What has to happen before you think you are in a debt trap? Does default of your EMI payments or credit card payments count as a debt trap? Or is there a less critical situation which can also be termed a debt trap? What about when you do not make your credit card payments in… Continue Reading
You just received your credit card statement. Your cash flows for the month are already stretched. You realize that you won’t be able to make full payment towards your credit card dues. You are aware that the interest on credit card debt (or unpaid amount) is extremely high. You stumble upon an item Minimum Amount… Continue Reading
You had recently applied for home loan with a private bank. You had done thorough research and were really keen to avail loan from this bank. However, your loan application got rejected. You were informed that your loan could not be approved since your CIBIL score was too low. You had never heard of CIBIL… Continue Reading
You have always been regular with your credit card payments. However, due to a financial emergency, you have not been able to make full payments for the last two months. With partial payments, you do not even enjoy interest free credit period. High interest rates, late payment and different types of financial charges are compounding… Continue Reading
You can check the impact of prepayments on your home loan using our Home Loan EMI Calculator. You recently landed up a hefty bonus. You have the financial wisdom of not splurging the entire bonus amount on expensive gadgets or a long vacation. You have earmarked a significant amount to prepay existing debt. But, there… Continue Reading
I have heard many a householder lament that by end of the month they do not know where their money has gone, and they are left with no savings and worse, waiting for the next salary credit. Do you fall in this category? This can happen if you do not keep household accounts. But while… Continue Reading
When an Indian national is going abroad for whatever purpose – job-related, business or simply to explore the world – he/she has a number of choices as to how it is proposed to carry foreign exchange for expenses abroad. It can be in the form of foreign currency notes, foreign currency travellers cheques, foreign demand… Continue Reading
Liquidity is an important aspect of any investment strategy. You may have lot of investments in a basket of assets, but how liquid is the asset allocation in an emergency is a very important aspect. This is basically a judgmental call because every individual has his/her own priorities. As a thumb rule more liquid an… 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
Remember ‘0% EMI’ schemes? Banks made money, manufacturers and merchants exhausted their inventory and consumers spent with gay abandon (for electronic goods and household items) until RBI played the party pooper. Although 0% EMI schemes were discontinued after RBI ban, the importance of the potent combination of ‘convenient credit’ coupled with flexible payment options, was… Continue Reading