Money For Investment

"Food, Shelter and Clothing" has been defined as basic needs of a human being and out of the three the one that is hard to come by is shelter or one's own home. In India, buying a home is dream for most of the people because of the high cost of transaction along with several other factors. However, with the availability of home finance , the dream of owning one's own house is becoming increasingly possible for many . If you too are thinking of having your own "dream home" on finance , then you must take care of few things so that you are not short changed by anyone in this process and also your dream home actually turns out just that. There are broadly 2 activities for anyone wishing to buy a home on finance. First , he needs to identify the property he wishes to buy and second is to arrange for finance. The various things that one needs to check in the whole process is as under:- A. IDENTIFYING THE PROPERTY The first and foremost step towards owning your ow...

ICICI Bank has launched an electronic card in association with mcheck, a mobile payment solution provider. This card is aimed at helping people carry out transactions like bill payment etc from their mobile phones. This card will enable the user to make payments from mobile phones. The ICICI bank customers can use this card to make payments for bills, money transfer, buy movie tickets , airline tickets etc. This will be another step in making banking an easy and enjoyable experience. Given the popularity and reach of mobile phones in India, it is expected that mobile phones will be used as a medium to deliver entertainment, banking services and news to the user in near future. The launch of 3G services is expected to kick start the process. 3G will set the ball rolling and we will see a new revolution of sorts in the way mobile phones are used in India currently.Most of the services required for daily use will be migrated to mobile .

My article "10 Questions you must ask your insurance agent " has been featured in the Carnival of Personal finance at weakonics.com . To read the article rush here.

Recently as per a survey done among business people in 24 countries found out that India was the third least affected country from the on going recession. The least affected country was Australia followed by China. This is significant since Indian economy was always expected to be more resilient than other economies as it is primarily dependent on domestic demand. The countries that are least affected from recession , as per that survey is as under 1. Australia 2. China 3. India, Singapore 5. Hongkong 6. Canada 7. Japan, Qatar 9. Newzealand, 10.Sweden,Malaysia,Vietnam The finding in this study was further validated by better than expected GDP numbers for India for the year 2008-09.Today the fourth quarter GDP growth numbers came in for India and it surprised everyone positively . The Q4 GDP growth of 5.8% meant that the 2008-09 GDP growth number for the country is 6.7% which is better than many analyst's estimates.The closest anyone was to this figure was RBI which had predicted GD...

World famous investment advisor Marc Faber believes it is time for every prudent citizen to become one's own central bank by owning some gold. He believes that gold will be the safest and most valued asset class to hold in times to come. His rational for saying so are 1. With billions of dollars being printed world over by governments to pump into economy to stave off the depression, the risk of inflation in some time is real. The inflation in consumer prices will rise leading to increase in the value of gold . 2. The unprecedented printing of money will also lead to reduced purchasing power of paper currency in due coarse of time and as such gold will gain value in future. 3. Physical gold's supply is limited and with increased demand its price is bound to go up. 4. More and more central banks will look to buy and keep gold , thereby pushing the overall price of gold up. Read more on this at http://www.business.in.com/interview/close-range/is-a-gold-bubble-building-up/372/1...

The Indian Stock Markets are showing consistent sign of exuberance ever since the results of the 15th Lok Sabha General Elections have come in. The mandate is being hailed as " historic and path breaking" considering that it is for the first time in nearly two decades that a single party has managed to cross 200 MP mark on its own in the Lok Sabha. As soon as the results came in , the market experts hailed it as game changer for the stock markets. Congress was expected to bring in sweeping reforms on back of a decisive mandate. The same optimism and hope was reflected in the historic rise of stock markets the following Monday when the trade had to be suspended because the markets had breached the upper circuit twice in a single day. This was historic indeed. But, today as the final lot ministers got sworn in , much of that optimism and hope is being proved little too much for the government to live upto. The government is full of old faces and as such chances are that the pa...

Most of us have either taken a loan sometime in the past or will be required to take one to fund our car,home, education ,personal needs etc. As a prudent borrower we all look to get the loan at the best possible rate. We all want best deal from the bank. But do you know what exactly constitutes the best deal for you? Is it the rate of interest charged on your loan? or is the mode of interest charged i.e. fixed or floating? Or is it tenure of the loan? or is it something else? When a person takes a loan, he will most certainly look at the rate of interest charged to him on the loan . He wants a loan at the lowest possible rate of interest. This is not entirely wrong as lower the rate of interest, chances are that the deal would keep on getting better. Now , here I said "chances are" because lower rates do not necessarily mean a better deal or a cheaper loan. How is that possible? To find out the best possible deal on your loan, you should look at the IRR (Internal Rate Of R...

