See who is funding the ailing maharajah!


EPFO money ( PF money of organised private sector employees) and investments :-) in LIC by prudent investors is going to keep at least a part of AI flying!



LIC, EPFO to pick up AI's Rs 7,400 cr bond issue at 9.08%: The NCD issue is part of the revival plan of the debt-laden national carrier

Shelf life of a techie!

This is an interesting point of view on shelf life of techies.It makes it all the more important ( for techies) to keep up with times.



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/whats-the-shelf-life-of-a-techie-just-15-years/articleshow/17251620.cms

Social networking sites, a boon for small entrepreneurs.

Marketing is one of the key elements of any business. Ability to create visibility for the product /service offered ,reaching out to a greater audience are made easy by the new age communication tools.

With shoe string budgets and limited publicity options, social networking sites are a great boon for small scale entrepreneurs.

Creating a page on fb,Joining relevant fb groups, striking the right tweets , burning your blog feeds into social networks cant help small time entrepreneurs reach out to a bigger audience.

Even larger corporations are turning more and more towards social networking sites to reach out to their customers.

A word of mouth publicity ( of any product or service) on social network can really get viral if it is backed up by quality and reasonable cost.

Product reviews on social networking sites are relied more by people as they are written by someone "known" to them.

So, if you are a small time entrepreneur looking forward for an effective medium to publicise your business, it's time you take the plunge now onto social networking sites.

The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian- Book review







This book is a good thriller written in a simple language which keeps the reader glued on till the last page. The author has stuck to his strength of giving a neat banking story (where there are some good and bad employees in a bank esp. at the senior level and how the truth triumphs at the end. For a change the author has not named the good ones with a Tam Bram name this time).

There are three storylines that are narrated through the book. These storylines get merged  to the theme of   "hawala" money at the end. The name of the real culprit is the best kept secret of the book.
  
The motives behind people supporting a public project (a nuclear power project – down south!) and the behavior of the bad boys of the corporate world ( GB2 Bank)are clearly put to light through the fast paced chapters of the book.

Especially for those who have been through the corridors of power in the corporate world ( may be any sector for that matter ), the revelations like recruiting the known, kick backs from the HR agency, promoting the favourites, 'personal' links between colleagues , etc are presented in a brilliant manner. Happenings in a bank from the insider point of view presented so lucidly brings to the fore, the long stint of the author in global banks. (MBA graduates looking forward for a career in MNC banks would get to gain a lot by reading the author's books.)

 The investigation at the end is detailed elaborately (although, some may find it a bit dragging towards the end) and the merger of stories done very quickly but neatly (If you don’t ask too much of logical questions after you complete reading, you should be OK).
For those who haven't read the author's previous works this should be a great read. For those who have already read the previous books, it’s the same theme presented with a captivating "screenplay"


Now~ Lessons for investors from the book J

Mis selling of ULIP elaborated in a sweet and short manner! The trust that the customer has on the bank is misused for selling a product. (That benefits the bank and has a potential risk for the customer's money). 

‘She has managed to close an insurance deal with a premium of Rs 4 lakh. What makes it special that it was sold to a 50 year old widow who has never invested in anything but fixed deposits.

Here's the strategy of a banker in the story to make customers ' Stick' to them.

‘Customers make their own decisions. We bankers only execute those decisions. And if they get a sexy chick to meet them and complete their transactions, they will never move away from you.

Banking customers BEWARE of such things! Don't trust your banker blindly. Always ask for the facts, know where your money goes and the risk associated with the investment. Unless you do this, you are (potentially) allowing your banker to misuse your funds.


This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

EPFO interest rate

Current year EPFO rate may be above 8%- read more in the link

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/savings-centre/savings-news/epfo-likely-to-give-8-6-interest-in-2012-13/articleshow/16879307.cms

Real estate prices- why blame "others?"

