Your car maker could also offer a service for free, provided your vehicle is within warranty period.

Stranded on road? SOS your insurer 

Business Standard

Gaurav Garg, CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance, remembers taking a certificate for no-claim bonus when he sold his car and transferred his motor cover before going abroad. It has been a very long time now and he says his motor insurer most probably did not honour the certificate for a discount on a new policy there.

Keep the no-claims bonus certificate handy when selling a car

Gold prices have been rising steadily over the last few months. Is it advisable to invest in the commodity right now? I have Rs 80,000 as surplus.

Investing: Rishi Nathany

Even after going through the headache of collating data, declaring expenses and so on, refunds may take time.

Early filing of I-T returns: More pain than gain

The dice is heavily loaded in favour of mutual funds, unless you are a great stock picker.

Direct stocks or mutual funds?

Keep your nerve and don&rsquo;t exit at once. For all you know, there could be a turnaround story.

Stuck with shares of a scam-hit company?

Besides an appointment letter, consulates seek letters from employers approving leave for travel dates.

Visa counselling: Start early

I, 26, am earning Rs 45,000 with an event management company. I pay Rs 20,000 as rent and send home Rs 10,000. The rest is consumed by monthly expenses, about Rs 7,000, and lifestyle expenses, Rs 5,000. My monthly saving is either negligible or nothing. Plus, to meet some of my expenses, I have been using my credit card for the past three months. My credit limit is Rs 35,000 and I have used Rs 25,000. I haven't been able to pay off my bill. I want to clear the debt and start investing. What should I do? I would be changing my job next month.

Financial Planning: Malhar Majumder

The penalty of Rs 630 crore on the country's largest property developer, DLF, by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has brought focus on the builder-buyer relationship. The buy/sale agreement between the two parties is back in focus.

A reality check on home buying agreements

Easier access, less time consumed and agency assistance at a small cost have helped online filing of income tax returns catch up in the past couple of years. Tax experts say about one in three returns are now filed online. Experts expect this to rise to 50 per cent.

Don't stop at e-filing

&lsquo;Prevention is better than cure&rsquo; seems to be the focal point of the latest action points of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the Annual Conference of Banking Ombudsman. So, the apex bank is looking at setting a template of good customer service that will prevent consumer grievance.

RBI focuses on better customer service

While retail investors can look at international mutual fund schemes, HNIs have good options in real estate.

International themes could boost your portfolio

There are considerable misgivings with regard to the processing and settlement of insurance claims. To address these and the grievances arising thereof, the department of insurance, ministry of finance, framed the redressal of public grievances (RPG) rules, 1998, under which 12 insurance ombudsmen are appointed throughout the country on a regional basis to deal with the grievances of individual consumers for claims up to Rs 20 lakh. What happens if a consumer is not happy with the decision of the ombudsman? Can the aggrieved then approach the consumer forum? Some consumer forums initially ruled that a complaint could not be filed after reconciliation before the ombudsman. This view was erroneous and resulted in stone-walling a consumer seeking justice. The national commission, however, has held otherwise (Kamleshwari Prasad Singh v/s National Insurance Company Ltd).

Insurance ombudsman orders binding only on firms

I invested Rs 15,000 in an infrastructure fund in early 2009 through the systematic investment plan (SIP). It gave me a negative 10 per cent return in one year. Some brokers advised withdrawing or at least lowering exposure. But I thought it to be profitable, with long-term growth prospects. Please advise.

Investing: Paras Adenwala

Sebi has done its bit to make these specific; you need to do the rest to check potential misuse.

Before you hand over a Power of Attorney

These are among worst performers in the market.

Trim your exposure to infrastructure funds

Taxation on house property need not be complicated. Taxes are applicable only if the property generates income through rent or by way of the capital gains at the time of selling the property.

Rent out your second house

Control these to ensure that wealth creation is not adversely impacted.

Bias, greed and confidence: hurdles to investing

Keeping track difficult beyond a point; even overall performance likely to suffer.

Too many schemes spoil portfolios

With the festive season around the corner, you may be readying to splurge, most likely using your credit card, on that camera or LCD television you have been eyeing for a long time. But a credit card transaction is no longer just swiping the card and settling the amount at the end of the billing cycle. Banks and consumer durables financiers offer several ways for using it.

Cheap option, with a deadline

Investment in gold and equities is an option, but the risk-averse should go for part-prepayment.

Have surplus, will prepay?

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 893 - Personal Finance