September 2021

When a borrower approaches any financial institution for a loan for a shorter term, no obligation to offer any collateral based upon the borrower’s creditworthiness is termed a personal loan. Here, a financial institution sanctions a loan of a borrower and credits the loan amount to the borrower’s account. Thereafter, the borrower repays the principal and interest in monthly instalments or known as personal loan EMI.

Before applying for a personal loan, there are certain factors that need to be considered:

1. Eligibility Criteria of Lenders

Every lender’s personal loan eligibility criteria can differ from one another. In such a scenario, a lender that holds eligibility criteria that is not stringent and easy-to-meet can be a good option. This factor can also help to avail an instant personal loan when a fund is required at the last minute.

Furthermore, many financial institutions have a tie-up with renowned organisations to provide loans to their employees without any hassle and based on the company’s goodwill. This approach can benefit a salaried person from such an organisation to apply for a personal loan in those institutions.

In terms of documentation, in the case of a salaried person, one needs to show the latest salary certificate of the organisation they are working at and bank statement for the last three months. For self-employed professionals and businessmen, an income tax return for the last two years is mandatory to show.

1. Compare Different Interest Rate

Many lenders in the market offer different personal loan interest rates. These interest rates are based on the loan amount, credit score, and repayment ability. A borrower should check all permutations and combinations using a personal loan EMI calculator. It will help you compute the EMI to be paid.

While a borrower seeks to avail a personal loan, the interest rate has to be scrutinised since it contributes largely to the actual amount a borrower will pay during the loan term.

1. Check Repayment Flexibility

Flexibility in repaying the total loan amount can enable a borrower to pay as per one’s own convenience and affordability. By doing so, the EMI can be broken down so that it will suit the borrower’s budget and avoid any default circumstances.

1. Inquire About Additional Charges

Various additional charges are associated with a personal loan, such as processing fees, prepayment charges, penal interest, and secure fees. These charges should be checked with the lender, as when charged, it might be more than a borrower’s anticipation.

The above factors will guide you to choose a personal loan offering that suits your requirement. So, don’t. Wait. Apply for personal loan, today.

In India, buying a house has become the benchmark for getting settled. Now, many people dream of buying houses, and most of them do so with the help of home loans. But did you know there are different types of housing loans? To meet the needs of different sections of society, lenders offer various home loan products.

5 types of home loan plans that are offered by lenders:

• Home Construction Loan

If you own a piece of land and wish to construct a house on that land, you can apply for a home construction loan. With a basic housing loan, a lender makes a lump sum payment of the loan amount. However, with a home construction loan, the amount is disbursed in instalments depending on the construction project’s progress. Lenders usually approve the loan amount based on the approximate expenses for construction.

• Land Purchase Home Loan

Land or plot can be purchased by applying for a land purchase home loan. This loan can even be used for constructing a house. Lenders offer these loans for investment or residential purposes. A land purchase home loan can cover up to 85% of the total value of the plot. With a positive credit score and a good repayment record, it is possible to apply for this loan even with existing home loans.

• Standard home loan

This is the most common and popular type of housing loan that borrowers apply for. You can apply for home loan to buy a house of your choice. Upon fulfilling all the home loan eligibility criteria of a lender, it is possible to receive 80-90% of the total cost of the house. This loan can then be repaid in monthly instalments.

• Home Loan Balance Transfer

Many borrowers shift their home loans from one lender to another. If you find another lender offering better benefits than your current one, you can opt for a home loan balance transfer. Mostly, the reason for going for a home loan balance transfer is for a better home loan interest rate. Before making the switch, make sure to read the documents required for home loan balance transfer. This is to consider the actual savings made through the new lender after additional expenses such as processing fees and more.

• Home Expansion Loan

There are many instances where borrowers look to expand their homes. This could include adding a room or even a separate floor to the house. For such expenses, you can apply for a home expansion loan. Even if the house needs certain improvements or a complete renovation, a home expansion loan can provide the financial cover for it. Now, the expenses for a home extension can go into lakhs. Going for a home expansion loan will help avoid spiralling your costs.

