I am a freelance copywriter. My income is quite erratic. Although I use bulk payments to start fixed deposits (FDs), I am forced to break these during lean periods.

Financial Planning: Gaurav Mashruwala

Business Standard

Use no-claim bonus, online discounts or negotiate hard to get it reduced.

How to lower your motor insurance premium

Santosh Bagrecha, a businessman from Kolkata, was unable to pay his advance tax on March 15. Although his liability isn&rsquo;t much &mdash; Rs 60,000 &mdash; he is worried about the next step he would have to take. Whether there will be penalties is his primary concern.

Penalty primer on delayed payments

I have been married for three years. Our combined annual income is Rs 25 lakh. At present, we are servicing two loans &mdash; home and auto. Also, our credit card bills are quite high. Our monthly outgo on loan repayments is 70 per cent of our salaries. I have a couple of systematic investment plans, but I miss their payments often.

Debt Counselling: Sanjay Agarwal

A combination of EPF, PPF, NPS along with equities will be a good option

Planning for retirement through pension plans?

Majority of parents feel that their children need more lessons on the importance of savings and money management, says a survey conducted by ING Vysya Bank.

Kids need more lessons on money management: Survey

As seen in all south Indian cities in which the service sector dominates the economy, Kochi's real estate market has sub-segmentation of its micro-markets. These can broadly be classified as prime CBD, secondary and peripheral sub-markets.Kochi's prime CBD comprises Marine Drive, MG Road and its extensions, Kadavanthara, Jawahar Nagar, Panampally Nagar, and so on. These areas have a mix of premium and upper mid-segment residential projects wherein the capital values of residential apartments are above Rs 5,000 per sq ft.The secondary (Kaloor, Maradu, Edapally) and peripheral sub-markets have a mix of mid-segment and upper mid-segment projects. There is no significant price difference in apartments in the secondary and peripheral sub-markets, thanks to the fact that there is a robust demand in the latter, driven by IT-ITeS developments.In 2012, Kochi's residential real estate market witnessed price appreciation in the range of 10-15 per cent over a ye

Star on the ascendant

Nilesh Sathe, director and CEO of LIC Nomura Mutual Fund says the companies RGESS Series I collected Rs 1 crore from 1,000 new customers on the day the scheme was launched

RGESS is for new investors, but may not be able to get back investors: Nilesh Sathe

Micro insurance regulations for the insurance sector is set to be finalised soon

Micro insurance norms to be out soon

It will shield you from paying capital gains tax on profits accrued from the sale of property while earning an interest on it. The interest income, however, will be taxed.

Capital gains account scheme to your rescue

State Bank of India (SBI) in association with its general insurance arm, SBI General Insurance, has provided personal accident cover to over 7 million of SBI account holders across India.

SBI, SBI General Insurance provides personal accident cover

If you are providing any taxable service, you are in for some changes in penalties on late payment of service tax. The penal provisions of Sections 76, 77 and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994, have been changed a bit. Section 76 for penalty on late payment of service tax will charge an additional one per cent a month or Rs 100 a day, whichever is higher.

Lower penalty, higher interest for late payment of service tax

National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) allow individuals, companies and firms to transfer funds from one bank to another. You can check the RBI website for a list of NEFT and RTGS-enabled branches of your bank. These facilities can only be used for transferring money within the country. To opt for these, you need to fill a form providing your or the beneficiaryâ€™s details â€” name, bank branch where the account is held, the Indian Financial System Code, a unique code for identifying the branch, and the account number and type. You have to submit a cheque while opting for this facility. You can also transfer funds through net banking. These are third-party transfers and the option is available under the same header on your net banking home page.

What are NEFT and RTGS?

Inordinate delays, difficulty in getting orders implemented put off litigants

Are consumer courts friendly enough?

Covering your own damage, especially if the vehicle is old, is very important

Third-party cover not enough

These are derivative instruments traded on the stock exchange. The instrument has no independent value, with the same being â€˜derivedâ€™ from the value of the underlying asset. The asset could be securities, commodities or currencies. Its value varies with the value of the underlying asset. The contract or the lot size is fixed. For example, a Nifty futures contract has 50 stocks.

What are futures and options (F&O) contracts?

Prepaid cards are used for making payments while you are travelling abroad. These are pre-loaded and enable you to access money in the required regional currency. You can also top it up depending on your requirement. The card allows you to withdraw cash in foreign currency, check your balance and shop. Banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Standard Chartered and Axis Bank offer prepaid forex cards.

What are prepaid forex cards?

SIP is a way of investing regularly in mutual fund schemes. Through this, you can invest a fixed amount (as low as Rs 100 and in multiples thereafter) monthly or quarterly for a pre-determined period in a fund. Units are allotted to you at the net asset value existing on the day of investment.

What is a systematic investment plan (SIP)?

It is a six-year savings scheme offered by designated post offices. It offers guaranteed monthly returns on deposits. The account can be opened singly or jointly, with a minimum investment of Rs 1,500. The maximum is capped at Rs 4.5 lakh if the account is held singly, and, at Rs 9 lakh, if jointly. One can open multiple accounts, but overall limits stay.

What is a Post Office Monthly Income Scheme?

Sebiâ€™s new web-based complaint system should improve redressal, say experts.

Get complaints tracked, settled online

It is a benefit for those who have not claimed insurance during the preceding year of cover. It means the premium they would pay in the following year would be lower.

What is a no-claim bonus for a motor insurance policy?

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.

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