---
title: "“Dollars Under the Mattress” and “Credit Is Evil”: Taras Kozak Debunks Seven Major Myths About Personal Finance"
description: "Taras Kozak, president of the investment group UNIVER, debunked seven popular myths about personal finance in an interview with RBC-Ukraine — from keeping dollars under the mattress to “free” cashback — explaining why intuitively correct decisions often lead to a loss of capital."
date: 2026-09-22T14:38:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/taras-kozak-myths-about-personal-finance
tags: [personal-finance, investment, currency, banking, ukraine-economy, myths, savings]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# “Dollars Under the Mattress” and “Credit Is Evil”: Taras Kozak Debunks Seven Major Myths About Personal Finance

![Woman with a calculator and banknotes in hand thoughtfully reviewing personal finances, illustration for an article debunking money and loan myths](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/22/taras-kozak-mify-o-lichnyh-finansah/taras-kozak-mify-o-lichnyh-finansah-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Holding money in dollars without investing does not protect against inflation — the currency loses value by 3–10% each year
- You should start saving and investing with small amounts to gain experience before your income grows
- Credit is a neutral tool: when used wisely (grace periods), it solves problems without an interest burden
- Currency diversification should be constant and mechanical, not a reaction to short-term exchange-rate movements
- With a deposit rate of around 13% and inflation of ~10%, savings are merely preserved, not generating real income
- Cashback is formed from the bank commission built into the price of goods, which partially offsets its “freeness”

Modern people are surrounded by contradictory advice on managing personal finances: on the one hand, “keep your money in dollars,” on the other — “never take out a loan under any circumstances.” Yet each of these entrenched beliefs contains significant nuances that can cost you your savings. Taras Kozak, founder and president of the investment group UNIVER, systematically broke down seven of the most common myths about personal finance in a blitz interview for RBC-Ukraine, explaining why intuitively “correct” decisions often lead to a loss of capital in practice.

### The Dollar as a “Safe Haven”: Why Keeping It Under the Mattress Doesn't Work

The first myth Kozak called mistaken is the belief that dollars are automatically more reliable than the hryvnia. According to the expert, the dollar is indeed a stronger currency, but it too is subject to inflation: “In dollars, life gets more expensive every year — by 3%, 5%, 10%, varying from year to year, but there is price growth every year.” Kozak emphasizes that Americans do not stash their savings in dollars under the mattress: they use the dollar as a means of payment and as an asset that is invested in income-generating instruments. Thus, the currency itself does not protect against devaluation — it is the investment strategy that provides the protection.

### A Small Salary and Investing: Why You Should Start Now

The second myth addressed is “if your salary is small, there's no point in saving.” Kozak argues that waiting for an income increase can drag on for years, during which time a person fails to acquire a key skill — the ability to accumulate and manage capital. “It is better to gain experience with small amounts. There may be a wrong decision, losses, and so on. So it is better to test things with small amounts,” the expert explains. The same logic applies to the myth that only people with large capital can invest: the earlier a person starts, the more time they have to build experience, develop habits, and benefit from compound interest. “In the end, all wealthy people save and invest,” Kozak concludes.

### Credit as a Tool: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways

The third myth is a complete rejection of credit. Kozak gives the example of banking products with a grace period, in which a loan effectively carries no interest burden. “Credit is there to solve some of your problems. It is still better to use a loan to solve that problem than to postpone it forever,” the expert says. At the same time, he does not advocate taking out loans systematically: “It does not mean you should always take out credit, but as a tool it is like a knife. It can be useful, it can be harmful.” The key criterion, in his words, is a conscious decision and an understanding of the terms.

### Currency Diversification: Why “Buying on the Rise” Is a Bad Strategy

The fifth myth addressed by Kozak is the idea of buying currency at the moment the exchange rate starts to rise. The expert insists on the opposite approach: diversification should be constant and mechanical. “You decide that 20% of your funds are held in euros. You receive some income — you buy 20% of that income in euros and hold it,” he gives as an example. By his logic, shifting from one asset to another in response to a short-term rise or fall in the exchange rate turns diversification into speculation rather than a strategy for protecting capital.