No matter which loan you go for, always make it a point to pick a loan plan that is easily repayable. Make use of a home loan EMI calculator to learn about the loan’s EMIs. This will help you in making an informed decision in picking a suitable loan plan!

One of the most important aspects of overseas travel and overseas stay in the forex. There are several forex services like outward remittance, currency exchange, and travel cards. These services are provided by many forex service providers like banks and forex companies. But why should you go with a specialist money transfer service provider? You can see it for yourself below.

You get better pricing and exchange rates when you prefer a specialist foreign currency exchange service provider. It is because they give priority to forex since it is where they are working their hearts out to serve smiles on their client’s faces. Whereas for banks, forex is an add-on service. And, so the concentration in that area would be comparatively less.

The best foreign exchange companies can help you with solutions crafted for your forex problems. They also provide forex services combined with cutting-edge tech. You can live track the forex rates through their online portal, which enables you to get the best exchange rates while buying and transferring forex. If you can’t get it, dial their customer care and, they can care for you the way you need.

  At last, forex services of these forex companies are easy to use and, the time taken to complete the same is considerably faster. You can opt for a wire transfer or currency exchange sitting at your home using their online service. Their executives will meet you at your place to complete the procedures for the opted services and it will be done in a moment.

Mutual funds have been a boon for those who have invested in these market-linked schemes via Systematic Investment Plan. SIP is a simple and effective way of generating long-term capital appreciation through small fixed investments. What SIP does is that it gives investors the liberty to effectively choose an investment sum that is convenient for them and allows them to invest this sum periodically in a mutual fund scheme of their choice.

A lot of young investors prefer SIP over lumpsum investment because it allows them to overcome market volatility in the long run. Those who invest in mutual funds via SIP do not have to worry about market performance as mutual funds invest in a diversified basket of securities. This means that even if one of the underlying stocks is underperforming, other underlying securities can reduce the overall investment risk and the scheme can deliver returns for its investors. More and more people are turning to SIP investing over conventional investment options like recurring fixed deposits because they are receiving more returns than they ever did from any other investment avenue.

To understand how much returns one can earn from their SIP investments, investors can use the SIP calculator. An online SIP calculator is a free tool that allows retail investors to determine the total returns from their SIP investments at the end of their SIP journey. This is a simple and easily accessible tool that any layperson can use by inputting a few details.

Benefits of SIP calculator

Here are 5 primary benefits offered by the SIP calculator:

1. It aims to give accurate results

SIP calculator doesn’t take the mutual fund scheme’s expense ratio into consideration while showing the total return on investment. However, it aims to give accurate results. This online SIP calculator is based on the following formula:

M = P × ({[1 + i]n – 1} / i) × (1 + i)

Where,

M is the maturity sum at the end of the investment journey

P stands for the SIP sum

n is the number of monthly SIP investments one makes

i refers to the periodic rate of interest

Using the above formula, the SIP calculator helps investors determine the total returns which can help them figure out whether their current SIP investments are enough to help them achieve long-term goals.

2. It is less time consuming

If you try to manually calculate your SIP returns, it can get a bit tedious and time-consuming. However, if you use the online SIP calculator, not only will it show correct results, but it will do so in just a few seconds. A SIP calculator gives you the following details in a few seconds:

• Total investment sum
• returns on investment
• Investment sum + returns on investment i.e. your total SIP returns

One single calculation is enough for displaying multiple results and this makes an online SIP calculator a time-saving tool.

3. Conjecture mutual fund investments

A SIP calculator can help plan their mutual fund investments in a better way as they are forecast their investments for various tenures in a jiffy. For example, it will only take a few seconds to find out how a monthly SIP of Rs. 5000 can fetch total returns over 10 years with an average return rate of 10%. Now you can modify these numbers by modifying the SIP sum, investment tenures, or return rate to get a different result.

4. Allows investors to make an informed investment decision

Investors can compare the results of various mutual fund schemes by changing the interest rate in the SIP calculator. This can help them draw an estimate on the returns a particular scheme might fetch over the investment horizon. Based on these estimated returns, investors will be able to plan their SIP investments in a better way.

5. Disciplined investing

Upon finding out the magic of compounding by using the SIP calculator, new investors may immediately begin their SIP investment journey, and estimating future returns may inculcate the discipline of regular investing.