In the last week, I have seen many newspaper and blog articles like "XXX to be blamed for India's housing bubble" and "Why Real estate stocks should not be allowed to be listed in India".
I would say that these articles have highlighted only one side of the story. We have to agree that the contribution of the so called 'middle class' population to the bubble is also significant.
Unless there were people to buy flats at extraordinary rates, the sellers wouldn’t have been able to create the so called 'housing bubble'.
The salaried class who 'invested ' their hard earned money and those who committed more than 50% of their net salary to EMIs are also responsible for this.
The greed of middle class to be a part of owning 'fast' appreciating assets is also a significant contribution factor to this so called 'bubble'.
Regarding the 'listing of real estate stocks', many retail investors have lost their money. But even in this case, the decision to invest was an individual decision. Once it goes for a toss, it is very easy to blame everyone around except ourselves.
If an investment goes for a toss ( or loss !) and you start blaming 'others' for it, most probably you took an uninformed investment decision out of greed.
Note :- This article is not to justify the wrong doing of  'others' . But to highlight the rule of ' Investor/ buyer be aware of all the facts when making any financial decisions'

Why reading 'pink' papers is more for fun.

You may think that you need to read all business papers and be updated to make informed decisions. They are actually in the business of churning out opinions in the name of news and are not printed with an intention to make you rich. So, they have more of entertainment value than information.

See a sample news on gold published today.

Comparing NPS fund performance

The above table reflects the returns from various NPS funds - source PFRDA website.

The column " Auto" is added for getting the best fund considering a mix of  equity, government and corporate  investment schemes. ( Proportion assumes Equity -50% , Corporate - 30%, Government bonds- 20%).

Read the " Colours" in each of the column to reflect the lowest ( red) to highest return ( green).



Obama, Outsourcing is irreversible!

If you are thinking that I am going to talk about outsourcing from west to east, I am definitely not referring to that.

I am talking about " outsourcing" that has happened in the Indian middle class lifestyle during the last decade or so.

A few scenarios quoted below,

ActivityOutsourced to/ through
Cooking foodHotels & restaurants, Ready made food
Playing with KidsGadgets, TV 
Making sweets for festivalsSweet shops
Socializing with family and friendsSocial network sites
Taking care of parentsOld age homes
Health care, obesitySlimming centres

We are all focused on only one core thing i.e. Earning money. But still we don't seem to have enough of it!!

So, whether Obama supports or not - Outsourcing is irreversible!

How do they make money?

There are a host of services that we use on the Internet everyday ( like email, social network ,etc).Most importantly, we use these services free of charge. If you have been wondering ,"How do these guys make money?", here's a link which gives an high level answer to your questions.


http://rcs.seerinteractive.com/money/



Give me more!


If you have been feeling that no amount of money seems to make your ends meet, you may find the following article interesting.

At times, it's our choices and perception that makes life look difficult for us.

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/bypHVZtCzxMDSSHGv4GfVM/Less-for-more-in-life.html

Choose your password carefully

ATM pin is a critical security tool in your hands. Make it as unique and unpredictable as possible.

An article on choosing the right pin.


Business Line : News : ATM Pin: Avoid birth date, numerical sequences

Get rid of your burden

Mr. X is in his early forties. He works for an engineering company and has a gross salary of more than a lakh  per month. He bought an house some 3 years  back and is paying 70% of his net monthly salary as EMI. 

Whenever there is a bonus or some extra income, he  passionately gets some classical teak wood furniture for his house. Mr. X has been  dreaming of owning a car for almost two years now and unfortunately not been able to buy one because his salary hasn't grown as much in the same proportion that  he expected it to grow. (2002-2007 salary growth in India was phenomenal for most of the salaried class ).

The net salary is just enough to meet the day to day expenses and pay school fees for his only child.

He avoids travel to his native, any entertainment ,etc just because he cannot afford them. His personal loan for one lakh was recently rejected by a bank stating that he was already over leveraged .

Mr. X has no funds for any contingency expenses and his investments are  almost nil ( except for the house which he claims has increased in value). 

