One of the vital assets a country needs for economic prosperity is an educated population. Economic prosperity cannot be achieved by plentiful natural resources alone. (Of course, there are exceptions like the gulf region which has plentiful deposits of hydrocarbon, and most of the population is not highly educated. They manage with expatriate talent). While… Continue Reading
In this age of consumerism one is lost without a credit card. In developed countries, all retail lending by banks happens through credit cards. In India, banks have categorized retail lending into personal loans, loans for purchase of durable utility articles, vehicle loans, home improvement loans etc., and these are separate retail credit products distinct… Continue Reading
Managing your money involves optimising your earnings by planning your spending and investing your surpluses wisely. You can manage your spending and savings by budgeting for it and sticking to your budget. A Rupee saved is a Rupee earned. Saving involves certain amount of investment savvy for asset allocation to get optimum returns. There is… Continue Reading
Inflation can be defined as across the board sustained increase in prices of domestic as well as imported goods and services and fall in the purchasing power of the home currency. Inflation rate can be measured through a benchmark price index. It can be wholesale price index (WPI) or consumer price index (CPI). A price index… Continue Reading
A title is the foundation of property ownership. It is the owner’s right to possess, use and transfer property rights. Transferring ownership of an immovable property is different from transferring, say, ownership of a car. Real estate is permanent and can have many owners over the years, as well as rights to use the property.… Continue Reading
There is an adage which goes something like this: “Foolish people build homes for wise men to live in”. In other words, it is wiser to rent a home rather than invest large sums of money in owning a home. It is true that after you invest, say around ₹40 to 50 lakhs all inclusive… Continue Reading
“Oh my God, take a look at my credit score. Its awful!” cried my cousin showing his credit score along with the credit information report (CIR). “I have a salaried IT job & a healthy bank balance, have always paid the credit card balance in full and have never taken any loans. And this is… Continue Reading
When you purchase an under-construction property, your bank may link the disbursal of home loan to the construction stages of the property. In such cases, you will either be asked to pay pre-EMI OR given an option to choose between pre-EMI and full EMI payments. What is Pre-EMI? As you are probably aware, Equated Monthly… Continue Reading
I recently met my long-time friend at his home for a tea. This childhood friend of mine is a geek and eventually the conversation drifted to his new purchase, a Mac Mini. He was very enthusiastic about his new purchase and was thrilled about getting it under the zero percent EMI scheme. The conversation went… Continue Reading
Banks and HFCs offer myriad loan schemes to attract and retain customers and turn a profit in the competitive loan sector. The schemes vary the loan repayment methods, interest rates, interest rate types (ex: floating, fixed, dual rate) etc. Each scheme comes with its own terms & conditions and appeals to individual needs of different… Continue Reading