You are shopping for clothes at a nearby mall. At the checkout counter, you have an option of taking a personal loan from an NBFC or swiping your credit card. You would most likely swipe your credit card. It is not about filling up a form for the loan and spending 10 minutes to close… Continue Reading
Has your credit card application been rejected? If yes, do you know the reason? The banks usually do not tell and just reject the application. If you have recently started working and had applied for your first credit card, a reason for rejection could be the lack of credit history. Also known as ‘No Credit… Continue Reading
Struggling with credit card debt? You make small payments on your credit card every month, but the debt just does not seem to go down. Why Does This Happen? Because credit cards are the most expensive debt in the formal finance sector. The interest rate ranges from 36% to 45% p.a. While you may be… Continue Reading
There are many ways to own gold. You can buy gold coins, gold biscuits, or even gold jewellery. You can also hold gold in financial form. Gold mutual funds, Gold ETFs, and Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs). SGBs deserve special mention since these bonds also offer 2.5% interest. No other form of gold ownership pays you… Continue Reading
You have heard of gold loans. You reach out to a bank or NBFC, pledge your gold/gold jewellery, and the bank sanctions you a loan. However, have you heard of a gold-backed credit card? I had not until I read about a gold backed credit card from Rupeek. How does it work? Simple. You pledge… Continue Reading
The events of the past 12 months and scary experience of many patients and their family members has highlighted the importance of adequate health insurance and a robust emergency fund. Many have lost jobs or received a salary cut. A robust emergency can be helpful in such cases. Not only that, but it can be… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India has increased the Loan-to-Value (LTV) for gold loans offered by banks from 75% to 90%. This is to increase the availability of credit to households and small businesses during these difficult COVID times. Many Indian households hold gold. And gold makes for an excellent collateral. From a lender’s perspective, it is… Continue Reading
Loan EMI and credit card payment moratorium comes to an end on August 31, 2020. While it is possible that the moratorium will be extended, you can’t be sure until RBI makes an announcement. As a borrower, what should you do? Irrespective of what the Reserve Bank decides, you must have a Plan B. You… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India has been cutting repo rates for over a year now. We might argue whether the loan interest rate for the existing borrowers are falling enough or not. However, the new borrowers are clearly getting attractive deals. In a previous post, I wrote about Covid-19 personal loans from public sector banks,… Continue Reading
The nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has affected the cashflows or income potential of many citizens. While it is painful to imagine the plight of daily wage earners, many in the organized sector have also struggled. Every day you can hear about the salary cuts or employee layoffs. And this is coming… Continue Reading