People with communist bent of mind have always associated the rapid growth of retail chains with mindless growth of capitalist greed which tends to make profit at the expense of the common man. In some states of India like UP and West Bengal, there were large scale protests over the opening of outlets by some large scale retail formats like Reliance Fresh etc. Unfortunately the company had to shut those outlets in view of the widespread protests. But, the moot question remains to be asked. Are these chains against the overall benefit of the common man? Do they really exploit the common man? These are fundamental questions the answer to which can be both yes and no depending on which side of the divide you are standing on. While there is no doubt that the consumers don't see these retails outlets as a part of the large corporates sinister design to fill their coffers by exploiting them, as is made out by the protesters. At the same time , some would argue that these large scale reta...

For all those who have vehicles and either have a vehicle isurance or are about to get one, there are few things which you need to keep in mind and check before you decide on the insurance provider. Lack of knowledge about the various standard policy details and exclusions at times results in unnecessary heartburn and difficulty for the vehicle owner. Following are the important points which you need to keep in mind with regard to your vehicle insurance. THINGS TO DO i. You must not take any action on the damaged vehicle -- repairs, moving the vehicle -- before the prior approval of the insurance company/ surveyor. Sometimes, an insurance company might decide to take a spot survey. It is important then that you keep the car at the accident spot till the survey is over. ii. You must keep all replaced parts for inspection. Do not dispose them till the surveyor gives his/ her approval for the same. iii. You should never enter into a compromise or make an out-of-court settlement with the ...

What if someone told you that this "recession and slowdown" that the whole world is reeling today from is a deliberate and man made creation? What if someone told you that this was deliberately created by US government to achieve their sinister goal? You would not believe it. But, this is exactly what this video says that. It explains how the policies of the US Fed of artificially lowering the interest rates led to an artificial boom in the commodities and housing sector which ultimately resulted in a collapse. The video further explains " they create the problem and then offer us solution...which gives them unlimited power , capital and control.." It argues that US and UK want a unipolar world with a single global currency. And the fact that Obama is already talking about a "New World Order" is a clear pointer towards that. World famous trend forecaster Gerald Celente also says that this depression will be worst in the history of US and will result in mas...

You must have received SMSes,calls from telecallers or letters from banks saying that they approved loan of certain amounts for you. To take it, you should contact your branch, or send a message from your phone to a particular person or number. While using your phone to check the details of your credit or debit card, you will often find an automated message saying that you are eligible for a loan on phone of a particular amount. Offers of credit cards, too, fall in the same category since the issuing bank is comfortable extending a certain amount of credit to you. Typically, people receive such offers from banks with which they have some relationship—loans, salary accounts, credit cards, among others—and there is often a time limit for accepting the offer. The question is, does it make sense to go for them? Eligibility criteria- Generally, a bank judges your eligibility before offering a pre-approved loan. This is based on your track record with the bank. For instance, if you have a s...

While putting our hard earned money in our bank accounts we feel safe and secure knowing fully that our money is safe with the bank. This is primarily because of the stellar role played by our central bank namely Reserve Bank of India. RBI , as a central bank , ensures that all the banks are financially sound and solvent. It is also the guardian of the customer's interest. Managing such huge network of banks with their ever increasing branches is not an easy task . Just to put things in perspective, State Bank Of India alone has over 11000 branches in the country. RBI has to ensure that the interest of every single customer of each these branches is safeguarded. So how does RBI manages to accomplish all this ? What are the things that it does in order to ensure that your and my money is safe at our respective banks.The following are the few of the important things RBI does in order to achieve this goal. 1. Regulating entry of banks - RBI, by virtue of being the Central Bank of the...

Reserve Bank Of India has taken cognisance of the fact that credit cards need to be more secure in the hands of the users to ensure that their misuse and frauds are minimised if not eliminated completely. RBI has taken whole host of steps in this year to make banking an easier and user friendly process. Some of the most recent steps include the removal of ATM transaction fee charged by the banks in case the customer removed money from non-bank ATM. Some other steps include making provision for calculating interest on savings account on daily balance basis as against the current provision of paying interest on monthly average balance in savings account. Now RBI has mandated that from 1st August 2009, all the banks need to provide another security code to each of its credit card users in addition to the credit card number, CVV etc which the banks already provide. This extra code is meant to be made available to the user directly and wont be on the card. This is significant since currentl...

