Tweets on 2010-06-30
We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Source: bit.ly/8Rqzwu
Month: June 2010
Tip Tuesdays: Drive Free, Retire Rich — A Strategy For Buying Your Next Car?
What do you think of this strategy for buying your next car? I won’t get a chance to try this out at least until I close the loan on my present car. [sniplet tip tuesdays]
Why I Chose The HDFC Top 200 Fund For My Portfolio?
Anoop asks: What is the difference between an Ordinary Mutual Fund and HDFC’s Top 200 Mutual Fund? I’ll answer a slightly different question — Why I chose the HDFC Top 200 Fund for my portfolio as opposed to another Mutual Fund? My reasons: Had been on my radar for the past year (while I was […]
Tweets on 2010-06-27
I’d love to see our Government introduce the equivalent of TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities). I’d love to have these in my portfolio.
Tweets on 2010-06-26
Look at investments without knowing their price — because if you see the price, it automatically has some influence on you. Source: amzn.to/p8QTZ I did exactly that when I recently constructed my mutual funds portfolio — an SIP in HDFC’s Top 200 Fund to begin with. By the way, if you’re invested in the same […]
Ask The Readers: Can You Make Part Prepayments On Your Car Loan?
I have a question: In general, is it possible to make part prepayments (towards the outstanding principal) on your car loan? My specific situation: a car loan from Axis Bank that I intend to close by the end of this year. If the answer to my question is a YES, how do I go about […]
Investment Strategies: How To Save For Your Child’s Higher Education?
N asks: I want to save for my kid’s (an year and a half old at the moment) higher education — about fifteen years away. I can set aside Rs 10,000 each month. Where should I save or invest? Here’s the investment strategy that I recommended: Rs 5,000 each month in a Public Provident Fund […]
Tweets on 2010-06-23
ET reports: Hit hard by the mass exodus of investors, amounting to an average of over one lac a month, the mutual fund houses are knocking on the doors of SEBI, which in turn is mulling over possible remedial actions including an expanded distribution model for these investment products. Over four lac investors are estimated […]
Tip Tuesdays: It’s Not Worth Complicating The Situation Just So That You Can Avoid Paying Some Income Tax
In an article on taxation, Outlook Money — June 16, 2010, suggests: Buy your car in your spouse’s name. Then lease it to your company, which in turn can let you use it as an employer-provided vehicle. [Due to certain deductions, you reduce the amount of income tax that you need to pay.] I’ve also […]
Organizing Your Finances: A Debt Repayment Worksheet
[sniplet organizing your finances] In describing how to get a complete picture of your debt, I suggested gathering all of your debt related documents together before working out a debt repayment plan. Recently, while reading the book Deal With Your Debt, I came across the following Debt Repayment Worksheet template (click on the image to […]
Tweets on 2010-06-20
485 days. 30,000 kilometers. Do you live to drive? Do you have a budget of around six and a half lacs? YES to both? Go and buy a Swift ZXi.
Tweets on 2010-06-19
An SMS I received reads [verbatim]: Guaranteed Bonus! Investment Profit! Insurance Cover! Tax Saving! Invest in Bajaj Allianz Assured Gain. NOW min term changes 3 to 5 yrs in July. SMS BAJ2 to 98401XXXXX. My two words: AVOID ULIPS.
How Much Commission Does A Post Office Agent Get When You Open A Recurring Deposit?
[This one’s an FYI post.] Three percent. If you open a 5-year Recurring Deposit (RD) at the Post Office through an Agent, the Agent gets a commission of 3% on the amount deposited each month. For a Rs 5,000 per month RD, the Agent’s commission is Rs 150 per month. The good thing though is […]
Investment Strategies: How to Save 5 Lacs in 5 years?
D was curious to know, How much should I save/invest each month if I want to build a corpus of 5 lacs (Rs 500,000) in 5 years? Also, in which financial instrument should I save/invest this monthly amount? I’d recommend saving Rs 7,000 each month in a 5-year Recurring Deposit at the Post Office. An […]
Five Money Rules I Wish I Knew Out Of College
I wish I knew these rules out of college. Spend less than you earn. And don’t spend money that’s not yours to begin with (credit cards and consumption/lifestyle-oriented loans). The value of an emergency fund. How to set a financial goal. Compounding through debt (Public Provident Fund) and equity (rock solid index funds). The value […]
Tip Tuesdays: Married And Working Couples Can Plan And Claim LTA In Four Successive Years
Here’s an interesting tip I read in Outlook Money, June 16, 2010: A married and working couple can plan and claim Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) in all four years of a prescribed block. The husband can claim LTA in two out of four years and the wife in the other two. Have you done this […]
Organizing Your Finances: Do You Have A Nominee Assigned For Each of Your Financial Assets?
[sniplet organizing your finances] One of the most common mistakes that we make is to not assign a nominee for each of our financial assets especially when this facility is readily available to us. We know the value of assigning a nomination but somehow procrastinate from doing so. And at times, we do assign a […]
The Problem With The Indian Life Insurance Industry
Is the Licensed Agent and even the Direct Marketer straight from LIC who just don’t want to sell you a term policy. Background: Read my first attempt at obtaining a term policy where the agent ran away and was never heard from again. In my second attempt, I submitted my details on the LIC corporate […]
Awareness Fridays: Do Not Fall Prey To Fictitious Offers Of Funds Transfer — RBI Advisory
Having personally received one such offer through snail mail in the recent past and having witnessed a friend receive one through email, I believe this is a widespread problem. Thankfully, the Reserve Bank of India has embarked upon a public awareness campaign and has also asked banks to do the same. From your side, please […]
HDFC Platinum Plus Credit Card: The Myth Of Zero Fuel Surcharge
A random thought had me rummaging through my credit card statements for arriving at this conclusion: The fuel surcharge is indeed zero, but you’re still paying the service tax! A good reminder for what I’ve said before: Always check for service tax charges. Does your credit card do the same?