Vijaibabu's Blog - Personal Finance Guide for Financial Freedom

Are you planning for your child’s wedding or deciding on your new house? Do the thought of funds daunt you? Mutual funds could be your answer. Being the brain-child of Wall Street, mutual funds offer hassle free investment opportunities that can cater to different risk profiles. Understanding the nuances of investing in mutual funds requires hard work and the returns take on a learning curve. With meticulous planning, the rewards from mutual funds will far outweigh the required efforts. To know more about mutual funds and its different flavours, do read the following section on how these can be suited for individual investment requirements. Are mutual fund investments the one stop shop? Imagine you are unwell and need medical advice. Which doctor would you resort to? Medical science these days has numerous specialties and for the best advice you need to visit the doctor who has specialized in the area where you need consultation / advice. This increases your chance of recovery

Investments in top mutual funds yield better returns when an investors sticks with it for the long term. While sector based funds have been providing high returns, they come with a higher risk. On the other side, large cap mutual funds have been providing good returns in the long run. Here are some of the mutual funds which have tripled the money in the last 5 years which are worth considering for investment.  1)Fund A: This mutual fund scheme invests primarily in shares of companies that are included in the BSE 200 Index. Performance of the fund: Its 5 year annualized returns are 25%. It gave 9% annualized returns in last 3 years. If you have invested Rs 10,000  five years back, your investment would have been Rs 30,518 . Who should invest: This is a good fund for those with a medium risk appetite, but looking for good returns in the long run.  2)Fund B: This mutual fund scheme invests in top 20 large cap stocks among the top 200 stocks listed on BSE based on market capitalizatio

Do you read the fine print on health insurance policies before buying them? Or do you find the reams of terms and conditions so intimidating that you just don't buy them? If the latter, you are among many who steer clear of health insurance and prefer to pay for medical expenses from the pocket. Not because they are rich, but because the idea of being snubbed by the insurance company while settling the claim hurts. Fine prints though trivial but form an important part of your claim approval or rejection process. Keep a couple of the following aspect of fine print in mind to make a wise decision regarding health insurance.  What’s covered and what’s not covered: No health insurance company covers all diseases. So read the list of covered diseases very carefully. Your decision should be based on the kind of lifestyle you lead—sedentary or active, and you should also consider health complications that run in the family. Diabetes, kidney stones, heart diseases are known to be passe

Home loans can be very beneficial for property buyers, as they not only help you buy your dream home, but also help you save on taxes. But you must remember to choose the right home loan if you do not want to face the hassles in the process. Here are a few quick tips that you could keep in mind while applying for a home loan. These tips could help ease the complicated procedure a little bit and at the same time help you save some money. Some of the tips that are recommended are mentioned below Research well These days loan are made quite attractive for the buyers with low interest rates and additional schemes. Therefore it is better to educate yourself about the terms and conditions of each loan agreement so that you are prepared beforehand. Clarify all your doubts regarding the loan scheme before you finalize anything and don’t hesitate to ask questions to the sales person even if you have the smallest difficulty understanding a particular clause. Take a look at the EMI  Calc

When you are in the urgent need of cash, the easiest option seems to be taking a personal loan. But with the raging interest rates these days, it’s not quite wise to get into the vicious cycle of debt. Banks also tend to look at your entire financial profile before accepting you for eligibility. What if you could have an option apart from personal loan in times of crisis? Here are some quick fixes as alternatives to personal loans Loan against fixed deposits This is the quickest possible loan because banks lend against their own fixed deposits. The repayments of this type of loan should be done within the fixed deposit tenure. The biggest advantage is there is minimal documentation required and loans are available over 80% of the fixed deposit value. Also, your fixed deposit continues to earn interest even during the tenure of the loan. However, you must discipline yourself to repay the loan every month like an EMI. Gold loan Initially started off as a popular source of finance

Your financial plan is one which chalks out your financial goals and how you plan to achieve them. As the situations in life change, your financial plan also requires regular reviewing and change. Just as how you undergo regular health checkups to review your health and regular service for your vehicle or electronic appliances, your financial plan also needs regular examination. Here are a few reasons on when it becomes important to review your financial plan: Change in financial conditions: The first reason why you should review your financial plan regularly is to reflect any change in your financial conditions - be it internal or external. Sometimes you realise when you review that you have not progressed much towards your goals despite a considerable time having lapsed. This requires you to change your investment plan, and sometimes other goals as well - for instance, you can retire later than you initially planned, or settle to buy a house which is lower in value than what you

Selling one's home is never a very easy thing to do. Usually, the four walls one is putting on the market are the frame for many fond memories, and one needs to say goodbye to the neighbours and familiar sights that have often defined many years of residence.  But over and above the emotional upset of selling a home, not keeping a record of the actual sale transaction can lead to problems later on.    Maintain a file of all documents pertaining to the property sale. This will ensure that you are able to address all future queries by the buyer, the bank involved and the municipal or tax authorities. Also read: Why Land Bill is giving sleepless nights to developers  You will especially need a seamless financial record while filing your tax returns for the year of sale. The documents should include proof and receipts of payment for items that you had included in the sale price, including parking space, structural modifications or additions which enhanced the value of the property,