I think personal finance is a cycle of events and actions: Identify your Financial Goals. Outline a Strategy to achieve your Financial Goals Pick Financial Instruments that execute this Strategy. Monitor and take preventive/corrective actions when necessary. Financial Goals => Strategy => Financial Instruments. Any other sequence and the result is almost always financial disaster. […]
I’ve previously written about the Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL). To repeat, CIBIL or Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited is India’s first credit information bureau and is a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers. CIBIL provides this information to its Members (i.e. banks and other financial institutions) […]
It’s no secret that I find HSBC quite lame. In spite of these, I still have a credit card from HSBC — simply because it’s the only credit card and credit card history that I have. Yesterday, I used my Telephone Banking PIN to check up on the outstanding balance. Normally, the call is fully […]
Yesterday, I talked about why it makes sense to have a higher basic pay as part of your salary? My friend and guest blogger Shilpa immediately took my calculations forward in order to determine what difference the basic pay would make to your take home salary. Grab a copy of her calculations. What do you […]
Recently, at work, there was a restructuring of our salary components. Many concerns were raised when the outside consultants proposed that Basic pay be at least 50% of the Gross pay — it was finally fixed at 40%. I think we lost out. Here’s the math (all figures are per annum). Suppose your Gross pay […]
A friend and I were discussing about the New Pension Scheme when my friend commented, It’s too nascent. The risk is very high. They don’t even mention the interest upfront. Based on your selection and market trends, the sum accumulates. Then there is a commission involved. I wonder what’s the idea behind charging a commission. […]
A colleague recently asked, I understand why we should pay income tax. But what is the need for filing income tax returns every year? Short answer: You’re building a history about yourself — that you exist and earn. This piece of history proves useful in a variety of situations — when you’re applying for a […]
Mutual funds are a grossly mis-sold, mis-positioned, and mis-communicated financial product in India — Dipen Seth, Money Today, June 25, 2009. Add misunderstood to that list. Add Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) to that list.
At the Cafe Coffee Day outlet at the Bangalore International Airport, I asked for an empty cup (paper or plastic; any size) so that I could share my coffee (an expensive one bought a few seconds back) with someone who I was with. Seems they can’t give one. I offered to pay. Seems an empty […]
Quite some time since I posted a CRM horror story. This time it was at The Shoppers Stop at The Garuda Mall, Bangalore. On the 2nd floor, D and I are looking around, when we’re approached by an in-store staff who asks, “Would you like to avail a First Citizen membership?” I wanted to scream, […]