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

Do Not Wait Endlessly for Property Prices to Come Down

As the interest rates fall, the difference between the house rent and the home loan keeps coming down. Let us say you pay a monthly rent of Rs 20,000. Following are the EMIs for 20-year home loans for different loan amounts and loan tenures. Loan Principal 50,00,000 75,00,000 1,00,00,000 Loan Tenure 20 years Interest Rate… Continue Reading

Ask Your Bank for a Lower Interest Rate Today!

The interest rates have been going down for over a year now. I have written many times about how banks and housing finance companies are reluctant to pass on the lower rates or move you to a more transparent interest rate regime (Base Rate to MCLR or MCLR to Repo Rate Linked loans). Even if… Continue Reading

Merchant EMI vs. Credit Card EMI

You plan to buy an expensive phone from Flipkart or Amazon. You do not have the free cash to buy the phone outright or settle the credit card dues in a month’s time.  What can you do? You can buy the phone on EMIs. You have two options. You take the EMI offer available on… Continue Reading