Banking: Prashant Joshi

I have deferred purchasing a home for one year. This is because I am waiting for loans to become cheaper than they currently are. How long should I wait? As of now, I am staying in a rented apartment and, hence, this house that I am planning to buy is not for investment.
If you are buying a house to stay, the best time for the purchase is always now. However, experts believe interest rates would be volatile in the medium term and this could mean you can expect your Equated Monthly Instalments to fluctuate if the loan taken is linked to a floating rate. If already staying in your own house but looking to buy a bigger one for convenience, then it would be prudent to defer the purchase till property rates and interest rates are more favourable.

I already own three credit cards and have been planning to buy another one. I am regular with my repayment; at the same time I don't want to stretch my limits. How many credit cards should one typically own?
Owning multiple credit cards is a matter of individual choice and could be driven by a host of factors like lower interest rate, strong rewards programme, ease of repayments, card acceptance and so on. At the same time, more credit cards may pose challenges in remembering payment due dates, tracking spends, and credit limit split across these. Generally, owning three to four credit cards will give one sufficient choice in terms of features and also not be too difficult to manage, provided you don't miss the repayment dates and use them appropriately.

The views expressed are the expert's own. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in
Today, MD & head, private & business clients (India), Deutsche Bank, Prashant Joshi, answers your questions
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