Personal Finance Blog- India V 2.0: 2011

Peeping into 2012

Here's an article which states that 2011 has been the second worst year for the Indian markets in last 14 years!.

Although ,such plain statistics do not matter a lot for the individual investors, the fact is 2008 has been the worst year. 2009 the best i.e the one which followed the worst. ( in the last 14 years,-I am not sure why 14 years were picked up)

So , what do you expect after the second worst year.. No predictions :-))

http://business-standard.com/india/news/2011-second-worst-for-investors-in-14-years/460101/

5 years , still no gains

Whenever someone asks , what do you think is a long time horizon from an investment perspective, my answer has been always, time span > 5 years.

Imagine some one who started 'investing for the long term' in 2007 ( that too buying stocks in one go , holding it for 5 years , they would not be so happy now)- The so called long term stocks bought in 2007 most probably would still be in RED.
Now, the questions that may arise are -Does investing in equity really work??. Even a fixed deposit would have helped increase your base amount by 80% before tax. Was it a mistake not to sell off in 2010 rally??. Doesn't it defeat the purpose of long term??

Even a good stock bought in a wrong time may chicken out for a long time and not yield good results. So. how to know whether it is a right timer to buy. Again, a question that cannot be answered so easily.

What's the way out?

1. SIP in Equity mutual fund spread over a greater span ( 36 to 60 months) can diminish the risk.

2. Buying a stock after solid analysis ( this is not fail proof , but helps avoid major glitches) and buying at a time when everyone is panicking .

Any day no.1 is the best option for a retail investor. Simple looking things at times can do wonders.

Policy matters!

Rajesh was quite excited about the progress, so far. He was working for a software company and had now cleared his interview with a consulting company.

He had to meet the VP of the division before the roll out of his offer.

'Should be just a formality to meet the head of the division', Rajesh thought.

He was waiting outside the VP's room for the chat.

The HR manager emerged from the VP's room and pulled Rajesh in for the final round.

Rajesh glanced at the VP, smiled. This guy should be a veteran (aka old guy :-) in this industry, he smiled as the VP greeted him.

VP- ' Hi , I am xxxx. Please be seated'

Rajesh - ' Hello..... Thanks'

VP- ' Your profile looks awesome and the comments of the interviewers, impressive'

Things beyond money

Over the years, updating the blog on a regular basis has become a real difficult task. Not that I don't have the time to do so. To be honest, I have really run out of ideas on personal finance articles. The articles that have been written can be classified into a few broad categories and the investment ideas primarily running around SIP in Equity MF , bashing ULIPs, real estate , tax planning etc.

So, was in two minds as to whether should start a new blog to write more of generic stuff. Then thought , ' why not continue here at ideasmoney'. Now, the blog is officially on version 2.0 and the theme is to genuinely look beyond personal finance . This does not mean that personal finance posts would be discontinued hereafter.

This is again an attempt to metamorphosize the blog and I am eager to see how it shapes out.

Medical insurance

This post is not regarding the best medical insurance policy or whether you need a medical insurance. If you are one who have a medical insurance , this post is for you.

1. Have the medical insurance information handy to yourself and your family members. If there is a medical insurance card provided by the insurer or service provider, have the card in an accessible and safe place.

2. If you are dependent on your employer's medical cover , then please get your insurance details from your employer as soon as you join the company.

3. Track the expiry date of the policy carefully and ensure it's renewed on time by you / you get the renewed policy details form your employer as applicable.

4. Please go through the policy information and be sure as to whom/how to inform in case of a medical contingency for an insurance approval. Take time to educate your family members on the policy too .( This is important because , your family would need the information when you fall sick).

Same situation, Different reaction !

When there is a discount SALE on clothes, FMCG, gadgets, car....We grab the opportunity and buy

But when stcoks are beaten down and are available at cheap prices , we PANIC instead of buying.

Stock market downturn, most of the times are great opportunities to invest for the long term.