His EMI at the current interest rate would end 10 years from now. Whenever a colleague at the office buys a gadget or travels abroad for vacation, this person fumes.

This is a classical case of  forced poverty. If  EMI is such a big burden , one should be ready to sell the property and start "living life". Overburdening EMI can kill the essence of our life. So, please think thrice  before you commit to an EMI. When you  are caught, be ready to switch down your lifestyle and come out of  debt.

Don't be sentimental , get rid of  your burden and live peacefully.

Continue SIPs for long-term gains

Good read on SIP.


Continue SIPs for long-term gains: Exiting them in a downturn will hurt existing investments as well


For detail news click here

Free ! Free ! Free!

Yesterday, there was a news item about people jostling with each other for obtaining forms for cheap housing in Gujarat . ‘Ghar nu Ghar’ scheme (by current opposition  party in state ) of providing cheap housing to BPL families across the state has generated overwhelming response in the state.

Giving 'freebies' to middle / poor class has become a norm  for winning elections .Political parties are not the one to be blamed, public who have a never ending thirst for ' Free' items are the ones to be blamed.


In Tamil Nadu, it was free TV distribution to the public in the last regime. The latest ' gifts'  in TN  as a part of electoral promise include mixie, grinder and a table fan.

These are innovative ways to spend 'tax payer's ' money.



Fortunately or unfortunately , I got to witness one such free distribution in TN recently. There was a huge crowd at the distribution centre . The distribution was supposed to open at around 10 am. But I heard that the queue started around 4 am in the morning ( wow! look at the enthusiasm to get freebies).
Most of them in the queue , as I could judge could very well afford all that were distributed free and would probably have all these items in their home already( purchased by their hard earned money ,of course).
Every one was very clear that ' their right' to freebies should be honoured and there were strong verbal bouts when some one's name was not  figured out in the distribution list. Many had taken an off from their office keeping in mind the 'important' day. Families showed unity by taking turns to stand in the queue. Most of those in the queue were tuned to the latest music on their iPhone / Clon phones.
The autos were doing a good business that day by transporting the freebies home for a hefty charge.( Make hay while the sun shines).

This give me everything for ' Free! Free! Free!' hunger is definitely going to take our country  a long way in her development path!

PS:- When everyone was collecting the freebies , none was  worried about the lack of electricity (TN) for almost 10 hours a day without which the freebies would be of no use.  Long live democracy.

Also, Please don't ask me , " What were you doing there at the distribution center ??" :-)


Handwriting recognition on google

I noticed a new feature on google search while using my tablet. Google is able to recognise handwriting for search. We can write anywhere on the screen and the words are readily recognised for search. Not sure whether this feature is brand new. Try it out, on your tab now!

Mutual fund returns

I was having a quick look at the mutual fund returns ( by category of mutual funds, as on 14th aug 2012 ) over the last 3 years / 5 years.

The sensex has fared pretty bad over both the time periods i.e 3 and 5 year time line , when compared to the average returns of various fund categories.

The following are the charts for 5 year and 3 year returns from various MF categories (source valueresearchonline ). The charts show the category average,best, worst returns over the time period.

Surprisingly gold funds turn out to be the toppers in the 5 year category. Is it the time for return reversal in gold and equity? Time only would tell.

Buying gold jewellery - Does it multiply money?

I had to visit a gold store located in the busy business district of Chennai last weekend. After reading some pink paper reports about  'diminishing' interest of retail demand in gold, I expected the shop to be crowd free.

The reality was much different. I felt like, I was entering a crowded vegetable market ( The building was real big with 5 floors and some roughly some 3000/4000 sqft on each floor). As we had to got to the third floor, me and my wife  went towards the lift lobby area. There were around 50 people waiting for the lift and we  got to grab some  foot space on the lift after 15 minutes of waiting.

Third floor , our shopping destination, was crowded as well (with 80% space occupied on the floor by the fairer sex cutting across all economic classes from middle class to the uber rich ).  It took us a  few  minutes to spot the counter where we could find the range of  jewellery that we wanted.

