Higher education is getting expensive and many of us need to take an education loan to fund higher education for children. Fortunately, all the banks offer education loan products. And, given the product nature, there are a few peculiarities about education loans. Since the student won’t earn while studying (or earn enough), education loans have… Continue Reading
US Payment company Square recently acquired AfterPay, an Australian Buy Now Pay Later fintech firm, at an astonishing valuation of USD 29 billion. That is massive. By the way, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) facility is getting popular in India too and e-tailers such as Amazon and Flipkart offer Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) schemes… Continue Reading
Not all credit is bad. In this post, I will show how an overdraft facility can be useful in certain cases. What Is an Overdraft Facility? An overdraft facility is a revolving credit facility just like a credit card. You pay interest only on the drawn (utilized) amount. You can draw from the facility up… Continue Reading
Want to make an online purchase but do not have money in your bank account? Fortunately, e-commerce websites allow you many options to buy on credit. What Are Your Credit Options for Online Purchase? Credit card No-Cost EMI (on a credit card) Personal Loan Buy Now Pay Later scheme I want to compare options that… Continue Reading
You have a home loan with an overdraft facility (such as SBI Maxgain). Where would you send your excess money? Transfer to your overdraft account or to your EPF/PPF account? Let us find out. The Benefits of Overdraft Account By putting money in the overdraft account, you save on interest. And interest saved is interest… Continue Reading
You got your annual bonus. You have a home loan too. What should you do? Use the bonus (lumpsum) amount to repay the loan OR Invest the amount in the hope that you will earn a higher post-tax return than the post-tax cost of home loan There is no black and white answer. My stance… Continue Reading
Flexible car loans provide flexibility to the borrowers in loan repayment. Usually, the flexibility translates to lower EMIs upfront or some concessions during the loan tenure. The loan repayment does not have to happen through equated monthly installments (EMIs), where you pay the same amount every month to the borrower. The lenders can always structure… Continue Reading
Home loan interest rates have been moving down over the last couple of years. At some point in time, the interest rates will bottom out. Some of us may feel that the interest rates have already bottomed out. In that case, if you are planning to take a home loan, is it a good idea to… 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
IDFC First Bank is launching credit cards where the borrowers will have to pay only 9% p.a. as Annual percentage rate (APR) or the interest rate. This comes as a healthy surprise since we are used to 36%-40% p.a. APR on credit card debt. If you are new to this terminology, 36% p.a. APR means… Continue Reading