Calculators have life simple for humans. They have the ability to compute the most complicated calculations and display results in just a few seconds. Calculators are easy to use and anyone from a school going child to an elderly human can use these tools to their advantage. Now one does not need to buy a calculator from the store physically. Online calculators are freely available and anyone accesses them from a laptop, computer a tablet, or even a smartphone with a decent internet connection.

For mutual fund investors, if they have started a mutual fund SIP or are planning on investing in mutual funds via SIP, they can use an online SIP calculator. Let us find out what an online SIP calculator is and how one can make the most out of this tool.

What is a SIP calculator?

A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is one of the two ways to invest in mutual fund schemes (the other way being lumpsum investing). Anyone who wishes to invest small fixed sums regularly instead of making a large principal investment can opt for the SIP option. Let’s say you want to build a corpus of Rs. 6 lakhs to buy a new car. Assuming that the mutual fund scheme in which they invest offers an average return of 8%, a monthly SIP of Rs. 9000 should be enough for them to achieve the desired corpus at the end of their investment horizon. And such calculations can be easily done using an online SIP calculator.

An online SIP calculator is a simple and easy tool that lets potential mutual fund investors determine the total returns earned from their SIP investments over a certain period of time. This calculator is easily accessible to which any layman can use by just putting in a few details.

How does the SIP calculator work? 

The formula on which the SIP calculator is based is stated below:

M = P × ({[1 + i] n – 1} / i) × (1 + i)

Here –

• ‘M’ stands the total sum that you receive upon maturity
• ‘P’ is the sum you invest at periodic intervals
• ‘n’ represents the number of monthly SIPs you have made during your investment journey
• ‘i’ is the periodic rate of interest

While calculating future returns is crucial, it is equally important for investors to consider the rate of inflation. For example, if your investment scheme offering an average return of 6% and the estimated rate of inflation is 4% then your actual returns are only 2%. Investors can plan their finances more adequately by using an online inflation calculator.

What is an inflation calculator?

An online inflation calculator is easily available, and anyone can use it freely. Anyone can easily use this calculator to determine the purchasing power of a certain amount. A time-saving tool, the online inflation calculator calculates your queries and displays results within a few seconds. If you want to manually calculate the purchasing power of a certain amount it may take a while before you derive to the conclusion. However, using an inflation calculator saves time as this online tool produces results almost instantly.

How to use the online inflation calculator?

As mentioned earlier, it is easy to use the inflation calculator and one needs to follow these simple steps to get desired results–

• Investors first need to enter the amount whose future spending power value they want to determine
• Next, they must enter the number of years after which they want to determine the purchasing power of the specified amount

When we are investing our hard-earned money in investment products, we are keen to find out how much corpus we can earn at the end of our investment journey. By figuring out the total estimated capital gains, investors can determine whether their investments are sufficient to nurturing their life’s short-term or long-term financial goals. Similarly, when it comes to mutual fund investments since these are market-linked schemes whose returns fluctuate from time to time investors want to know how much wealth they can create.

Investors who start a SIP in a mutual fund scheme can use the SIP calculator to determine the total returns (approximate) one can earn over a stipulated period. Today we are going to discuss the SIP calculator and how investors can use it to their advantage to calculate SIP returns. But before that, let us understand what SIP is.

What is SIP?

A systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a simple and easy way to invest small fixed sums in mutual fund schemes. A retail investor does not need to have a large sum to invest in mutual funds via SIP. Some mutual funds even allow investors to invest an amount as low as Rs. 500 per month through SIP. An investor can either start a SIP in mutual funds or can make a one-time lumpsum investment. A lot of investors opt for SIP over lumpsum because it allows them to buy more units over time and averages out their cost of purchase.

The following example might help you understand how the SIP in mutual fund works –

Suppose you want to collect Rs. 15 lakhs to send your child abroad for higher studies when they turn 18. Let us assume that your child’s current age is 8. This means you have 10 years in hand before you need the money. Assuming that the mutual fund scheme will deliver an average 8% annual return, a monthly SIP of Rs. 8200 will help you to build the education corpus over the course of the next 10 years.

