Should You Prepay Your Home Loan or Invest?

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 from HDFC Bank: A Comparative Analysis

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

Credit Card at 9% p.a.?

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

Investing in Debt Funds vs. Prepaying a Loan

You just got your annual bonus. You want to decide between whether to use the bonus to prepay the home loan. Or put this money away in a bank fixed deposit or any other investment. The approach is simple. If the post-tax cost of your loan is HIGHER than the post-tax return from the supposed… Continue Reading

Why No-Cost EMI Can’t Be for Longer Tenure?

Loan interest rates have been going down over the past 18 months. It is also evident in the examples that we use for various illustrations in our posts. Earlier, we used 9-10% p.a. for long term loans. Now, we use 7-8% p.a. in the illustrations. If you use Amazon or Flipkart, you would have noticed… Continue Reading

Festive Offers from Builders: Should You Take the Bait?

The festival season is here. The developers are sharing offers on their real estate projects too. Now, these offers can take any form. Recently, I came across an article in Hindustan Times, where the author listed different types of offers from various builders. What Form Can Such Festive Offers Take? Upfront discount (You won’t see… Continue Reading