You are aware that you get tax benefit of up to Rs 1.5 lacs for principal repayment under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. You are also aware about tax benefit of up to Rs 2 lacs for interest payment for a housing loan for a self-occupied house. In case the house is not… Continue Reading
Credit cards are easily available these days. The banks keep chasing customers with attractive offers (or so they say) on their credit cards. Personally, I am not against credit cards. If you use your credit cards judiciously, you can save a lot of money. You get an interest free credit period of up to 52… Continue Reading
Ever received an e-mail about pre-approved loans from your savings bank or credit card issuing bank? Most of us will answer this question in the affirmative. The e-mail is typically about a pre-approved home loan or a personal loan. The frequency of such e-mails is quite high too. I get an e-mail from my credit… Continue Reading
You have excess cash in hand from the last bonus you received and the fixed deposit that just matured. You have been thinking about how to use the funds. Your financial advisors that include your friends, doctor, lawyer and grocer have suggested that you take exposure to equity mutual funds. Your parents have advised you… Continue Reading
Starting April 1, 2016, all floating rate loans (and select fixed rate loans) are now linked to Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR). You will get loans at a spread over MCLR. What is MCLR? How is it calculated? How is it different from Base Rate regime? Why has RBI asked banks to… Continue Reading
Insurance is the first step in financial planning. Before getting your investments right, you must get your insurance portfolio right. If you get your investments wrong, you may still get another chance especially if you are young. However, if you get your life insurance wrong, there won’t be a second chance. If you get health… Continue Reading
Real estate developers and agents do not really rate highly on trust factor. And examples are aplenty. It is not difficult to see stalled projects while driving along the city. Just think of those buyers who have purchased apartments (not as an investment) in those projects. They have been waiting to move into their dream… Continue Reading
In one of the earlier posts on Retirement Planning, I had discussed the importance of starting early, portfolio diversification and a few psychological investments to get you on right financial track. By starting early, you get the power of compounding behind you and your small (involuntary) contributions can result in a significant corpus by the… Continue Reading
When you retire, the routine of a hefty salary credit to your bank account at the beginning of every month comes to an abrupt end. You have purchased a pension plan but that pension is merely a fraction of your last salary. Inflation seems a much bigger demon now. The ability to recover from unplanned… Continue Reading
When it comes to financial planning, everyone wants to leave behind an asset for their families. Nobody wants to leave behind a liability. And when it comes to your house, you want to ensure that your family inherits your house and not your home loan. Repayment of a home loan is a long term activity.… Continue Reading