May 2022

While buying a house is an exciting prospect, it is also one that requires a lot of planning. Most homebuyers rely on home loans in order to match the property prices. While a home loan is a great way to arrange for the required funds, it is also very important for a borrower to ensure that they have chosen a suitable plan. Not having a proper plan while applying for a home loan can lead to financial problems in the future, and this could end up affecting a borrower’s credit score.

Now, this does not have to be a problem if a homebuyer makes an informed decision while applying for a home loan. To be able to get a good loan plan, all that the borrower needs to do is to keep the following 5 steps in mind:

• Understand your budget

The first step for a borrower is having a clear understanding of the loan amount that they can afford. So, start by calculating all financial responsibilities and existing debt to understand how much is getting spent every month on these obligations. This will help in understanding the budget for a home loan’s monthly instalments.

• Be aware of the processing charges

It is quite usual for financial institutions to charge certain processing fees on a home loan application. This charge can vary from lender to lender, which is why it is important for a borrower to check with their lender about this fee before they apply for a home loan.

• Learn about the lender’s prepayment terms

In some cases, borrowers prefer to prepay their home loans. Do note that the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has not permitted banks to charge any prepayment fees on home loans with floating interest rates. However, those who have chosen a fixed home loan interest rate might have to incur a prepayment fee.

• Focus on the loan amount that the lender is offering

Most lenders can usually offer up to 75% of the property cost, while some can even go up to covering 90%, depending on the value of the property. Make sure to find a lender that offers a loan amount that is sufficient for the house purchase.

• Keep the interest rate of the loan in mind

One of the most important aspects to focus on is the interest rate of a home loan. This is because a home loan rate can significantly impact the loan’s monthly instalments. Make sure to find a lender that offers a competitive interest rate on the home loan to keep the EMIs affordable.

By keeping these 5 things in mind, a borrower can ensure that they get themselves an affordable home loan plan. Also, it is better to make use of a home loan EMI calculator. This calculator will display the monthly instalments of a home loan beforehand, based on which a borrower can decide whether to go ahead with the loan or look for a better alternative.

The major goal for any term insurance is to provide emotional support to dependents in times of need rather than providing hefty funds. And to ensure this, every policyholder must first understand the policy they are committing themselves. It will give them a better knowledge of the plan’s outcomes. But because there are several plans available these days, it might be tough to select the most suitable one for your requirements. The best method to overcome this obstacle is to compare specific features. Given below are five of those specific features that need a comparison to find the perfect term policy.

Comparison of Assured Sum

The assured sum paid as the mortality benefits is the only direct return from term insurance. Even though the chances of no claim request exist, due to the survival of the policyholder, the returns in case of demise are important to the dependent. So, one must not make compromises on the assured sum of the policy.

Always choosing plans belonging to the high returns category ensures that the nominee gets more than adequate funds. It also helps them lead a financially peaceful life even during the emotionally disturbed phase they are going through.

Comparison of Premium Amount

Comparing the premium amount is also equally important. It is due to the burdens it can cause on the monthly budget when not planned accordingly. There is no provision of money repayment or maturity benefit at term-end in a term insurance policy. This means the policyholder will not receive back the invested premium amounts ever.

The only way there are returns from the plan is during the sad demise of the policyholder. But that situation is likely, and the money you invest in term policy can be unfruitful. So, one must always make sure that they do not put excess funds towards term insurance premiums.

Also, having a huge premium amount will disturb your finances and can cause some cutbacks on the lifestyle or other necessary commodities. It is advisable to have a lower premium to avoid these adverse effects on the personal budget.

Comparison of Payment Frequency and Flexibility

The payment frequency affects the assured sum a lot. Some common payment frequencies for the same term policy are monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual. Among these, the annual payments have the highest returns, and the monthly payments have the least returns for the plans with otherwise similar features. Compound interest and larger at-a-time premium amounts lead to this stark difference in the returns.

Similarly, premium flexibility is also important to ensure the policyholder has enough payment windows to pay the premium in time. It will keep policy deferring at bay. And even if the policy becomes void due to lapses in the premium payments, a flexible insurer will allow renewal windows with as low as possible late fees or fines.

Comparison of Rider Covers and Add-Ons

Covers and add-ons make term insurance more useful and, at the same time, much cheaper. When bought separately, the same plans have a larger total premium amount than a plan with combined covers.

Currently, only two rider covers are available to term insurance policyholders, viz. Accident Benefit Rider in insurance and Permanent Disability Benefit Rider. However, the available add-ons can vary depending on the insurer and can include critical illness and other crucial add-ons.

Comparison of Insurer Credibility

The insurer’s credibility is also of importance. The best method to compare an insurer’s credibility in India is through the claim settlement ratio annually provided by the IRDAI. A higher ratio is equivalent to a trustworthy insurer that respects the customers’ claim requests.

The knowledge of these five comparison methods will come in handy the next time you purchase a term insurance plan. Through this, you can ensure the term policy, which comes out as the most preferred one in all the comparison criteria, will be extremely beneficial. The returns from such plans will always be much better than the remaining plans. But before you start a comparison of the plans, make sure they all belong to a trusted insurer to make your job much easier.

Everyone or family likes to save some money and achieve their lifetime goals like building a home, giving higher education to a child, buying a new luxury car, retiring rich for a peaceful life, enjoying a vacation in an exotic location, buying property, etc. It all needs a perfect financial plan.

Planning in advance

You need to consider your available cash, monthly savings after household expenses, loan repayments, taxes, insurance, etc, before financial planning for your dream goals. A perfect investment plan reduces all of your stress in saving money for future needs. You also need to make provision for unexpected events like increased spending for hospital stays, losing a job, natural calamities, wars, strikes, etc.

