I sometimes receive queries over email from readers who are in a particular situation with respect to their personal finances and want to know what actions they ought to take in order to move ahead. Some of these queries are generic enough to apply for a broader audience. In the past, I’ve tried publishing these […]
@ Shishila — On the banks of the stream flowing past the Shishileshwara Temple. Another milestone for the Swift. 40,000 kilometers. 705 Days. Nomadic! There’s only one way you can make a Swift fall truly, madly, and deeply in love with you (so that it’ll do everything you ask it to do!). Here’s how. Buy […]
You already know that I’ve made an extremely stupid mistake due to which I’m now looking at an income tax liability in the upper five figures! This means I’ll simply be unable to meet all of my financial goals over the next three months (because I really won’t have much to call as a salary). […]
This is a question that I’m often asked. In fact, a couple of weeks back, a colleague whose internship was recently converted into a full-time position also posed the same question: “Starting this month, I’ll be earning a regular salary. How do I ensure that I don’t spend it all away?” Awesome! The road to […]
This post should actually be titled “How I Made LIC Richer by Rs 90,000?” First, a background on how this Jeevan Anand policy came into my life. :-) Towards the end of 2004 and in my early twenties, when I was at the peak of committing one financial mistake after the other (taking loans from […]
I listed purchasing a disability/personal accident insurance cover (for both D and myself) as one of my personal finance goals for 2011. I thought I had my thinking done with but the comments to that post got me thinking deeper. Primarily, the two questions to be answered now were: Do we really need disability insurance […]
Out of the three components of my first resolution, perhaps the toughest one is buying health insurance cover for our parents. It’s easy to increase my emergency fund (save more each month). It’s easy to stay out of debt (don’t spend money that’s not mine). But it’s close to impossible to buy health insurance cover […]
A good number of software development/software testing positions to be filled — both in my team and in my colleague’s team. Across experience levels. Broad skills that we’re looking for: Web application development/testing, Java application development/testing, ability to work with XML, and an ability to work with Databases. But, most important: Willing to learn. MetricStream’s […]
I’d promised to write about our US visa interview experience. So here goes. In general, two human traits standout with respect to the topic of a US Visa: The amount of advice you receive on what to do and what not to do. The way people transform themselves on the day of the interview. But […]
I simply can’t believe that I made such a stupid mistake. Recently, when I changed my job, I ensured that I obtained the final salary settlement statement from my previous employer well before I joined my new job. That was good thing because I was able to submit this statement during the joining formalities at […]
Update: I realized just yesterday that I’ve made a worse mistake: a BIG miscalculation in my income tax liabilities. Bummer! I’ll write about this in detail in the next post. Having spent quite some time in thinking about my personal finance resolutions for 2011, I also spent some time reflecting upon what was perhaps my […]
First of all: Wishing you and your family a financially prosperous 2011. And what better a way to start 2011 than knowing how to get rid of your Unit Linked Life Insurance Policy (ULIP). I recently closed one, on D’s behalf, and luckily for us we emerged above water on that one. It all started […]