Are You Ready to Buy Your First House?

Are you ready to buy your first house? Some are never ready. Some think they will never be ready. Some want to buy after working for a few years. And some are eager to act with their first salary. Buying a house is a big life decision. Emotional security, your past, upbringing, peer pressure, social… Continue Reading

The Hidden Cost of Instant EMIs and EMI Conversion

EMIs make it easy and convenient to buy online. But even with EMIs, you have multiple options. You can opt for Instant EMIs (also called Merchant EMI) directly on the merchant website. Or you can pay the full amount upfront and later ask your bank to convert the purchase amount to EMIs. Which option is… Continue Reading

Tax Benefits on a Car Loan

You get tax-benefits on repayment of many types of loans. For home loans, we get tax benefit principal repayment under Section 80C and for interest payment under Section 24. If you have taken an education loan, you get tax benefit for interest payment under Section 80E of the Income Tax Act. Do you get any… Continue Reading

This Diwali, Set Your Personal Finance Basics Right

Diwali is here. The festival of lights. Time for a vacation, family get-togethers, sweets, and bright crackers and fireworks. This is also a good time (just like any other day on the calendar) to review and throw light on shortcomings in your financial planning. To see if you have got your personal finance basics covered.… Continue Reading

Move over BNPL, Here Comes SNBL (Save Now, Buy Later)

We plan for regular monthly expenses. We call it budgeting. We plan for long term goals through a diversified asset allocation portfolio. However, we tend NOT to plan properly for non-monthly but periodic expenses. Common examples are: Insurance premiums Travel and Vacations Birthdays and Anniversaries Vehicle maintenance Gadget purchases Annual Subscriptions We know that these… Continue Reading

How Do Banks Make Money on Credit Cards?

You do not pay any interest during the interest-free period on the credit card. But the bank cannot afford to lend you money for free. The bank must be compensated — two major ways and a few minor ways. High Interest on Unpaid Amount First, when you do not pay your bill on time, the… Continue Reading

Whom Does the Home Loan Rate Hikes Hurt More?

An interest rate hike hurts all borrowers. For the same service (loan), you must pay more every month. Or pay the same amount but for a longer period. Neither is a desirable outcome for a borrower. And yes, the rate hikes hurt the borrower running a tight budget a bit more. In such cases, the… Continue Reading

How to Structure a Home Loan?

The loan amount is already decided. You do not control the interest rate. The only aspects where you have discretion are: Loan Tenure Pre-EMI or Full EMI Regular home loan scheme OR Home-saver loans (such as SBI Maxgain) #1 Choosing the Loan Tenure We have this tendency to close the home loans as soon as… Continue Reading