For people looking to invest their hard earned in money in safe investment options, Fixed deposits with banks comes on top of their priority list. This is because of the fact that bank FDs are absolutely safe and secure investments. The chances of banks defaulting on fixed deposit payments are almost nil since the banks are heavily regulated by RBI which ensures that the bank is in sound financial position. Fixed deposits become more popular in times of instability in equity markets. Fixed deposits are also a favourite with senior citizens. Considering that FDs are one of the most widely used investment options by millions of people, we need to know the various ways in which we can get the maximum benefit out of FDs.I am listing down the following "5 Points to Ponder" before you put your money in a fixed deposit. 1. Rate of interest- The first and the most obvious thing to look at while deciding on your fixed deposit is the rate of interest being offered by various banks. Th...

We all know that frauds in credit cards and ATM cards are on the rise these days. The various methods in which credit card and ATM fraudsters scam us shown in these videos below. 1. CHEATING PEOPLE OF MILLIONS BY MAKING FAKE CREDIT CARDS 2.CREDIT CARD SKIMMING FRAUD 3. ATM SCAM 4.CHIP AND PIN FRAUD Hope that these videos would have given you the insight into the grave danger these scamsters pose to everyone carrying this plastic . We need to be more vigilant and careful with our cards. Its after all money that we are dealing with so what if its in plastic form.

Credit scores are becoming increasingly important in today's world. These scores determine whether or not a person gets credit or loan from the lender and at what rate . The use of credit scores is being made at various places and its usage is increasing at exponential rate.As such having a good credit score can do a great deal of good to you. Few of the direct and obvious benefits that you will get because of good credit score are as under:- 1. Loans at lower interest rate - While a person having a bad credit score is denied a loan completely, a person with good credit score will not only get a loan ,but, will get the loan at a much lower rates. This is because banks and financial institutions follow risk-based pricing, while extending credit. Risk based pricing means , the banks charge interest rate as per the perceived risk profile of a customer i.e. charge higher rate of interest to a customer who is perceived risky and lower rate of interest to a person who has good credit hi...

One of the first steps in your journey towards financial security and independence is to start budgeting for all your expenses. Having a budget is a must for each and every person who aims to become rich and amass wealth over a period of time. In the book "Millionaire Next Door" , the author comes out with various traits that rich millionaires share between them. And the most common of them was the fact that they all had a strong ethic of making a monthly budget for all expenses and then sticking to it. The study also noted that most of the people who earn a fat salary but are not wealthy also share a habit between them. And that was that none of them had the habit of preparing a budget for themselves. Budgets help you in number of ways like 1. It helps you get an idea of your necessary and non-necessary expenses. 2. It tells you the areas where you need to cut down on expenses. 3. Helps you deploy your money effectively and efficiently. 4. It helps you get the habit of savin...

Online shopping just got easier and safer with the virtual credit card. But, what's a virtual card? A virtual card is just like your credit/debit card; only it isn't tangible. It was introduced to check the rising instance of fraudulent transactions over the internet. How does it work? Many banks offer this facility but the process works differently with different banks. However, here’s a general outline: Let's assume you have a bank account with ABC Bank. Now, follow these steps to get your very own card. Step 1: Log on to your online account Step 2: Register for the use of this virtual card Step 3: Fill in the amount you will need for shopping Step 4: The bank will generate an exclusive 16 digit number, a CVV2 number and expiry date for this virtual cardThere you go, you are ready for shopping online. However, the card will be valid only for a particular period of time; usually, it’s valid for 24 hours. So, you need to use it within that time frame. It can be used at any ...

The 15th Lok Sabha election results came out last Saturday(16th May) and boy what a result it was. The Indian democracy is celebrated all across the globe for its vibrancy and dynamism and this time the results proved it beyond doubt. This election result has been unprecedented and unexpected for a variety of reasons. The elections have thrown lot of stories within the large story of return of the electorate to the national parties. The government will now be more stable and hopefully more effective and decisive one. How will this impact your and my life? Should we be really rejoicing like the whole world is doing or should we be cautious? Well , I think its a momentous occasion in the Indian democracy and is a good news for all the citizens . The reason I say this is because:- 1. Stable government means more money in the economy - A stable government headed by the original reformist Mr . Manmohan Singh will send a strong signal to the whole world about India's pro-reform stance ...