From next time when there is a SALE in stock market, dont PANIC. Look for OPPORTUNITIES

Confusion of Mr. i , Q3 2011, Where to invest my money?

Note: - Click on the image to see enlarged picture.

Just for fun and not to be taken as a serious advice :-)

Real estate bashing

It has been quite a while since I posted. What would be a better way to start out than providing a link that bashes current real estate prices. ??

"Anmol Choubey, 35, a general manager in a media company, has lived in Malad, north Mumbai, on rent for five years. Despite pressure from his parents and wife to “settle down”, he has no plans to buy a house in the foreseeable future. To him, it adds up. “I want a certain standard of living, certain amenities, certain kinds of people as my neighbours, certain kinds of children to play with for my son. I get that here for a rent of R
s. 20,000. The 10% hike in rent written into my contract gets covered by an average 15-20% hike in my salary every year. To buy the same place, I’d be spending Rs.80k as EMI on a housing loan, apart from exhausting my savings on down payments. If I try to lower my EMI, I will end up moving to a place I don’t really want to live in,” he explains. He first rented the place in Malad when he worked in that area. Today, he works in south Mumbai. “Tomorrow, I may move closer to work, or out of town, or out of the country. I don’t see why I should be tied down by a large financial commitment,” he says."

Another one..."The sense of ownership of 850 sq. ft has come at a price: “I do not remember the last time I went to a pub. I do not own a credit card. I dine out sometimes, but I do not go to a fancy restaurant. I live a simple, hermetic life,” he says. With a

57 lakh loan, he even questions the cost of his food. To what end? “I don’t foresee myself living here 10 years from now—infrastructure, water, traffic—this is not the dream. Imagine having children in this state! I can’t even think about it"

Read the full article at Livemint

Impact of raising interest rates.

RBI has been increasing the base for interest rates quite often in 2011. This measure is primarily aimed at containing inflation.

Inflation has already had a severe impact on the middle class. If one is paying a home loan under floating rates, their EMIs are bound to go up.

If the impact is severe on you and you are wondering what to do, here are some possible suggestions.

1) Have a look at your budgets and actual expenses , determine the areas where you can cut down your expenses ( nice to have expenses). If you have not been budgeting or recording your expenses , this is the right time to start doing now.

2) If you have had any decision to purchase some electronic gadget or a home appliance, pull of the purchase under the carpet for some time.

3) If you are using a credit card, put that in a locker for few months , so that your impulsive purchases can be avoided. Moreover, you tend to spend less when you pay through cash ( when compared to a card or cheque payment).

4) Pre-pay your loan as much as possible . Spare money ( except that kept aside for contingency) should be used to pre-pay your loans and don't even think of investing with an idea to make quick returns.

5) Finally, be prepared for another hike and make a provision for that too.

One simple question

I was being followed up regularly by a company (where I hold a demat account) for an attractive investment option. When I asked for details, I got to know that ' It is a single premium product' and the returns from the product has been around 16% last year.

One more ULIP sale. I asked them one simple question. How much of the premium would actually be invested in the scheme??. The answer was that regulations on ULIP have changed and the invested amount has actually gone up. I wanted a quantified answer. If I am say investing 1 lakh rupees into the scheme, for what portion do I get NAV allotted?

The answer was 94000.

i.e. Out of the 1 lakh , I would invest ......The units allocated would actually be 94,000. Based on past returns , If the fund manager provides 16% returns next year then I would actually get the return of 16% in 94,000. (((6,000 gone somewhere immediately on investing and my investment actually starts growing form 94,000)))

So, when you are sold any product ask this simple questions.

" How much of my money will actually be invested ??"

Ensure it's somewhere around 100%. :-) and never club insurance with investment.

Addicted to subsidy !

Pre logue :- I know, many of the readers may not like this post !!!

