Guides
Clear explanations of everyday Puerto Rico numbers, connected to the calculators.
How to read your power bill in Puerto Rico
The electric bill has more line items than almost any other household account. Understanding three numbers — kWh, price per kWh and fixed charges — is enough to know why it went up and what you can do.
Read the guidePuerto Rico IVU: the quick guide
The Sales and Use Tax shows up on almost everything you buy, yet few people know how it's composed, what's exempt and how to undo it when all you have is the receipt total.
Read the guide60 or 72 months to finance your car?
At the dealership the conversation revolves around the monthly payment, and stretching the term always lowers it. What goes unsaid is how much extra interest that relief costs, and what it means for your equity.
Read the guideHow to pay off credit card debt
With APRs of 20% to 30%, credit cards are among the most expensive debt there is. Getting out doesn't require tricks: it requires understanding how interest accrues and attacking with a fixed plan.
Read the guideThe Puerto Rico Christmas bonus, explained
The Christmas bonus is one of Puerto Rico's distinctive employment rules, and it generates more questions every December than almost anything else. It isn't a gift from the employer: it's a payment with rules, a defined period and caps.
Read the guideWhere does your paycheck go in Puerto Rico?
There's a gap between the number you negotiated and the number that lands in your account, and it surprises plenty of people — especially at a first job. These are the lines that explain it.
Read the guideVacation and sick leave: how accrual works
Two people in the same office can accrue vacation at different rates, and both be right. Understanding why is the key to knowing how many days you actually have.
Read the guideAre solar panels worth it in Puerto Rico?
With expensive power and frequent outages, the question asks itself. The honest answer depends on your usage, your roof, and how much you value keeping the lights on when the rest of the street is dark.
Read the guideHow to start saving from zero
Saving isn't about having a lot — it's about starting early and not stopping. The numbers make that case better than any advice can.
Read the guideHow overtime pay works in Puerto Rico
Almost nobody checks the overtime math on their paycheck, and it's where discrepancies show up most. You don't need to know the statutes: you need to know which hours count and what they're multiplied by in your case.
Read the guideWhat your generator costs to run
In Puerto Rico a generator stopped being a luxury a long time ago. What almost nobody has a clear number for is what it costs to run, and the answer isn't on the label: it's in how much you put on it.
Read the guideWhat the air conditioner costs to run
“The A/C is what drives the bill” is what everyone says, but almost nobody knows how many dollars a month that is. You can know, and two numbers are enough.
Read the guideThe real monthly cost of a mortgage in Puerto Rico
The figure a basic mortgage calculator gives you is half the payment. What the bank actually bills each month includes several other things, and in Puerto Rico some of them weigh more than people expect.
Read the guideSemimonthly vs biweekly pay: why your check changes
Two people on the same annual salary can get different-sized paychecks simply because their employers pay on different schedules. Neither earns more; the money is just sliced differently.
Read the guideWhat is a cuerda of land in Puerto Rico?
The cuerda is Puerto Rico's land measure. Nearly everyone uses it and very few people know where it comes from, which is fine until the day you have to compare a lot against one measured in acres or metres.
Read the guidePercentages without the confusion
Percentages are the math people use most outside school and get wrong most often. Nearly all the mistakes are four mistakes, and all four take a minute to explain.
Read the guideHow much to tip in Puerto Rico
Tipping is one of the few sums people do in public, in a hurry, right after eating. It's worth having two or three things straight before the slip arrives.
Read the guideWhat to check on a personal loan
Almost everyone compares loans by the monthly payment, which is exactly the easiest number to manipulate. There are three things to compare instead, and none of them takes more than a minute.
Read the guideWhat the marbete costs, line by line
The marbete arrives as a single number, which is why almost nobody knows what it is made of. It is four line items with different rules, and two of them can be removed entirely depending on your situation. Knowing which ones changes what you pay.
Read the guideHow Puerto Rico income tax works
Puerto Rico income tax is charged in brackets, and that detail — which almost nobody has straight — is behind a very common and very unfounded fear: that taking a raise will leave you earning less.
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