In a country where elections are won and lost on the issue of price rise , it is ironical that most of the economists and also the media focuses on Wholesale Price Index and not the Consumer Price Index. The inflation , in India, is tracked by measuring the percentage change in WPI index over same period a year back. This denotes the price change in the goods and services comprising the wholesale price index. In my opinion, while WPI is an effective indicator of inflation in the economy, it does not fully represent the inflationary pressures facing the common man on the street. Why is it so? This is because the rate of change in WPI and CPI index can vary a great deal. While the WPI in India is currently at 0.4% , the CPI is pegged at well over 9%. This means while , the whole country is looking at WPI index and thinking that the rate of price rise is only 0.4%, the same is not true for the common man on the street. He still has to pay 9% more for buying the same goods and services ov...

Have you ever thought who is supposed to get the life insurance claim money after the insured person's death? Is it the nominee or is it the legal heir or is it the wife and children? Who is the real heir to the claim money? Well the answer to this is that the money that one gets as life insurance claim is to be paid in the hands of the nominee mentioned by the policyholder in his policy document. But, he or she is not the only claimant to that money. The nominee only gets the money in his/her hand from the insurance company. This money is then to be distributed to all the legal heirs of the deceased as per their legal share. This includes his wife, kids ,dependent parents etc. Thus , the nominee can not claim the full money as his or her own. In lot of cases, due to lack of understanding of this legal clause, the nominees refuse to pass on the legitimate share to other legal heirs and as such the money gets locked in a legal battle. So, one must avoid going to courts etc as it c...

We all know that we can avail loans against our gold jewellery,LIC policy , equity shares etc. But, did you know that you can take loan against your mutual fund units as well? Yes, you can pledge your mutual fund units and take loans against them. The unit holder will have to pledge the units of his mutual funds in favour of the bank/financial institution granting him the loan . These pledged units will serve as security for the loan sanctioned by the bank/financial institution. How does this work? The Units of the mutual funds will have to pledged by the unit holder in favour of the concerned bank or financial institutions. The AMC will note and record such pledged units. A standard form for this purpose is normally available on request from any mutual fund. Can you redeem your pledged units? The pledger will not be able to redeem the units that are pledged until the entity to which the units are pledged provides the written authorisation to the Mutual fund that the pledge charge may...

New Pension Plan has been opened up for everyone in India with effect from 1st May 2009. While its a very good saving scheme aimed at providing everyone with an option to save for pension , it has few problems or disadvantages which the government will do well to iron out. In my view , few of the problems with the New Pension Plan are as under:- 1. No Tax Benefit on Maturity Proceeds - New Pension Plan works on EET tax regime. This means that while the contribution and the interest on the contribution is tax free under this plan, the maturity proceeds are taxed . This is not the case with other long term savings plan like PPF, PF, NSC etc which operate on EEE (Exempt.Exempt,Exempt) tax regime. This makes the NPS a little less attractive in its current form . The government needs to bring about uniformity in tax treatment to this plan as well by making the maturity proceeds tax free. 2. Very Little Awareness about NPS- While NPS has been launched , there is not much awareness about it...

We have had number of instances where bank's and financial institution's customers were abused, badly treated and at times physically harmed as well at the hands of debt recovery agents . Nuisance of recovery agents, is a genuine concern, facing each and every borrower today. While it is obviously not correct on the part of the customer to not honour his commitment of repaying the loan , it is also to be noted that most of the loans are of long term and it is very common for people to go through bad phases financially once in a while. During such period, borrowers deserve to be treated fairly by the banks. But ,that most of the times,does not happen. So much so that , the menace of recovery agents has driven few to take the extreme step of taking one's own life, just to avoid the mental and physical disgrace meted out to them by these agents.So, the question to be asked is , is this justified? Can recovery agents do all this ? And as a borrower cant we do something about ...

US President Barack Obama is pushing for a legislation to control the unfair rate hikes and penalties levied by the credit card companies in US. As of now, the biggest complaint against credit card companies is that they rip off customers at will and there are far too many hidden charges in a credit card. The same is also true in India. Here too the credit cards companies have been charging interest rates as per their own whims and fancy. There is no benchmark and the rates charged on credit cards can vary from 36% to 45% pa. These are atrociously high interest rates.Worse is that the credit card companies reserve the right of increasing the interest rate at any time with them. Also there is no uniformity in the penalties like late fees , cheque bounce charges etc that are charged to a credit card user. To top it all , there are issues of sales malpractices being used by company representatives to push card sales which ultimately harms the user financially. So, India too needs to take ...