Real estate gives returns in the long haul.

Rules of realty investment

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Plan your big expenses. Otherwise, finances can go haywire.

Maintain your own balance sheet

I am 59 and plan to retire at 62. My annual income is Rs 40 lakh and my office pays for my accommodation, car, driver, phone, electricity and servant. I have other travel expenses of Rs 12 lakh, medical insurance of Rs 39,000, income tax payment of Rs 12 lakh and miscellaneous household expenses of Rs 3 lakh. I have no provident fund, but I deposit Rs 70,000 every year in PPF. My wife is my only financial dependant. I have two apartments that have been let out for Rs 38,000 a month.

When you are set in life

I want to start a systematic investment plan (SIP) of Rs 3,000 each month for my new-born child. My insurance agent is pitching a Ulip.

Two ELSS are sufficient

Not all life insurers offer health insurance plans. Health plans by life insurance companies are long-tenure products &mdash; five years or more. General insurers&rsquo; health policies are renewable annually. Policies offered by life insurers have premiums fixed for three-five years, whereas non-life insurers may change premiums every year.

Life Insurance: Deepak Sood

There is both cash and futures strategy, but only HNIs should look at the latter.

Strategies to gain from FPOs

Investing in such sectors has its pitfalls, as evident from the quick rise and fall of the SKS Microfinance stock.

Should you fall for sunrise sectors?

Conversion of physical gold into jewellery may become more cost-effective and tax-efficient.

Adopt a 'golden' strategy

My wife and I are jointly servicing a home loan. The monthly outgo is Rs 30,000. Other expenses include an equated monthly instalment (EMI) of Rs 12,000 towards our car loan and the credit card bill of Rs 15,000-25,000. We could manage the debt earlier, as my wife was also working. But she quit working recently, after she met with an accident. Last month, I could not repay the EMI for my car loan and the credit card bill, due to high medical expense. I am worried this will build into an enormous debt burden. My monthly salary is Rs 60,000 and our monthly expenses are around Rs 20,000. I have Rs 4 lakh in the Public Provident Fund (PPF), which is in the eighth year, and Rs 2 lakh in National Savings Certificates (NSC). Please help me restructure my debts.

Debt counselling: Sanjay Agarwal

Friendlier, but dispensable

The first year premium of India's life insurance companies fell 3.9 per cent on year to Rs 7,346 crore in October dragged by private insurers, data compiled by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority showed.

Life insurers' first-year premium declines 4% in October

Financial advisors are often quizzed about how an employee House Rent Allowance (HRA) works. Typically, an employee gets a certain amount of HRA. But often he either owns a flat or is about to buy one. So, he is concerned whether on account of the ownership, he may lose the HRA deduction that he is entitled to. The concern could also be the other way round: Since he is receiving HRA, he may not be eligible for home loan deductions. Let's check if these fears are justified.

Tax on HRA deductions

You can use your mobile to transfer money from your bank account to another. Last week, several large banks have started offering this service with the help of a government body, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Instant money at negligible cost

Insurance policies are sold, not bought.Thus, very often the person buying the policy is not sure of what it is all about. Let us look at some terms used in these policies and what they mean.

Now, agents can't mis-sell to you

State Bank of India (SBI) has extended its &lsquo;teaser rate&rsquo; home loan scheme &mdash; a popular, yet controversial product &mdash; by a month.

SBI extends teaser home loan scheme by a month

Five mistakes you should not repeat this new financial year.

Reduce the tax toll

My bank offered me a pre-approved home loan. I plan to purchase a property next year, but I am waiting for some correction in real estate prices.

Banking: Prashant Joshi

Investors should not link their short-term goals with schemes that allow flexibility in payment.

Don't misuse flexibility

Investors today can decide on any investment horizon they like, and choose from flexible investment options that enable entry and exit at their convenience.

Capital Account: Uma Shashikant

Looking to build your retirement corpus, you could look at the New Pension System(NPS). Launched by the Indian government, the tier I scheme offered by NPS, is a pension scheme allows investors to choose their own investment options and pension fund managers.

Choose your own investment options, pension fund managers

With markets seeing a roller-coaster ride since the beginning of 2011, quite a few companies have offered a buyback of shares. While Zee Entertainment and pharma company FDC, were the most recent ones to do so, Reliance Infrastructure too, has been evaluating a buyback. Multinational giant, Siemens has joined the process.

When a company buys back

Personal Finance: Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Personal Finance: Investing, Planning, Retirement, Loans, & Insurance | Business Standard

Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Page 867 - Personal Finance