Whenever diesel, petrol, kerosene or gas price increases, there is a hue and cry created in the media. People talk about, how government is insensitive to the burden of the common man.Many want the government to roll back all the taxes that the government charges on petroleum products, some talk about how cheap oil is in other countries and many tell that cheap fuel is their fundamental right!!!.

The world has been running on this fossil fuel for quite sometime now. The demand for this is increasing in leaps and bounds in a growing economy like India. The prices to the consumers should actually reflect the international crude prices. I do not want to comment on tax structure of petroleum products alone ( we need a separate article to talk about taxation in India).

The international crude prices increase not only based on demand but also on speculation. If we tag our retail prices in tandom with international prices, then the high price would automatically pull down demand. The cure for 'High prices' is always high prices. We should follow examples of countries like Denmark where petroleum products and vehicles for personal use are taxed heavily., This in one way would reduce the ever increasing traffic :-)

Good public transport systems, Penalising single person driving (a car/four wheeler), Encouraging cycling in cities ( again Copenhagen has > 30% of population commuting by cycles), Heavy investment on alternate source of energy ( esp. Solar power for India) are the need of the day. We need to fight for all this instead of crying about increasing prices. We need to make our growth GREEN and SUSTAINABLE.

I would strongly suggest the reader of this blog to read the book "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman, If you have not already done so. ( In the context of oil prices).

Finally , Never ever expect any SUBSIDY from the government in the long run. It is not good for the progress of the nation.

Advertisement and product/service quality

Most of the purchases that we do or services that we avail are determined by the brand image of the product/service. Brand image is primarily built by advertising, the feedback that we hear from others , brand ambassadors, our previous experience with the product/service, etc.

However when we haven't had personal experience about a product or service , or do not have someone who can share their experience reliably with us, we may get carried away by the advertisement image.

There is a corporate chain from the health care industry who advertise about their " caring " attitude towards the patients . Their advertisements are flamboyant and they promise 'heaven to earth' of possibilities and

' Why worry , when we are there' kind of an image in their advertisements.

When one of my relatives availed their service, it was pathetic. The 'care' displayed by their staff was not even basic and the staff weren't well trained to live up to the image created by the ads. The treatment ended up being substandard and the person had to shell out 200% extra over what a normal competitor would charge.

So never ever get carried away by the advertisements alone in making a decision. This is just a sample ( "We have ads promising to make children 'tall', Guys get girl friends at the whisk of buying a deodorant and so on). Of course, it's the job of the advertisers to create a larger than life image of the companies to the masses.

Be a prudent customer. Don't fall an easy prey to the BIG advertisers. Well, it is easier said than done in a world which revolves around on advertisements ( including this blog :-)

Advantages of going green!

Going green makes a lot of sense , at least when we are seeing such dramatic climatic changes around us. Hotter summers, colder winters, off seasonal seasons may take the zeal out of life. so, going green going forward may not be an option but THE WAY FORWARD.

Here's one article that suggests way to go green with your drive.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ways-to-drive-green/776739/0

God does not make this anymore!!

Whenever a justification for phenomenal increase in price of land ( in India , in current context) and Gold ( globally) is asked for, a reason given is " these resources are limited " and " God does not make it anymore". So, the prices will always keep going up.

At the outset, this looks like a very compelling argument. But , if you think more deeply all products or many services are also dependent on natural resources for that matter . Also most of these natural resources are not available for ever example, clean potable water, mineral ores, oil, forests, etc and so on.

Nothing is really non depletable unless the man kind use them prudently.

So, the argument of limited availability can be extended to man made products also which the listed companies sell ( as they are dependent on some natural resource or the other which God doesn't make anymore).

Buying something as an investment only based on the above argument doesn't sound logical.

Health or Wealth , its the same approach!

If you have been looking to be healthier ( Health is not only absence of disease but more than that :-)), look in shape or be in a proper weight range, you need ...

1. Determination to start a regular work out.

2. Not to consume anything that deteriorates your health.

3. Be regular in step 1 and stick to step 2 throughout.

These three steps that are easier said than done!!. Especially the third step!!