### Deposits and Cashback: Where the Real Value of Money Hides

The sixth myth is “if your money sits in a bank account, it does not lose its value.” Kozak explains that everything depends on the relationship between inflation and the interest rate after tax. According to his data at the time of the interview, hryvnia bank deposits offered around 13% per annum, which after tax amounted to roughly 10%, while inflation was approximately the same 10%. “Citizens who keep their hryvnia in a deposit at 10–13% per annum are in fact preserving their money, but not earning on it,” the expert states. For real growth, he recommends considering government bonds (OVGB), funds, bonds, or instruments in other currencies. The seventh myth is “cashback is free money.” Kozak explains the mechanism: cashback is formed from the commission the bank charges for processing a cashless payment. “A company sells something for 1,000 hryvnia, and 2%, or 20 hryvnia of that amount, is taken by the bank for processing the transaction. Of those 20 hryvnia, the bank can return, say, 5 hryvnia as cashback.” Since the seller builds this commission into the price, the final cost of goods for the consumer is 1–2% higher, which partially offsets the “free” cashback.

### Contradictory Data

In the interview, Kozak works with specific figures: 13% per annum on deposits, around 10% inflation, and 10% real yield after tax. These indicators are tied to the time of the conversation and may differ from the actual values as of September 2026. Moreover, the expert himself acknowledges that the myth about the “safety” of a deposit “may be true — it depends on the situation,” which creates a certain ambiguity in the formulation: under one set of inflation and rate parameters a deposit protects capital, under another it does not. Readers are advised to verify the cited figures against current data from the National Bank of Ukraine before making financial decisions.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Money in Dollars, Credit, and Cashback: Taras Kozak Debunks Popular Finance Myths](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/groshi-dolarah-krediti-ta-keshbek-taras-kozak-1790087515.html) - Единственный источник — блиц-интервью. Все цитаты и тезисы соответствуют тексту. Конкретные финансовые показатели (13% депозит, 10% инфляция) не верифицированы по актуальным данным НБУ на 22.09.2026, поэтому помечены как привязанные к моменту интервью.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why doesn't keeping money in dollars protect against inflation?
**A:** According to Taras Kozak, dollars are also subject to annual inflation — from 3% to 10% in different years. Americans do not keep their savings “under the mattress”; they invest dollars in income-generating instruments. The currency itself, without investment, gradually loses its purchasing power.

### Q: From what amount does it make sense to start investing?
**A:** Kozak argues that you should start with any available amount. A small capital allows you to gain experience, make mistakes with minimal losses, and develop habits. The earlier a person starts, the greater the advantage provided by the effect of time.

### Q: When can credit be useful rather than harmful?
**A:** The expert gives the example of a grace period in which the loan carries no interest burden. Credit is appropriate if it solves a specific task and allows you not to postpone an important decision “forever.” However, systematic use of credit without understanding the terms can be harmful.

### Q: How should currency assets be diversified correctly?
**A:** Kozak recommends a mechanical approach: determine the share of each currency (for example, 20% in euros) and, with each incoming income, buy that share in the corresponding currency. You should not shift funds from one asset to another in response to a short-term exchange-rate movement.

### Q: What is the “real yield” of a deposit and how is it calculated?
**A:** It is the deposit interest rate minus tax and inflation. According to Kozak's data at the time of the interview, with a rate of ~13% and tax, the real yield was about 10%, which is comparable to inflation of ~10%. In such a case, money is preserved but does not generate real growth.

### Q: Where does cashback come from and why is it not “free”?
**A:** Cashback is formed from the commission the bank charges the seller for processing a cashless payment (usually 1–2%). The seller builds this commission into the price of the goods, so the final cost for the consumer is higher. Part of this commission is returned to the buyer in the form of cashback.