INVESTMENT & SAVINGS

DO NOT SACRIFICE TO SAVE

2008-05-30T20:50:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, people have a habit of spending their hard-earned cash on goods and services that they don't need. Even relatively small expenses, such as indulging in a gourmet coffee from a premium coffee shop every morning, can really add up - and decrease the amount of money you can save. Larger expenses on luxury items also prevent many people from putting money into savings each month.

When many people think of budgeting or saving money, they think of making major changes like cutting out vacations, downgrading the car, or moving to a smaller house. But budgeting doesn't necessarily have to involve a great deal of sacrifice or hassle. Paying more attention to the little expenses you incur every day on food, transportation and entertainment can help you stick to your budget with enough money left over to pay down your debt, enjoy a trip to Hawaii, or just live a little more comfortably. Budgeting doesn't have to be all pain and no gain.

If you have problems in budgeting or saving please contact us we are there to help you.

AMERICAN'S ZERO SAVINGS RATE

2008-05-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

Virtually zero savings rate among Americans is the basic cause of the weakening dollar, which in turn is adversely affecting Indian IT firms, believes Azim Premji, chief of Wipro and an outsourcing pioneer.
"I think the fundamental problem (behind the weak dollar) is the very low savings rate among Americans - virtually zero percent. In India, it's 35 percent and in China 45 percent," Premji told Forbes.
This effects the buisness of Wipro, Infosys and TCS which are the top three involved in software exports.
As we see in China is 45 percent we have to catch up with them as we only at 35 percent.

RETIREMENT PLANNING

2008-05-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

The day will come when you are unable, or unwilling, to work. How can you ensure your golden days are spent doing the things that matter to you instead of barely subsisting? In a world where social security and corporate pensions appear to be in an inevitable slide toward obsolesce, the key is disciplined and intelligent retirement planning. Don't worry - we're here to help! Retirement planning is as simple as creating a plan and sticking to it, through markets ups, downs, depressions, recessions, and anything else an uncertain world can throw at you.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION:

1. Time is Money start saving today
2. Do not cash out your retirement (Ex. Provident Fund) when you change jobs
3. Cut down expenses - find a way to make more money
4. Try to give maximum contributions for your savings.

Its very important for all of us to retire, and when we retire we need to have enough money to support ourselves and atleast support a dependent wife. Lets talk about retirement savings from now on.

REVISED INTEREST RATE ON FIXED DEPOSITS

2008-05-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

India's largest bank State Bank of India revised upwards interest rates on deposits of two years and more with effect from June 1.
Also, interest rates on deposits of three years to less than five years has been increased to 8.85 per cent from 8.5 per cent.
Interest rates on deposits of five years and upto 10 years will be 9 per cent as against 8.5 per cent at present, the release added.
For senior citizens, the deposits of two years and upto 10 years has been bifurcated into two categories of deposits of three years to less than five years and 5 years to 10 years.
The interest rates on the new buckets will be 9.35 per cent and 9.5 per cent as against 9 per cent earlier, it said.
Interest rates on senior citizen deposits of one year to less than two years will continue to be 9.25 per cent.

ALTERNATE SOURCE OF ENERGY

2008-05-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

By mid 2010 the crude price will shoot upt $200.00 the price of petrol in India will be approximately Rs. 84.00 to 86.00 per litre or even much more but not less.

The ultimate unlimited source of alternate energy that will change the world for ever – it is not hydrogen, not solar, not nuclear – it is the colossal electromagnetic waves. It is something that runs the Universe, causes gravitation and so on.

It is the continuous generation and emission of electromagnetic waves that requires continuous supply of energy. And the Galaxies supply that energy all the time. If this energy can be captured and used, it will solve our energy needs forever. The energy is all around us. We just need to learn to capture it and use it.

Scientists and engineers are working on harnessing this energy that will solve the alternate energy needs forever. It will also make bending space and time. Interestingly, with a proper breakthrough it may move our human civilization by thousands of years.

STEPS TO BEAT INFLATION

2008-05-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the steps to beat inflation (disclaimer that it may not be the best or safest way):
1. Refrain from holding too much cash
2. switch from cash and fixed income based portfolio to balanced one that invests in equities and bonds to generate higher return
3. Consider higher risk and thus higher yielding and inflation-linked fixed income securities given the threat of inflation.
4. Take advantage of currency appreciation of inflation targeting countries (eg Singapore, Russia, Middle East)
5. Dump meagre India Rupee fixed deposits for higher yielding foreign currency deposits which may give 10x more interests.
6. Invest in certain safer stocks, equities and unit trusts with good fundamental values
7. Take exposure to to soft commodities during price dips to hedge against food inflation.
8. Consider real estate and alternative investments lastly when all fundamentals including insurance protection and necessities have been taken care of.

MUTUAL FUNDS

2008-05-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

In mutual fund a group of people pool their money with fund manager's, these fund managers plan their investment in securities and help the people's money to grow in a safe way, as we see investing directly in securities is always risky for a startup. The returns earned will be usually more than the regular bank deposits or savings account. But, the returns directly depends on the market sensex ups and downs.

FIXED DEPOSITS

2008-05-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

A fixed deposit is meant for those investors who want to deposit a lump sum of money for a fixed period; say for a minimum period of 15 days to five years and above, thereby earning a higher rate of interest in return. Investor gets a lumpsum (principle + interest) at the maturity of the deposit.

Bank fixed deposits are one of the most common savings scheme and fairly safer to an average investor. Fixed deposits give higher interest than a savings bank account. As I said bank deposits are safer because all the banks are subject to control of Reserve bank of india with regard to several policy and operational parameters.The banks are free to offer varying interest rates.

Minimum deposit varies from Rs. 100.00 to an unlimited amount with some banks. Deposits can be made in multiples of Rs. 100.00.

Before opening a FD account, try to check out the interest rate from various banks and different offerings for different periods. It's good to keep the amount in 8 to 10 small deposits instead of making one big deposit. In case of premature withdrawal of partial amount, then only one or two deposit need be prematurely encashed to reduce the loss of premature encash of a big deposit. Once you open a deposit account please check receipts carefully to see that all particulars have been properly and accurately filled in. As we see today the inflation is at 7.83% and during such cases they can chip away your real returns.

The returns will vary between 4% to 11.5%, depending on the maturity period of the FD and the amount invested. There are different offerings from different banks, we have to check the best deal.

Bank deposits are the best deposits next to Post office savings because all the banks because all bank deposits are insured under the Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Scheme of India. It is possible to get a loans up to 75 - 90% of the deposit amount from banks against fixed deposit receipts. The interest charged will be 2% more than therate of interest earned by the deposit. There is also exemption from income tax up to a limit of Rs.12,000.00 under section 80L. Also, bank deposits are totally exempt from wealth tax.

You can apply for FD to any bank but you have clearly get all the details about the terms and conditions of that bank. Please look for flexibility, security and High returns all should be bundled in one offer.

SAVINGS

2008-05-21T02:52:00.000-07:00

We all pay income taxes regularly, we can also make sure that we can save on income-taxes if we plan our savings in advance. You may decide to start saving 10% of your income; because you aim for your savings to grow into an amount sufficient to buy a car or a house or future expenditure.

In economics, personal saving has been defined as personal disposable income minum personal consumption expenditure। In other words, if the income is not consumed immediately by buying goods and services, is saved.

With in personal finance the act of saving corresponds to nominal preservation of money for future use, although inflation can still erode its real value. A deposit account paying interest is typically used to hold money for future needs like emergency fund, to make capital purchase of to give to someone else.