Now that we are quite clear on the concept of SIP, let us move ahead to the SIP calculator?

What is a SIP calculator?

As its name suggests, an online SIP calculator is a free online tool that any layman can find and use without any technical difficulties. It gives SIP investors an estimate of the total returns they can earn through their monthly SIP investments. However, while calculating the total returns, the calculator doesn’t take the mutual fund scheme’s expense ratio into consideration.

Here’s the formal on which the SIP calculator is based:

M = P × ({[1 + i] n – 1} / i) × (1 + i)

Where –

• ‘M’ is the total sum that you receive upon maturity
• ‘P’ is the sum you invest at periodic intervals
• ‘n’ is the number of monthly SIPs you have made during your investment journey
• ‘i’ is the periodic rate of interest

As mentioned earlier, these are just estimated figures and investors should bear in mind the actual returns may vary depending on the performance of the mutual fund. Also, one should consider inflation while calculating returns as this will give them a better understanding of the value of their corpus at the time of redemption.

The best way to earn returns with mutual funds is by starting a SIP. SIPs are flexible which allows investors to start or stop their SIP investments anytime. SIPs can inculcate the discipline of regular investing and new investors who are new to financial planning should consider opting for SIP in mutual funds.

These days young investors do not want to invest in conventional investment avenues like their parents and grandparents. They seek other investment options that may not guarantee returns but have the potential to generate far better capital appreciation than bank fixed deposits and public provident funds. Mutual funds are a great investment tool that allows retail investors to generate capital appreciation over the long term. These are market-linked schemes that predominantly invest in equity and equity-related instruments of publicly listed companies and across various money market instruments like government bonds, company fixed deposits, debentures, treasury bills, etc.

Mutual fund investors have the option of either making a lumpsum investment or opting for a Systematic Investment Plan. Systematic Investment Plan or SIP is an effective investment model that allows retail investors to save and invest a fixed sum periodically in mutual fund schemes. All an investor has to do is complete all the reinvestment formalities, decide on the monthly investment, and decide a date on which they wish to invest. After this, every month on a fixed date, a predetermined SIP sum is debited from the investor’s savings account and electronically transferred to the mutual fund.

Mutual fund investors who wish to start their investment journey by starting a SIP in mutual funds can also refer to the SIP calculator, a free tool that is easily available online. Let us find out more about this free calculator and how investors can use it to their advantage.

What is a SIP calculator?

As mentioned earlier, the SIP calculator allows investors to estimate the total returns that they will receive at the end of the SIP investment journey. Investors must understand that these are just approximate returns and original returns can vary. The SIP calculator doesn’t consider the expense ratio while showing the results.

How does the SIP calculator work?

The online SIP calculator is based on the following formula:

Here’s the formal on which the SIP calculator is based:

M = P × ({[1 + i] n – 1} / i) × (1 + i)

Where –

• ‘M’ represents the total sum that you receive upon maturity
• ‘P’ stands for the sum you invest at periodic intervals
• ‘n’ is the number of monthly SIPs you have made during your investment journey
• ‘i’ refers to the periodic rate of interest

How to use the SIP calculator?

SIP calculator can be goal-based or it can be based on the amount an investor wants to invest and see how much wealth they can create in the long run.

If you are using a goal-based calculator:

• Input the corpus that you want to achieve
• Input the number of years/months you have in hand to achieve that corpus
• Input the expected rate of return

The calculator will show the SIP sum that you need to start investing regularly to achieve that corpus over the stipulated period.

For example, if you wish to build a corpus of Rs. 10 lakhs in the next 5 years to achieve one of your financial goals and you expect the mutual fund scheme to deliver an average annual return of 8%, a monthly SIP of Rs. 13,160 should be enough for you to achieve that goal.

Now if you want to use the SIP calculator to find out how much wealth you can create you need to input:

• The amount that you can invest per month
• The number of years/months you wish to invest this amount
• Expected rate of return

The SIP calculator will show your initial investment sum and the wealth that you will create.

For example, if you invested Rs. 5000 for 1 year and with an expected rate of return of 12%, your invested amount will be Rs. 60,000 and the total wealth created will be Rs. 63,413.