, automatically. Then spend the rest without guilt. The lazy person's budget that beats the spreadsheet for almost everyone.

Try this Set an automatic transfer to savings on payday. Today, in the banking app.

Quick check

Why does paying yourself first usually beat 'saving what's left'?

Lesson 21m 15s read · level 1

The 50/30/20 rule, and where it breaks

50% of net pay on needs. 30% on wants. 20% on savings and debt. Useful with caveats.

Needs50%

Future self20%

Sort net income into three buckets: 50% for rent, food, utilities and other essentials. 30% for everything optional. 20% for savings, investing, and beyond-minimum debt repayments. A starting structure, not a religion. Most people need to flex it to their actual cost of living.

Try this Use 50/30/20 as a starting frame. Then adjust to your actual life.

Quick check

Under the 50/30/20 rule, which counts as a 'need'?

Lesson 31m 05s read · level 2

Real returns vs nominal: only one matters

A 7% return during 4% inflation is really 3%. That's the number to remember.

Real ≈ Nominalminus inflation

Stocks long-run real~6-7%

Nominal return is what your statement shows. Real return is what's left after inflation. If your portfolio grew 7% last year and inflation was 4%, you got 3% richer in purchasing power. For any long-term plan, always quote the real number, not the marketing number.

Try this When someone quotes a return, ask: before or after inflation?

Quick check

Why is real return more useful than nominal return for retirement planning?

Lesson 41m 10s read · level 1

Compound interest, in plain English

Money grows because the interest itself starts earning interest.

$13,000 @ 7% × 30y≈$99,000

Simple, same input≈$40,500

Simple interest pays you on your starting amount only. Compound interest pays you on the starting amount plus all the interest you've already earned. After 30 years at 7%, $13,000 becomes roughly $99,000 with compounding, but only $40,500 with simple interest. Same input, very different result.

Try this Reinvest interest. Time does more than money does.

Quick check

Two accounts hold the same amount at the same rate for 30 years. Why does the compounding one end up much bigger?