Covid-19 infections are on the rise again. Many of us are under great stress for various reasons. A series of “What ifs” constantly overwhelm our minds. During such times, it is easy to appreciate the importance of adequate insurance in our portfolios. An insurance plan helps you ringfence your finances from potential shocks. In fact,… Continue Reading
Home loan is a long term financial commitment. At the time of borrowing, your income may not be sufficient to service the bigger EMI or you may have other obligations and debts like car loan or personal loan. But once you are done with all other loans or when your income increases, you may be… Continue Reading
“I have never borrowed in my life. Hence, my credit score must be perfect. And the banks would line up to lend to me.” Quite the contrary. Firstly, no borrowing means no credit history. In absence of credit history, the banks will be in dark about your credit behaviour. They may not be comfortable lending… Continue Reading
Your bank calls you and offers to increase your credit card limit or upgrade you to a premium card. I am sure many of you have experienced this situation. A happy situation to be in. Usually, it is good to have a choice. Should you accept such an offer? Well, there is no black and… Continue Reading
The tax-saving season is round the corner. Are you still running around to finalize tax-saving investments? Well, there are so many ways to save tax. There is PPF, EPF, NPS, ELSS, LIC policies, ULIPs, 5-year FDs, life and health insurance plans, pension plans and many more. In this post, I do not intend to discuss… Continue Reading
You have taken a personal loan an year ago. Interest rates have moved down since and you can get a personal at a cheaper rate. Lower interest rate means lower EMI. Without any friction, you would move to the lower interest rate right away. i.e., take the new loan at a low rate and use… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India has issued master directions for Digital Payment Security Controls in its circular dated Feb 18, 2021. Among other things, the intent is to provide greater security to customers in digital transactions (internet, mobile banking, card transactions etc). The rules come into force in July 2021. The directions apply to the… Continue Reading
You just got your annual bonus. You want to decide between whether to use the bonus to prepay the home loan. Or put this money away in a bank fixed deposit or any other investment. The approach is simple. If the post-tax cost of your loan is HIGHER than the post-tax return from the supposed… Continue Reading
Loan interest rates have been going down over the past 18 months. It is also evident in the examples that we use for various illustrations in our posts. Earlier, we used 9-10% p.a. for long term loans. Now, we use 7-8% p.a. in the illustrations. If you use Amazon or Flipkart, you would have noticed… Continue Reading
I am a bit paranoid about using credit cards online. Therefore, I prefer to use wallets (such as PayTM) or UPI on new sites or the sites I do not trust much. A problem with this approach is that you cannot use wallets or UPI on international websites. In addition, there are a few minor… Continue Reading