We’ve all had our fair share of receiving torn or soiled currency notes. Sometimes banks refuse to exchange these notes and we’re left fuming since we’ve no idea what the rules are with respect to exchange of such notes. Thankfully, the Reserve Bank of India has published guidelines for exchanging such currency. Click here to […]
Warren Buffett is the world’s most successful investor. If you had invested in Mr. Buffett’s company when he started off over 40 years ago, he would have grown your money by 400,863%! In Mr. Buffett we have an investor, who has proven time and again that his approach to investing works. And that’s exactly why […]
Of late, I have been thinking about working towards having a “single source of financial truth.” Let me explain what I mean. There are four financial categories which I would like to track every month. These are: Income, Expenses, Savings, and Investments More often than not, cash flows into and out of these categories happen […]
Reader Shankar asks, Is there any Master Circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India on Credit Cards issued by Indian Banks? There certainly is: Download the Master Circular on Credit Card Operations of Indian Banks. Download an update to the Master Circular. There’s some pretty useful information in these documents. Again, take some time […]
I also had an HSBC Power Vantage Savings Account with an MAQB (minimum average quarterly balance) of Rs 100,000. It’s more pain than pleasure to ensure such ridiculously high MAQBs. The account had to go. That said, here’s how you can close and cancel your HSBC Power Vantage Savings Account: Reduce your account balance to […]
The Reserve Bank of India time and again issues various instructions/guidelines in the area of customer service to bring about improvements in the quality of customer service in banks and their branches. But whether banks actually implement these guidelines is a different matter altogether. As bank customers, however, it’s prudent on our part to know […]
I had a Citibank Suvidha Savings Account that was opened as a salary-credit account at my previous job. Being a salary-credit account, it was a zero-balance savings account. When I changed my job and when salary-credits into this account stopped, Citibank converted it into a regular savings account with an MAQB (minimum average quarterly balance) […]
Three weeks back, I wrote about the deposit insurance system in India. While that guide served as a ready reckoner, there’s nothing better to drive the point home than a real case study. One such case study — and a live one at that — involves Saraswat Bank’s takeover of South Indian Cooperative Bank (SICB). […]
Overdrafts are worse than personal loans. They make you spend money that’s not yours. They make the bank rich and you poor. Why would you ever want this to happen? If you’ve got overdraft protection on a personal savings account, call the bank right now and cancel this facility. If you don’t know whether your […]
That’s what a security guard at the Reebok store on 100 ft. Ring Road, Banashankari 3rd Stage said when I visited the store at 11:00 AM last Saturday. I desperately needed a cap and I had committed to buy one then and there. Instead I was not allowed to step inside the store because — […]
Pageviews dropped 1.55% from September, 2008. Absolute uniques almost flat. What do you think I should do in order to increase traffic?
I’ve been contemplating on this topic since quite some time. In a recent email discussion, Lakshmi, a friend and keen observer of this blog, put my thoughts into words. She says, There are three things that should be taught at school, which unfortunately are not taught: How to earn honestly, How to manage the money […]