A reader asks, I need to purchase gold ornaments for a family event that’s about twelve to fifteen months away. What’s the best way to go about saving for this goal? I can set aside a certain amount each month from my salary. The question had me stumped since I’ve never saved/invested specifically with the […]
A reader asks, Recently, there was a hike in the EPF (Employee Provident fund) interest rate. Will this rate be applicable for the PPF (Public Provident Fund) too? Please publish this question on your blog as it would clarify facts for a lot of investors like myself. The answer is NO — currently there is […]
Suppose you issue a check. You later discover that there isn’t sufficient balance in your account to honor the check but the check has already come up for presentation. How would you plan ahead to mitigate this scenario? The only option that I can think of is to avail an “overdraft” facility on your account. […]
Thought I’d ask this question that many of us face when changing jobs. The choice becomes all the more difficult especially when you know that your EPF corpus is a significant amount. [polldaddy poll=3823702]
One of the most important things that you ought to know about your spouse before marriage is the financial liabilities that he/she brings into the relationship. Because, after marriage, they really do become “our” liabilities. In our case, I’d explicitly mentioned to D that the Swift was on a loan — I recollect mentioning the […]
S asks, Suppose you have a loan that you desperately want to close. Is it worth dipping into your emergency fund for this purpose? I can find convincing arguments on both sides. If you take this step, you get an immediate return on your investment (equal to the interest rate on the loan) but you […]
Accounting tricks.
When I first asked “What’s Your Fallback?”, it was meant to be a one-off topic. But the more I think about this question, the more questions it leads to about one’s personal finances: How would you deal with the financial setbacks that happen in your day to day life? A case in point: Health Insurance […]
What do you think of the Card Protection Program India? [polldaddy poll=3747054]
Having tried a good number of cell phones — including a QWERTY-one from Spice Mobile! — since the demise of my built-like-a-tank Nokia 6681, I’ve found the one that I was looking for: the Nokia E52. Here’s the top three things that I love about the E52: Call quality is exceptionally good. The battery has […]
Within our household, I am. D doesn’t really break her head over income, expenses, cash flows, saving, investing, taxes, etc. Whether Section 80C offers an additional savings avenue of Rs 20,000 per year through infrastructure bonds or not isn’t really a topic that she’d like to talk about. Her dad used to handle everything from […]
A reader asks, I have an emergency fund that doubles up as a buffer for unforeseen expenses and for the pink slip. I currently have three-months’ worth of expenses in this fund which is lying as a cash balance in my savings account. How can I structure this fund in order to earn a better […]
At work, our Director of Product Management was presenting when he mentioned the term “fallback” in context of our products. That term struck a deep note because your success in your personal finances depends to a large extent on the fallback mechanisms that you have in place. I can immediately think of these fallback mechanisms: […]
The EMIs for my car loan from Axis Bank were automatically deducted through ECS from my ICICI Bank account. Recently, when I pre-closed this loan, the staff at Axis Bank asked me to additionally issue a stop payment for the EMIs through ICICI Bank. It’s just a precautionary measure, they said, and isn’t really required […]
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At the State Bank of India, a conversation between me and the bank staff. I want to close so-and-so account. Ok. Please give a letter in writing. The systems are down but I will do the needful once they’re back online. Can I get a sheet of paper [to write the letter]? No. We don’t […]
Continuing my thoughts that I first posted a couple of weeks back, here’s a must-read from Morningstar on the long-run: “When the long-term doesn’t pay off.” I love the advice given at the end: For equity investors, the importance of a long-term investment horizon cannot be overstated. However, it should be understood that the long-term […]
If D, through her finances, can help someone truly in need or make someone happy, she will go out of her way (including entirely dropping her own financial plans) and do her bit. Her philosophy is that if your money can make your present a better world (qualitatively, not quantitatively), then that’s where you should […]
In suggesting how to save for your next car after clearing the loan on the present one, I only outlined a broad strategy without suggesting a specific financial instrument. Now that I have cleared the loan on my Swift, it’s time to adopt my own advice. But I’m not able to arrive at a decision […]