To build wealth you need the same determination to start your investment , not to spend your hard earned money on gratifying something unnecessary and all the more being regular in investing .

So its health or wealth , its the same approach to be followed.!

Value of money

Got to see this video link on marketvision.in

How to sense a bubble /scam ?

A bubble/ scam is often known only when its bursts out. But we can possibly look for some indicators to see whether we are in a bubble.

Trying to list such indicators here

1) When everyone believes something is a very good investment ( including the layman/uneducated/elite and all) and can never falter.

2) When most of your neighbours invest in something and cannot justify how the ( more than average) return can be made.

3) Newspaper /media focus shifts too much on the investment opportunity and you start feeling that you will miss the 'Bus' , if you do not get onto it now.

4) There is a strong justification for the thing to be a good investment and 90% of people agree to the justification . There's nothing unique about what you know about the investment.

We have seen stock market bubbles, teak plantation scams, Benefit fund ( NBFC) bubble and burst, IT bubble (recollecting all those that are significant and that I can remember ), oil spikes et all.

Two things that are falling into the category ( you need not agree with me ) as of now are real estate in India and to some extent gold...

But still if you want to invest in real estate , go for Dubai and not for Mumbai ...why ????? read this in ET :-)

Squeeze the salaried class

This is one more step in 'extracting' more from the salaried class.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/savings-centre/savings-news/trouble-ahead-i-t-dept-tells-epfo-to-tax-premature-pf-withdrawals/articleshow/7822221.cms

Info on EPFO

ET carries an article today about provision of monthly slips with PF balances to contributors every month from EPFO ( Employees provident fund office). This seems to be the step in right direction. As of now, things like transfer, withdrawal, inquiry are not as transparent or as swift as they should be.

Whenever I have tried to transfer my PF ( when I have changed employers), I have really had a tough time. When a query is made to the PF offices concerned ( From and To PF offices), both of them point to each other or they say that they haven't received the form yet. This in spite of the fact my employer assuring that the form has been sent.

( You can use this link to register your EPF grievance)

Such loopholes and lack of transparency with one's money is definitely painful. They should try to emulate the NPS website in terms of providing all information to subscribers online.

Now when the new government employees pension funds are managed by NPS ( Funds managed by six private funds), the EPF funds of private employees is managed by EPFO ( government organization).

In the long run, these organizations / schemes should be clubbed together for efficiency and everyone should have an unique identifier to manage his pension funds ( PRAN Number probably or UID
), irrespective of where he works and change of employment.

We have a long way to go!

Here's the link of the ET article mentioned above.

Sensex to touch 30000

"In our view, Sensex 30,000 could be a reality in the next few years...

It could happen sooner or maybe even later. "

There was a mail from a group which solicits subscription for equity tips in my inbox. The first two sentences of the mail is posted for your reference above.

The statement is so funny. They say it may happen soon or may be even later ( say 20 /30 years). Over a longer period the sensex would definitely cross 30,000 at least to keep pace with inflation and population growth. By such a statement the news letter tries to be smart and get their statement to be true in any circumstance (sooner or later).

I am not telling anyone to stop subscribing to such news letters( that's your own decision). But any day I wouldn't invest based on a (unsolicited or solicited) tip from a person who's not even sure about what he is talking.

Instruction Manual for Investing *

*-guest post by Ramalingam K

Let’s open the manual:

Every gadget you buy in the market comes with an instruction manual or user’s manual. But your salary, savings...retirement don’t come with an instruction manual. So we don’t know how to handle these and we end up mishandling. The result is poor investment choices and unhappy retirement. This article is an effort to draft an instruction manual for our investments.

Investment forms an integral part of our work life, with many wanting to save and invest to meet our long-term financial needs. We would all agree that just living from paycheque to paycheque would leave us in a bad financial state making us incapable of meeting our family’s financial commitments and our expenses after retirement.

