🚀 Cost-Benefit Analyzer

🔗 Try It Out

You can test the analyzer instantly (no installs required):

Link	Source	Notes
Cost Benefit Analyzer	GitHack CDN	Fastest, production-ready CDN link
Cost Benefit Analyzer	GitHack Raw	Useful for quick testing, may be slower

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The most expensive purchases in life often aren’t cars or gadgets. They’re the ones driven by emotions instead of logic.

👉 “This car will make you look successful.” 👉 “Upgrade your gadget—you’ll feel 10x more productive.”

Sound familiar?

For years, I made similar emotional choices (and even let Excel errors fool me—a wrong formula once told me my new bike would pay for itself in 3 days… spoiler: it didn’t 😅).

That’s when I turned to Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)—a structured way to put numbers ahead of impulses.

With CBA, decisions shift from: ❌ “Do I feel like buying this?” ✅ “Does this make sense over the next 10 years?”

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🎯 Why I Built This Tool

Spreadsheets were messy, error-prone, and time-consuming. I wanted something automated, transparent, and easy to use.

So I built the Cost-Benefit Analyzer, a free and open-source tool that:

• ✅ Automates calculations (no more Excel errors)
• ✅ Adjusts everything for inflation
• ✅ Handles depreciation & resale values
• ✅ Separates recurring vs. one-off costs
• ✅ Produces year-by-year cashflow tables
• ✅ Generates charts to show payback periods

Now, instead of second-guessing purchases, I get data-backed clarity.

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🛠 How It Works

The analyzer converts messy decisions into clear, structured outputs.

1. Set the Time Horizon

Decide how long you’ll keep the asset.

• Cars → ~10 years
• Real estate → 20–30 years

2. Set Inflation Assumptions

Account for rising costs (the sneaky villain in long-term planning).

3. Add Option A

• Name it (e.g., Scooter, Bike, House)
• Enter purchase price
• Add resale value or depreciation method
• Input recurring costs (fuel, maintenance, subscriptions)
• Add recurring benefits (savings, rental income, returns)
• Include one-off items (insurance renewals, upgrades, renovations)

4. Add More Options

Compare multiple alternatives (Option B, C, etc.).

5. Run the Calculation

The tool automatically:

• Adjusts for inflation
• Applies depreciation
• Generates charts for quick payback insights
• Produces a year-by-year cashflow table

6. Review & Decide

Visuals + numbers = confident, data-backed decisions.

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📈 Why It Matters

• Inflation turns today’s small expenses into tomorrow’s big ones.
• That ₹10,000 gadget at 4% inflation = ₹14,800 in 10 years.
• School fees of ₹50,000 today? Likely ₹74,000 in a decade.

Skipping a ₹100 coffee? Nice. Skipping a ₹10,000 impulse buy? That’s a future vacation fund. ✈️

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✅ Checklist for Smarter Decisions

1. Define the decision clearly
2. List all costs (direct, ongoing, hidden)
3. List all benefits (income, savings, convenience, happiness)
4. Quantify wherever possible
5. Compare totals → Net Benefit = Benefits – Costs
6. Check payback period
7. Factor in risks & uncertainties
8. Record assumptions (for future-you)

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📂 Contribute

The analyzer is open-source. Repo link is on the same page — if you improve it, let me know! I’ll probably use it (and give you credit for rescuing future-me 🙌).

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💡 Before → After

❌ Emotional buys + Excel chaos ✅ Calm clarity + data-backed choices

And hey—if the shiny bike still wins after the analysis, at least this time, you’ll ride it without guilt. 🚴‍♂️💨