The counter was busy with around 10 customers busily shopping for jewellery. We got the attention from the salesman after waiting for around 20 minutes. The shopping was done fairly in around 5 minutes. When the item was billed, it looked something like this

Item xx 20 gm
22 ct gold rate 2805
20 * 2805 = 56100
Wastage+ making charge + vat was around  6000 . So, the total amount of the bill was around 62,100.

As per the custom of the shop!, we showed our  proforma bill to one of  the guys roaming around the floor in white shirt. He gave us a discount of Rs 500. ( only god knows, what the basis of discount was and what happens to those folks who are ignorant of this custom!).

When we paid and packed out bags, my wife told me that 'gold' (read ' jewellery ' in between :-)) is indeed a great investment ( sarcastically pointing out to my equity portfolio). I also was reminded that the jewel we got last year @ 2640 per gram in the same shop was worth  2805 per gram! now. ( 165 per gm profit!!! yahooooo)

But when I made a back of the paper calculation to show that we have lost some money from last year's purchase and some real interest worth a few more thousand, my wife agreed . ( For those who need explanation, if we had bought 20 gms last year the bill would have been 57800 =52800 (20*2640) + 5000 ( 5000 for wastage+ making charge+vat- custom discount. The jeweller would buy back the 20 gm jewel now for 56100 only ( 2805*20). So, the real loss is    57800 - 56100 + interest lost on the original amount).

Now, coming back to the question of the post "Buying gold jewellery - Does it multiply money?" . The answer is definitely YES . It multiplies the gold jewellers money multi fold. That too when the shop is crowded like a vegetable market, no doubt about that. :-)

If you ask me whether it makes the buyer rich, I have no answers. The maximum I can say is 'It depends :-)'

Note:- The aforesaid jeweller has been  opening up branches aggressively across cities with oodles of  money made by selling gold jewellery!.


Want to be rich ?- Choose a 'Scalable' career

If you  have been wondering " Why I am not getting rich as fast I should?" or " What is left with me after slogging for hours @ business / office ?" or " What is stopping me from getting stinking rich?" ( What should I do to become a crorepathi or billionaire/millionaire) , here is probably a dimension which can answer your question at least partly.


Taleb ( NNT) in his book ' Black Swan' talks about scalable career.Taleb narrates that "one of his  fellow Wharton classmates explained to Taleb that in looking for a career, make sure that it is "scalable"".
What he meant by this is to look for a profession where you are not paid by the hour and therefore are not subject to the limitations of the amount of your labour.  This definitely is an interesting point of discussion.

Say, a doctor is paid by an hour. His physical presence and an "one on one" attention to a patient is required to earn money. This is not the case in case of an actor or an author. Their output ( movie or book) can be easily scaled up multi fold which can  make them earn money.
In other words, A scalable career or business is one that can grow at an extremely rapid pace, with roughly a base input from the people working on the business. For example, for each user a software or a web site not be recreated . Once a software ( or an app) is created , it is scalable.

Not that, if you are not in scalable business you cant get rich. It takes a long time and there is a limitation of non-scalability!

Here comes the catch

"A scalable profession is good only if you are successful; they are more competitive, produce monstrous inequalities, and are far more random with huge disparities between efforts and rewards -- a few can take a large share of the pie, leaving others out entirely at no fault of their own."

An average person can be successful in a non-scalable career. But only  few ( lucky!) can be successful in a scalable business or career.


So, if you have an option and requisite guts, choose a scalable career to become rich.



NPS fund performance and NAVs


If you are having an NPS account and want to know the latest NAV and fund value for your tier-1/2 account , you may login to the  NSDL website

If you want to compare or have a look at NAVs of the schemes run by all the fund managers ( PFM- Pension Fund Manager), then the  following link might be useful.

https://www.npscra.nsdl.co.in/nav-search.php


When you are on the webpage ,Choose  the PFM from the list of values  to see the NAVs of all the  schemes manged by the PFM.