Confusion on HRA exemption.

Most of us would be aware of the 3 rules for calculating HRA exemption and how it works .

(Recap-

As per the Indian income tax law, the HRA exemption should be calculated as the least of the following.

1. Rent paid in excess of 10% of basic salary.

2. Actual HRA received by the employee.

3. 40% of BASIC ( non metro) (50% if metro) )

If during a particular year

1) a person remains unemployed for some time or
2) changes employment between metro/non metro and his HRA and rent paid change
3) remains as salaried employee for a particular period of the year only
4) HRA / Rent changes when working for the same company

and many more such scenarios, how to calculate HRA exemption ( at a yearly/ monthly level)

There is no definite answer I could figure out ,but the following link sounds logical.

If any of the readers have more authentic information, please do drop a mail

http://www.simpletaxindia.org/2011/01/hra-exemption-calculation-monthly.html

Some practical difficulties with NPS

There are some practical difficulties with NPS which I figured out as an investor. Probably this problem might have been aggravated by my POP too.

1) My contribution to tier-1 or 2 takes more than one week to find it's way to my account as units. In fact, one of my latest contribution was a month back and I am yet to see the units in my account. The cheque was cleared by the POP long back.

I am waiting to hear from the CRA NSDL grievance cell on the complaint made in this regard.

( This should become seem less like MF. If they receive the cheque on a particular day, I should be sure of getting the units as per the days NAV- subject to cut off time). We really have a long way to go here.

2) I have been contributing to tier -2 with fund management A. I wanted to re-direct only the future contributions to fund B having the previous units with fund A. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be possible .

If I give a switch request from fund A to B,then all my existing contributions plus the future contributions would be directed to fund B.

This seems like a limitation to me.

Hope as more and more people get into the bus, things should get better ( and not other wise :-) )

Index Fund , Another perspective

Investing in index fund in lump sum or through SIP is considered a good option as compared to active investing. There are many index based ETFs and mutual funds in India although they are not as popular as in the west.

Index investing is popular in the west and not as much popular in India. In India, Actively managed funds have managed to give better returns excepting the recent past where the markets have been highly volatile.

Index funds are supposed to match the returns of the index and so the management cost is supposed to be low.Some actively managed funds don't even match up to the returns of index funds. So, should we all switch to index funds??

Was reading Parag Parikh's book on value investing where he states two facts with examples

1. Sectors that are 'HOT' find an easy way to the index ( like IT in 2000, Real estate in 2007,etc) and grab a decent weightage in Index during the bull phase of the sector.

2. Most of the times the stock that is replaced in an Index gives better returns than the replacing stock .( Some numeric examples are given in the book to prove it).

This is definitely a good perspective which states that index allows for inefficiencies and is not perfect.

So, should index funds be abandoned by investors? . Not really.

It is up to the investors to decide what exactly they expect their investments to do ( i.e beat the market or meet the market return).

Passion at work

I was at a small roadside restaurant ( Can rather be called an eatery) for my dinner yesterday. Was looking for the hand wash. A young 20 something greeted me and guided me to the wash.

When I was back, I was guided to a good comfortable seat by the same person. Voluntarily and cheerfully , this young person helped me go through the 'Special Food' items of the day.

He cheerfully served the order and was more than attending till I left the eatery.

I was really happy as a customer. This young man should have been there at his work for at least 12 hours when I went in and he surely bowled me over by his exemplary service and enthusiasm. This attitude would definitely take anyone to places.

Started introspecting as to the amount of passion that I show at my work place every day.No doubt , there is a scope of improvement. The benchmark for enthusiasm has definitely shot up after meeting this guy.

If one shows the same level of enthusiasm at work, any customer(internal or external to the organization) is going to return back with a smile and would definitely have a positive impact on the career ( eventually on the pay packet:-))).

So let's do ,what we have to do everyday, with a bit of more soul in it.

