A while back, reader Lakshmi wrote to me saying, My mom is particularly concerned that my brother’s job is non-pensionable and recently she heard about the SBI Life Insurance Pension Fund. Please throw some light on this matter. I couldn’t write back since I was held up with other work. But Lakshmi soon wrote back […]
Avinash, Anoop, and I recently trekked up Tadiyandamol. It’s an easy to moderate climb with breathtaking landscape all around. Pictures follow. Where to stay near Tadiyandamol? Kavery Estate Stay Kolakeri Village and P.O. Napoklu — 571214 www.kaveryestatestay.com; www.homestaykodagu.com; kaveryestatestay@yahoo.com; Tel: 08272 237270 The hospitality and warmth shown by the owners of Kavery Estate Stay is […]
A solid understanding of the basics of personal finance can only come through rigorous self-education. There is no shortcut. There are, however, excellent resources — both in print and on the internet (see below) — which can guide you with useful information on this journey. But the real learning happens when you analyze and apply […]
August and September together. Not sure if I will touch the 25K pageviews mark by November, 2008. I wasn’t able to focus much on the blog in August and September.
I’ve often deposited a check and then sat twiddling my thumbs while the bank took its own sweet time to credit the check. In between, if you call the bank’s customer care, the first thing they ask you for is the check number — apparently this helps them track your check better. Earlier, when there […]
I was on the receiving end of this call today morning: Good morning. I am calling from MetLife India Insurance Company. We have all kinds of insurance policies…ULIPs, whole-life policies, endowment policies, money-back policies, and children’s policies. Would you be interested? All the products quoted above make the insurance company rich — because insurance as […]
You might have heard recent news about the government’s plan to double the deposit insurance cover for your bank deposits (savings, fixed, current, recurring, etc.). I welcome this move — though not for the reasons you hear in the media. I welcome this move simply because it’s good for you and me. Did you know […]
Don’t forget this — ever. With the number of services being brought under the service tax net increasing continually, it’s good to keep the applicable service tax charges in mind when perusing a financial product or service offer. For example: Though your monthly cellular rental might be quoted as Rs 249, the actual rental is […]
Most of us would have, knowingly or unknowingly, used the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system to facilitate online transfer of funds from any bank branch to any other bank branch within India. Since NEFT forms the backbone for a good percentage of our financial transactions, it’s good to have some in depth knowledge on […]
Giving a makeover to the blog. Quirks should settle down soon.