Cutting cost on DTH TV subscription

Either it be browsing websites or watching television, all of us follow a unique individual pattern. We most frequently visit a very few sites or watch only a select set of channels. 

Talking more on television, we tend to watch a select few regularly, others sparingly and most of the channels very very rarely or not at all.

When this is the case, if you had opted for some standard subscription packs on your DTH , you might be actually paying for many things that you don't actually use ( i.e paying for channels that you don't actually watch!!). 

Most or rather all of the DTH operators allow you to choose your channels and pay money for those you choose to use, instead of subscribing to bigger combos. If you can do a quick study, you would notice that you mostly watch some 4-5 channels and the entire family would actually  be watching up to 10 channels regularly.

If you need some specific channels for a specific period only, say for a sporting event then subscribe for that channel only during the event.

So, choose your channels and pay only for those channels . This would help you save 30-50% of your DTH cost very easily. Also, Lesser options makes life easier, simpler and less costlier.

" Little drops make a big ocean". So, you can give this a try or else ,any day you have the option to go back to your bulky combo packs.

DTH = Direct To Home Television


PS:- Any day, I would prefer having no TV or DTH @ home which would free up a lot of time and 'let you live your life'.

E-gold investment


Gold has been one of the favourite place of many Indians to park money. Jewellery, Gold coins are the traditional methods. Gold ETF made it possible to hold dematerised form of gold in demat accounts. For those who didnt have the demat account, mutual funds came to rescue with gold funds ( non ETF ).
For those who believe in might of gold , NSEL provides another way to hold gold in an e-form.

NSEL enables investors to invest in popular commodities like Gold, Silver & Platinum and hold them in Demat form. Investors can buy, hold, sell and also convert them into physical delivery.



NSEL's porfolio extend beyonds gold into silver,platinum,zinc, copper ,etc. So, for those who  understand investing in these commodities NSEL makes them trade/hold them in electronic form.


You may check National Spot Exchange Limited's site for more information. You may find the FAQ page on the  site useful to know more details.


Please note :- This is an FYI / educational post and not a recommendation to invest in any commodity or any other investment through NSEL.



Safest bet!

Recently, got to see an ad in the regional channel. The advertisement goes on like this.

A small time vendor stands before an old temple tower and talks about the virtues of holding an LIC policy. Similarly another old man holding a cycle talks about the security that he gets by investing in LIC.

People appearing in this ad or those who invest blindly in LIC don't know for sure , where is their money invested.  Lets  take  an example of a  endowment policy with bonus.  how many of the investors in these policies know , where does their money go. What does  LIC do with the money and how safe is their investment?. ( I am not saying that government would let go the LIC bankrupt, that is reserved for another post)

Whenever you make an investment, you need to try and understand a few things

1) What will be my rate of return ? ( in % per annum)
2) Tax impact on the returns.
3) Where does my money go, how does this scheme  make money and how are they able to provide the returns? ( For example, If you invest in bank FD for 8%, you know that bank lends it to someone for an higher % and hence is able to provide you decent returns)
4) What is risk involved in the investment vis -a vis the investment period and the return percentage?


I am not saying that LIC is good or bad. But you should have at-least a better view of where your money is invested.

I would end this post with another story.

XX:  Do you invest in equity?
YY: ( Who's a Manager with a top notch consulting firm): No way, it's just gambling
XX: What sort of investment do you trust.
YY: We trust only in LIC for the last three generations.
XX: What is the policy that you have and what money you have made on it??
YY: hhmmmmm, Not Sure,,any how- You can have a look at the policies ( brings them in a couple of minutes)

One was an ULIP with almost 40K pa invested  for 4 years in a row and standing at a value of 80K( 50% of invested value) and others were some endowment plans with inadequate insurance coverage.
YY was surprised to know that most of his money had gone into equity and his portfolio value was actually down.!! This might have happened, even if he had invested in equity direct or through mutual funds. But, making an conscious effort to understand an investment tool and managing it would really make a difference in the long run.