It's give back time.

In a society like India, where we have various starta of economic status co-exist, Caring for those below us is very important.

Helping others ( not only through money , but other means too) makes life look more meaningful. In fact many get the feeling of emptiness in life as they dont look beyond their family.

Many HNIs are leading the way in philanthrophy and it's time for middle class India to join the bandwagon.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/high-net-worth-individuals-turning-to-philanthropy/articleshow/7559896.cms?curpg=5

Saving taxes through home loan

Are you one of those who are planning to save taxes through home loan . Do you know the answers for these.?

Whether you can claim interest deduction and principal under 80c , if you have not got possession of your house?
Can loan taken from a friend or family be used for claiming deduction?

To find answers to these and a bit more , see this interesting article

http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2011/02/4-home-loan-facts.html

Need to think afresh

Most of the time , we behave in a particular pattern ( the way we have groomed our mind to perform. At times ,it is definitely necessary that we come out of the same and think afresh.

We might have heard this story earlier, but a refresh would definitely help.

Teach kids to think, not to follow

Tough road ahead for the two great global brands

Microsoft was almost the undisputed software giant a decade ago . But smaller and newer companies like google, facebook and long time rivals like apple have been keeping it on the edge ( on internet, cloud computing, newer technologies,etc). With personal computing and networking slowly moving the mobile way , Microsoft is under need to reinvent itself very badly.

Nokia has been the leader in mobile handset market and symbian is still the leading OS of handsets. With competition from apple ( Mac in iphone, ipad) and android, Nokia feels the heat of it's slowly declining dominance in mobile handset market and need to be in top league of smart phone vendors. Now, they have taken the call to almost abandon symbian and go along with Microsoft for software.

.Nokia ignoring android and moving towards Microsoft platform is definitely a decision that has turned the world. It would be interesting to see how this marriage of the two big global brands augur for them.

As of now apple and google seem to be in a very dominant position. Unless Microsoft and Nokia come up with some innovative product combo, doom days for them in smart phone market is not long away.

Let's wait and watch!

Use "Cash" to curtail your expenses.

If you are an avid card user ( credit card or debit card) and wondering how to curtail your expenses , there is one simple way. Start spending in cash.

Keep your credit /debit card at home and always start spending by withdrawing cash. Try to avoid online payments/shopping too and pay out your bills in cash.

This will definitely be less convenient than using a card but may end up reducing your expenses.

You will feel the real impact of spend when you are using cash for a payment. When you swipe a card, whether it is Rs 150 or 15000. it's just a single swipe. So, you don't feel the pinch of the spend . When the spend happens through cash, you my actually end up spending less cash as you SEE and FEEL the quantum of cash outgo.

By not using a credit card, you may curtail most of your impulsive purchases and will start planning & budgeting .( to withdraw and carry appropriate cash for payments/purchases).

You will also stop using future income for current needs when you stop using credit cards.

Try this out and curtail your expenses.

We are not selling you the flat , if you.....!

Tale 1-

My friend has been scouting around for a flat in Chennai. Some of the statements that he got to hear from a few builders..

" We are not selling you the flat, if you are going to take a home loan from SBI"

My friend was keen on getting a loan only from SBI or HDFC as he believes they have a stricter verification process in terms of the property titles.

One another told " We have'nt registered the UDS yet and that bank doesn't sanction the loan , if this is not done. So, you have to compulsorily opt for loan from XXX bank".

Lesson to be learnt ~ Do not deposit your money in banks that you feel are risky and have a less stringent loan verification process :-)

Tale 2-

The tale of another friend has been different yet. He has been asked by builder to pay 4.5 lakhs extra before the possession for " interest charges" for delayed release of payments from the bank. He was wondering what to do. Later after negotiation he settled for a "cash" payment of 1.5 lakhs to the builder after which registration was done.

Lesson to be learnt ~ There is nothing called transparency in real estate transactions, even while dealing with reputed builders. Be on the caution till you get away completely from them.

