I’ve previously dissected Bharti AXA’s AspireLife Unit Linked Life Insurance Plan and found it to be a terrific example for bad financial jargon, lame financial products, and lame advertising — in short a toxic financial product (as most ULIPs are). A recent issue of MoneyToday carried an ad for Bharti AXA’s Life AspireLife Unit Linked […]
I missed an important point — one that I gained through recent experience — when I wrote about how I chose my independent health insurance provider. One of the steps in your hunt for health insurance should include a quick visit to the hospitals in your locality and approaching their insurance desk to find out […]
Having rethought through Part #1 of this series and the comments which followed, I should point out that the choice of financial instruments also depends upon when you expect to utilize the funds built-up in working towards your goal. For example: the financial instruments applicable for a short-term goal of purchasing a washing machine may […]
When you see a financial offer that sounds too good to be true, you should always read the fine print. For example, a recent issue of Outlook Money carried an ad from Kotak Mahindra Bank that touts a 48-day interest free period on cash withdrawals done using the Kotak Fortune Gold [Credit] Card in lieu […]
The big issue today is inflation. In my view, frugality can beat all inflation. I still don’t own a car, I don’t have a mobile. Ours is now an economy based on waste. If you change that, other factors will correct themselves. Source: A senior citizen’s quote in the latest issue of Outlook Money when […]
I can’t believe this — I hit my target of 20K pageviews a full month early. In fact, I almost touched the 22K mark; a full 10% above my target! Pageviews are up by 17% and absolute uniques are up by 19% over June, 2008. I drilled-down into the stats and this surge in traffic […]
A key to achieving your financial goals lies in knowing what financial instruments to invest in for a given financial goal. For example: if your goal is to eliminate your car loan within the next twelve-month window, it’s financial suicide to start investing your loan repayment money in equity instruments (stocks, equity-oriented mutual funds, etc.). […]
A “must see” presentation. Don’t judge the presentation by it’s title — it’s applicable to a general audience. [slideshare id=415548&doc=brainrulespzreview-1211213300619507-9&w=425] Link: Brain Rules for Presenters. Pay particular attention to slides 49, 51, 55, and 56. I strongly believe in the following two points made in the presentation: “There is no greater anti-brain environment than the […]
In describing my credit card usage policy, I said, I should look at every other option before opting to purchase with a credit card. For reasons that still remain a mystery to me, I recently used my credit card to pay for goods and services when there were a whole set of other options readily […]
How’s this for a bizarre experience? Last week, I opted to open a savings account with ICICI Bank. I am given a welcome kit with an Internet banking password mailer dated April, 2007. I try to login but receive a “User ID has expired” error message. I call customer care who gleefully inform me that […]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintains the list of MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) codes for all Indian banking institutions (ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, et al.) at the following location: http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/68774.pdf Thanks Gaurav for your query that resulted in this post.
Source: RBI Notification. Banks have been advised that unsolicited credit cards should not be issued and that in case an unsolicited card is issued and activated without the consent of the recipient and the latter is billed for the same, the card issuing bank shall not only reverse the charges forthwith, but also pay a […]
On a recent trip to Wayanad, we stayed at: Hotel Haritagiri Kalpetta, Wayanad, Kerala Tel: +91 4936 203145/46/47/48 We checked-in at 04:30 AM on Day 1 and checked-out at 09:00 AM on Day 2 (pretty odd hours and we did cross the 24-hour mark). We asked to be billed for a single day. The person […]
I have a very interesting fact to share. My mom, who did not have the opportunity to study beyond Standard 10, manages expenses such that they are well within her budget — happens like clockwork every month. On the other hand, I have a post-graduate degree, yet wage losing battles to keep my expenses within […]
You should do this today. Right now. You can take preventative action right now to make the loss of a wallet easier. Just clean out your wallet down to the bare minimum, then photocopy or scan both sides of everything in your wallet. This will help you to easily remember everything that was misplaced and […]
Download my Car Loan EMI Calculator Excel workbook. This workbook has six sheets, one each for a loan duration ranging from one year to six years. Select the sheet corresponding to the loan duration you’re thinking of. For example: select the sheet labeled “4 Years” if you’re looking for a car loan that you want […]
I’m pretty close but still have some way to go before I hit the 20K pageviews target that I have set for this site. I’d love to hear a few tips from you on how I can get there.
I have made this mistake once before and thought I’d share my experiences. Here’s why I believe you should not opt for a loan from your employer: Any loan from your employer ties you to your job. You can’t come out until the loan amount has been cleared in full. You might argue that you […]
Download my Personal Loan EMI Calculator Excel workbook. This workbook has six sheets, one each for a loan duration ranging from one year to six years. Select the sheet corresponding to the loan duration you’re thinking of. For example: select the sheet labeled “3 Years” if you’re looking for a personal loan that you want […]
Reader Pavan asks, Can you put some information on various health insurance schemes and which one is relatively best? To beging with, the idea for having an “independent health insurance cover” was conceived during a discussion I had with a close relative. This relative was also the one who told me about Star Health and […]