Please don't  take any advertisement by face value or invest in something because someone close to you is marketing it. Go through at least the basic set of questions listed above , before you invest.










Why a contingency fund is very important.

Praveer was a lucky go guy till very recently. His financial situation seemed to be in control till the time there was a medical contingency in his family . 

There was an approximate need of almost Rs 4 Lakhs towards the situation and only Rs 1 Lakh was covered under the medical policy that he had.  He had no liquid source of cash with him except Rs 10 k in his bank account. 

When he fell short of this amount , he started looking at all sources :- 1. Tapping employer for salary advance didn't work out  2. His equity portfolio and gold/jewellery had vanished a year ago ,for initial down payment for the house 3.  His savings out of a salary and on site assignment had been converted into a posh car, 6 months back.

This is a classical case of under insurance in one sense and in another way not having any money at all ( easily accessible and liquid) for contingencies. At least 6 months expenses needs to be kept aside in FDs or other liquid instruments. 

This  fund should be "sacro sanct" and shouldn't be touched for anything else other than contingencies like medical  needs, creeping through a job loss situation, unforeseen and critical expense in family, etc. 

This goal of having a contingency fund is very critical for all (Even  for those who struggle to keep their day to day living). Praveer could have easily sailed through the situation with a contingency fund or a better insurance planning. But finally, He  had to settle in for a 19% personal loan to make the ends meet.

So, Please set up a contingency fund NOW or if you have some substantial savings already, earmark a portion for contingency.

New Pension Scheme

New pension scheme is one of the less marketed investment tools. Of course, no one will market a tool aggressively when the commission is less but offers great value to customers.

What is NPS?

Advantages of  NPS tier 2 account.

Here's a good write up on NPS published on money control today.

Changes in taxes that impact salaried class / investments

1. Tax slabs changed (up to 2 lakhs nil , 10% for 2-5 lakhs, 20% for 5-10 lakhs and 30% for > 10 lakhs.
2. Interest from SB a/c tax free up to Rs 10,000
3. Rs. 5000 can be availed for preventive medical check up ( self and family members) within the medical insurance premium deduction of 15k per annum.
4. Investment in infrastructure bonds( 80ccf) up to 20,000 exemption not extended beyond assessment year 2012-13
5. Tax benefits not available  to new life insurance policies having annual premiums of more than 10% of sum assured ( excluding loyalty bonus component)
6. For those with income up to 10 lakhs , Rajiv Gandhi equity scheme will allow up to 50% deduction to new retail investors , who invest Rs 50,000 in equity with lock in of 3 years ( Details need to be elaborated , expected soon from govt.)

For investors,
1. STT for delivery based equity transactions reduced to 0.1 %
2. Sale of immovable property > 50 lakhs in urban and >20 lakhs in rural to attract 1% TDS.
3. Capital gains from sale of house would be exempt from tax , if invested in SME equity 
4.1% additional taxes for cash purchase of jewellery above Rs. 2 lakhs.
5. More options for investing in tax free bonds ( NHAI and HUDCO).
6.TDS for interest from debentures , if amount exceeds Rs 5000.

Money Saving Ideas for the Home *

Saving money starts with the basic necessities of the home. Every household can find ways to cut back on expenses around the house with a little planning and making some small changes to their habits. Making a few simple changes can make a large difference in the amount of money spent by the end of the month.

Cut Back on Electricity
When it comes to utilities, electricity is often a big expense. From cooling costs of running an air conditioner in India's hot summer months to turning on a light bulb, many households can end up with higher than expected expenses for electricity. Fortunately, this is also an easy expense to manage and bring down.
Start by changing out appliances so they are more energy efficient. From air conditioners to the microwave, new advances in technology have made many appliances less costly in energy, which is good for the wallet and environment.
Another key is changing the bulbs to options that use lower power. Energy efficient LED bulbs are easy to find on the market and can reduce electric costs dramatically by the end of the month.
Making use of natural light is another way to cut back on the electricity expense. Open the curtains during the day instead of keeping on all of the lights.

