How to Plan for a Big-Ticket Purchase?

The keyword here is “plan”. We don’t focus on instances when your big purchases are forced, say your mobile phone or laptop conks off suddenly. Or your bike or car is suddenly showing problems and the cost of repair is too high and not justified. There is not much you can do about such instances.… Continue Reading

The Hidden Cost of Instant EMIs and EMI Conversion

EMIs make it easy and convenient to buy online. But even with EMIs, you have multiple options. You can opt for Instant EMIs (also called Merchant EMI) directly on the merchant website. Or you can pay the full amount upfront and later ask your bank to convert the purchase amount to EMIs. Which option is… Continue Reading

Move over BNPL, Here Comes SNBL (Save Now, Buy Later)

We plan for regular monthly expenses. We call it budgeting. We plan for long term goals through a diversified asset allocation portfolio. However, we tend NOT to plan properly for non-monthly but periodic expenses. Common examples are: Insurance premiums Travel and Vacations Birthdays and Anniversaries Vehicle maintenance Gadget purchases Annual Subscriptions We know that these… Continue Reading

Evaluating Payment Options during Checkout

While checking out from your favorite shopping app, you could get one of the following payment options on your credit/debit card or Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Full payment (no cashbacks or discount) Interest-based EMI (without cashback or discount) No-cost EMI Upfront discount Cashback Upfront discount/cashback and interest-based EMI Upfront discount/cashback and no-cost EMI Over… Continue Reading

Game over for BNPL?

If you use BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) service or cards from Slice or Uni Pay, this development will interest you. BNPL has emerged as a competitor to credit cards. Easy onboarding. Seamless and convenient process. Easy repayment terms. Instant credit. Who needs a credit card? However, RBI, in its latest notification to non-bank PPI… Continue Reading

Deciding the Best Payment Option for Your Purchase

You want to buy a laptop online and you don’t want to look beyond Amazon and Flipkart for this purchase. Let’s further assume that, on both the sites, the laptop is listed at the same price. However, there are discounts and cashbacks on specific cards. In such a case, unless you have a preference for… Continue Reading

5 Financial Resolutions for the New Year

It is a new year. A chance to look back at how the past year went by. Achievements, setbacks, things that went right and what could have been. And an opportunity to welcome the new year. Make new resolutions and set out to achieve with loads of optimism. We will leave your life resolutions to… Continue Reading

How Can a No-Cost EMI Become Expensive?

Yes, that’s possible and it is all mathematics. In this post, let’s understand how this can happen. Before we go there, let’s do a quick recap of how No-cost EMIs work. How No-Cost EMIs Work You purchase an item worth Rs X. You opt for the No-cost EMI option (let’s say 6 months) on the… Continue Reading