Vipin Khandelwal Here are a few good things you would like to read this weekend. Why you should save more You probably by now know and understand the power of compounding. You also know that in the equation, what is in your control is the P (your investment) and the N (the time you can keep it for). … Read more
Women and equality is a hotly debated topic. I am not sure how much equality is actually put into practice. Based on my interactions, very little. There is progress though.
One aspect of a woman’s life that has glaring inequality is in the management of money and investments.
I know you are not hearing it for the first time or even for the last time. Women continue to avoid matters of money and investments like the plague.
Let me share some stories and suggestions. The stories first.
You are on this forum to learn more about money, investments and behaviour.
I am sure you have done a great job so far. You have made investment decisions based on your reading and understanding. And most of them have been ‘so far, so good’.
However, you would not mind an opportunity to learn more, right? Great!
It will be important to note here that the process of learning is powered by practice and reflection.
While practice is the art of perfecting, it is reflection which provides for insights through serious evaluation of the practice and principles.
Today, I intend to take you down the path of ‘reflection‘.
A credit score and report have come to play an important role in our financial lives. Financial institutions increasingly rely on your credit score to provide loans. A bad credit score number can shatter your plans for that dream home.
Remember, a good credit score is 750+ (out of 900).
Hence it is important to look at your credit report on a regular basis and ensure that it reflects the correct picture. While you can always buy a report from one of the credit bureaus, you can now get it for FREE too.
In 2016, RBI through a notification had asked the credit bureaus to issue one credit score and report to every user on request. This one credit report can be accessed once a calendar year and comes without any cost, that is, FREE.
Finally, after some back and forth, the credit bureaus have started to provide one free credit score and report every year.
I too accessed my Credit Score and Report from CIBIL. There are other players too including Equifax and Experian, however, I feel CIBIL has the most comprehensive records of credit data.
You can also access your free report from other financial websites such as Bankbazaar but they ask you a ton of data which they are most likely storing with them too. Not too comfortable with that.
So, I used CIBIL to get my free credit score and report.
Here’s a step-by-step on how to access your Free Credit Report and Score from CIBIL.
Welcome to the second edition of Dhan Ki Baat. In the previous edition, I had written about ‘making money even when you are sleeping’.
It is a very tantalising idea and in times to come, we will explore it further.
In this second edition, I want to cover the other side and that is – ‘losing money even when you are sleeping‘.
Sounds scary. It actually is. Protecting your money from undue influence is equally important.
There are several entities out there to rob you of your money in a very sophisticated, legal way.
You deal with them on a day to day basis and in some cases trust them blindly.
The one at the forefront of this robbing act is your bank. Once you enter in bank’s official records, it is hard to come out and it is even harder to resist their advances.
It reminds of the famous Eagles song – Hotel California.
The famous line from the song – “You can check-in any time of the year, but you can never leave.”
The song is one of my favourites but for different reasons.
Now, let me recount a brief story to you.
For some reason, we love the last minute, the eleventh hour, the impending deadline.
This happens every year for your tax saving needs too. 2017 is no different.
Well, I would urge you to take the opportunity to learn as you do.
Here is a list of blog posts that you can use as your tax saving guide. You may also want to share it with anyone who may find it useful and earn some good karma.
This is a note written quite some time back. It points out that ultimate rush scene for saving tax last minute. It also mentions all the instruments one can use to save taxes smartly under various sections of the Income Tax Act such as 80C, 80D and others.