Ignorance is not bliss!

Normally I don't attend sales calls. But decided to attend a call when I was called by an insurance company.

Caller1: Sir, I am calling from XX company. We have a plan for you. Pay x for 3 years , no payment on 4th year, 5th year you would receive 6x ( roughly double of what one pays over 3 years).

Me: What is the rate of return?.

Caller1: I am not aware . Team lead will tell you.

Me: Is it an ULIP?.

Caller1: No it is not market linked and it is an endowment plan.So, returns are assured.

SBI bond issue 2011 and TDS confusion

SBI has come up with a bond issue again. The previous edition was a super duper hit and now the bonds come with more attractive interest rates for 10 year and 15 year periods.

These bonds would be available for trading and would be available in demat form only.

However there is some serious confusion about TDS for the bond issue( tax deduction at source).

The prospectus says there would be TDS on interest beyond Rs 2500 pa in one place and talks of TDS above interest of Rs 10000 pa in another ( prospectus on NSE site).

The application form says there will be no TDS as the bonds would be listed and for bonds held in demat form. The confusing part is the bond can be applied only if one has a demat account. :-)

Note :- TDS was not applicable in the previous edition.

SBI and regulators reviewing the prospectus should be more careful when coming up with the prospectus.

Brand , price and value

Was at a well known "branded" ice cream parlour yesterday. When I was trying to cherish my favorite ice cream scoop, I found that the taste or the flavor was not so good.

With little thought I could understand the reason behind this.

NPS performance

If you have been wondering about the performance of the six fund managers in NPS, you may find the following link useful.

The Equity funds seems not be be aggressively managed. if you had a higher equity allocation( 50%) your return might be lesser than a conservative investor in a period where equities have done fairly well.

Anyhow, it's too early to judge the performance with this sample.

One thing missing in the article is that there is no specific mention of tier-1 or tier-2 funds when discussing fund performance.

Here goes the link.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/savings-centre/analysis/can-you-retire-with-the-nps/articleshow/7436644.cms

Taking care of your retired life!

Not long ago ( may be until a decade ago), a government job was considered a coveted one. Now those jobs are not seen as the 'in' thing. Remuneration in government jobs have also gone up significantly and still there are thousands who chase them. But the 'charm' has definitely waded a lot.

The reason that these jobs had a good social standing because of the 1. Work life balance offered 2. Decent remuneration ( Private sector salaries were not sky high those days) 3. Job security and not to forget 4. Pension.

When will the real estate prices fall?

Real estate prices have skyrocketed and have almost have moved near astronomical heights in India. The last 7-8 years has seen the prices manifold. While a section has been waiting for this to fall, no significant correction has happened. 2008-2009 saw a period of lull during global recession, but no impact was actually felt in India. Let's try and look at the facts that have enabled soaring of prices.

Getting some insights into the investment world with fun.

Book name: Corporate Atyachaar

Author: Abhay Nagarajan

Considering this is the first novel of the author , the book is a neat job done.

The novel is about the journey of a fresher joining a wealth management firm . The author humorously brings about the transition of a student from university to a real world where things are not as rosy as it looks. The typical nature of an Indian boss is clearly brought about in a funny way although you may feel that the "scratching" part is a bit overdone by repetition.

Inflation all the way!

I went to the saloon last Sunday for a routine haircut and the guy charged me 20% more for the same hair cut compared to last month. Went in to buy some craft articles for my wife and the price had gone up 25% . I need not talk much about the vegetable process and souring auto fares ( minimum fare of Rs 30 charged for a short distance is a thing of the past now).

FDs fetching more returns now!

With the increase in deposit rates, I see a lot of banks raising their interest rates for certain odd periods 500/555/1000 days ,etc. The rate of interest has gone up to 9% and even more for senior citizens.

Definitely a good news for all those who have money ready to be parked in FDs.