Improve Credit Scores
A higher credit rating results in easy approval of loans or at times  lower interest rates on loans and other credit necessities. Whether it is obtaining a new credit card or getting approved for a mortgage loan to buy an apartment, a great credit rating will have significant benefits.

Make a Shopping List
Impulsive spending is a major problem for many household budgets. Unfortunately, it is very easy to end up doing when going out for planned shopping like groceries or school supplies.
The easiest way to avoid impulsive shopping is making a list of the necessities before leaving the home. The list will act as a reminder of what is necessary and prevent buying those extra snacks.


Eating Before Grocery Shopping
Another way to help cut back on impulsive spending is taking the time to eat a meal before going to the grocery store. Extra purchases at the grocery store or local vegetable vendor might not seem like much at the time, but by the time a month passes it can easily result in much higher costs than expected.
By eating before shopping for food items, those extra snacks are simply not tempting or appealing. It makes it easier to stick to the items on the list and avoid the extra snacks that are easy to add when feeling hungry.

Entertain at Home

Going out with friends and family for meals, movies or other entertainment can add up, even if it is only once a week. Instead of making plans to meet outside the home, invite friends and family over for a meal. For entertainment after the meal, suggest playing a board game, watching a movie in the living room or playing a favourite game of cards.
Entertaining at home can cut back on the expense of restaurants and entertainment while also providing the opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family. Those who are unsure about their cooking skills can even suggest a day of cooking together for entertainment and a meal.

Avoid Bank Fees

Many banks offer free checking and savings accounts  ( Savings accounts with less maintenance or minimum balance needs in Indian context)  and it is best to take advantage of these services. It is not necessary to pay maintenance fees and added costs to simply keep money in the bank. Some of the free checking accounts will even offer rewards on debit purchases, making it an excellent way to save money and get rewards without using credit.

Saving money is simple with a few tips in mind. Making a few changes to save energy, avoid unnecessary extra costs and change impulsive spending habits can add up to large savings at the end of the year.


Guest author* Nisha Sharma. She represents a site called CompareLogbookLoans.co.uk Nisha  loves to write, especially about travel, finance and offer business advice.

Single premium or yearly premium

" Term insurance policies" are the way to go for those who look for life insurance . If you are confused on whether it is better to opt for a single premium term policy over yearly premium , you must read the following post .

Also, do not forget to go through the comments on this blog post.

Know your priority!

Life is all about choices. When it comes to spending your hard earned money , its again about your choices.

Recently was having a conversation with a friend who was keen to loose weight. (He is above 30, weighs almost 90 kg and is 5 ft 6'. ). One of the options before him was to join a gym near his house. The gym charges Rs 1500 pm as membership fees. A cheaper option @ Rs 500 pm was available but a bit far from his home.

Now, the friend told that it was way beyond his limit to pay Rs 1500pPm and he would better accumulate that money every month to buy a treadmill!

To give the financial profile of this person. He earns around 70 k a month , out of which 40 K is eaten up by the EMI ( house and car). He spends at least 3k a month on dining out and needless to say the remaining money is consumed by  other expenditure.

Recently he used his bonus money to furnish his house with a wooden cot and a jazzy dining table ( both totalling to 100k ..yes one lakh).This person who pays at least Rs 25k/pm  in interest alone and Rs 3 k/pm in dining out thinks that all his EMI go into building assets ( house ,car and tummy :-)) and feels that 1500 per month is an unaffordable 'expenditure'.

Even after a long conversation, he stood to his point!. Life is all about choices that we make.

Google
Web ideasmoney.blogspot.com

Simple Indian Food - Feel @home ( Best veg food blog )

" A Ship is safe when it is in Harbour, but the ship was not built for that"

Disclaimer

These are just opinions/ ideas exchanged. No one can claim us responsible for any investment failures /losses based on the ideas expressed here.

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