Finance Forum India

Imagine the fate of your favourite team if the best player underperforms consistently?  This is what happens when you keep your money in a savings account.  It gets worse when banks lower their interest rates further like they did recently by slashing it to as low as 3%.  Stashing money in a savings account is similar to the best player suffering a long injury layoff.  The next question that arises is: What now? Will the team merely go through the motions and continue to languish in the doldrums, or will they explore other options?  If you are the proactive sorts, you...

The use of plastic money has increased and has now become a popular debt instrument. A credit card, a form of plastic money, allows you to avail of short-term credit. The debt may then be cleared at a later date. However, not many are aware of the working and the implications of such a debt instrument. Many have pre-conceived notions that are not entirely true. Following are five popular myths about credit cards: Getting such a card is not a good option Quite many individuals do not opt for such a card as they believe that it will lead to damaging...

A systematic investment plan (SIP) offers several benefits. It enables you to invest a small amount at regular intervals to grow your money. You may wonder when is the right time to start investing in an SIP. Experts recommend commencing at any time without relying on the market levels. You must not delay your decision because the index is at a high or low. Here are three things to keep in mind to determine when you must start investing in an SIP. Investing at current market levels Are you wondering whether it is advisable to invest in an SIP at current...

For many, just the thought of financial planning strikes fear and anxiety. Most young people falsely believe that they have enough time to invest in the future and inevitably delay their investment process. It may be due to lack of awareness or out of sheer lethargy, but regardless of what keeps you from investing before you turn 30 and the proverbial reality check makes you take control of your finances – the consequences are precious years lost that could’ve earned you great returns. By “waiting for the right time”, you may be missing out on the power of compounding. Beginning your...

The Indian population faced severe cash crunches after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetization on 8th November 2016. Long queues at the banks to deposit high currency notes and withdraw cash had become a usual sight. It has now been over two months since this announcement and the infusion of new currency notes has eased the difficulties faced by the people. Moreover, there is a lot of speculation on the next Union Budget, slated to be announced on 1st February 2017. After demonetization, the cash in the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) was inadequate and there were long waits at banks. All...

At the start of your career, you may find it difficult to have a sufficient income. With new commitments, such as buying your home or starting a family, you also need to ensure the well-being of your loved ones. An important consideration is to ensure the financial stability of your family in case of your sudden demise or accidental disability. One way to financially secure your loved ones is to avail of insurance coverage. This ensures your family is able to sustain their lifestyle without any financial constraints. Unfortunately, insurance penetration in India is low. Several myths about life insurance prevent...

Insurance coverage in India is low and the primary reason for this is the high amount of premiums. Even amongst the insured, a large number of people are under-insured. This is because they opted for traditional endowment or whole life plans, which are expensive. Individuals have personal life and families at the utmost priorities and often these memories hold a special place. However, an affordable way to acquire adequate coverage is to opt for term policies. These policies entail lower premiums because they offer pure protection without any investment or savings benefits. Term policies will provide the plan benefits to the...

Buying a home is the most complicated financial process in life, and Tata Capital home loan schemes are designed to make this process, an easy one. You can use Tata Capital customized home loan not only for buying property but also to purchase a plot, to build a home, to buy a home/apartment, to extend/remodel your home, to buy a resale property, and to pay off an existing home loan from another financial institution. Attractive Tata Capital's home loan schemes give you the perfect reason for purchasing a home. •    Flexi EMI Home Loan If you want to buy a home,...

The real estate sector in India is all set to adopt new and better changes following the proposed norms in the Budget 2017. In addition, the demonetization drive that was initiated in November 2016 is also a factor that has been showing significant impact in the real estate sector. The demonetization drive indeed created a chaotic environment across all spheres of life including real estate. But, experts opine that this turmoil will take a while to settle down and once everything gets back to normalcy, there will be greater transparency and buyer confidence pertaining to real estate sector. The current slowdown...

The Union Budget 2017 has proposed various positive measures across all sectors with the aim of strengthening and developing the country and its people and resources. The very fact that this year Union Budget was presented on February 1, i.e. one month than the usual norm of presenting in March, is a step toward nationwide reform. Keeping our focus on budget revelations and its impact on real estate, here we present some of the significant measures that will give the needed thrust to this sector. It was witnessed that the Union Budget 2017 paid heed to the need of both parties...