Financial experts at Joseph Stone Capital help you create a perfect financial plan to meet your financial needs and stay calm even in difficult times. They will track your monthly cash flow and suggest the best plan to pay back high-cost debt and invest surplus your money in various avenues like bonds, mutual funds, real estate, ETFs, etc.

Higher returns for young

The financial experts utilize their expertise in garnering high returns on your investments and show the right investment plan considering your investment period. If you are young, they will help you select a fund that provides higher returns over a 20 to 30-year period by investing in a blend of equities, bonds, fixed deposits, etc.

Stable income for retirement

Those looking for a stable income for their retirement and just have around 10 years of service left can invest in stable income funds. Such funds comprise fixed deposits, bonds, debentures, etc. You can invest small sums every month in best-performing funds as advised by Joseph Stone Capital to save surplus income.

Investing in mutual funds

You can earn higher returns by investing in mutual funds. You need to read the terms and conditions of a mutual fund before deciding to transfer funds or writing a check for your investment. A variety of mutual funds are offered by the companies to help people to save money. They take a fraction of the earnings for maintaining the fund.

A variety of mutual funds such as specialty funds, funds of funds, balanced funds, index funds, debt funds, equity funds, money market funds, and income funds are available in the market to park your surplus funds and earn a higher income.

The debt funds invest your money in fixed income assets, government bonds, and company debentures. They are safe and give you fixed returns on your investment. You need to pay income tax on these funds if the fund value exceeds a certain limit.

Hybrid or balanced funds invest in a blend of assets such as bonds, equities, fixed deposits, etc. It involves a medium risk. The fund invests amounts in a certain ratio to reduce risk and maximize returns. On the other hand, equity funds invest in company shares or stocks. It involves high risk and may lose the significant size of your investment but gives you higher returns. It is suitable for investors, who can take risks.

Open-ended funds

Open-ended funds allow you to purchase units of a fund and sell them when you need money throughout the year. You can purchase some units of the fund at the current NAV (Net Asset Value) using your current savings. You can meet your expenses when you need funds by selling some of the units at the prevailing NAV on that date. It is one of the flexible options to ensure savings and liquidity. You can invest any amount in this fund. It is an actively managed fund. Therefore, you will be charged a higher fee compared to passive funds like closed funds.

Significant gains in close-ended funds

Unlike open-ended funds, you can not buy units of a close-ended fund at any time and date of the year. You can purchase some units of a closed fund during its offering. It has a maturity period. It means you can not sell them when you need funds. Therefore, you need to park only surplus funds in this fund for significant earnings for one to 5 years or more.

You can also invest in interval funds at certain intervals. You can purchase the units from existing holders of the units. It is one of the best options to enter a fund using your surplus cash and earn a decent income.

If you ever visit a bank, then you will see a wide array of counters. All the counters are available for different purposes as per the requirements of people. The banks have separate departments devoted to the needs of people and to simplify the banking experience.

This might come as a surprise to you, but banks have different types of accounts too! Even though the savings account is most popular as it caters to you on an individual level, there is a current account too. This account is usually used for conducting business. Let’s know more about the current account.

As mentioned above, the current account is designed for businesses. The overall needs and requirements to carry business are different from the needs and requirements of individuals. Hence, the savings account does not suffice. Current accounts offer higher transaction limits. You can deposit and withdraw money a greater number of times than an individual with a savings account.

Let’s take a look at the features of the current account:

First and foremost, make sure that you know that the current bank accounts are non-interest-bearing bank accounts, which means that no interest will be acquired on your money. This is because all the money you have deposited in the current account is available for you to transfer and use 24×7.

Since the number of transactions is higher and money is readily available, there is no interest provided. This is a major differentiating factor between a savings account and a current account.

Compared to a savings account, the minimum balance requirement of the bank is higher for current accounts. You might be penalised if the minimum account balance is not maintained in your current account.

A person with a current account can delete and discontinue the account any time he wishes. The primary goal of a current bank account is to simplify businesses to transact smoothly. Hence, you can usually deposit any amount any number of times without any constraints. In the same way, there are no limitations on the number of withdrawals as long as you have funds. Recently many banks have started giving interest on current accounts as well.

Can a company have multiple current accounts?             

Due to growing fraud, RBI has proposed new guidelines.

If the exposure of the banking system is below Rs. 5 crores for the borrowers, then there is no limitation or restriction for starting current accounts or for the requirement of CC/OD facility by banks. However, the bank must get an undertaking that the borrowers must inform the banks whenever the credit availed by them reaches the 5-crore mark.

But for the borrowers whose exposure is beyond Rs. 5 crores, they will resume maintaining their current accounts with the same bank with whom they have availed of CC and OD facilities, given that the bank has a minimum of 10% of the exposure of their overall borrowing. Hope this answers all your questions related to having multiple current accounts in different banks.

You’ve heard of affiliate marketing and Google AdSense, a Google service that allows you to embed ads on your website. But did you know that there are several other alternative ways to earn money online?

This article will look at tutoring and Webinar training – three of the latest ways to earn money online. You’ll learn how to make money online without going to an office! And what’s even better is that you can do this from anywhere!

Remember to research each of these methods thoroughly -and pick the ones that fit your lifestyle.

Tutoring is a great way to earn money online.

While you don’t need a teaching degree to become a tutor, you need to have a strong passion for a particular subject.

Parents want someone who inspires and motivates their children, so the first step in earning from tutoring is to develop relationships with your students. When you get the results you want, you’ll be able to continue this career for as long as you’d like.

Tutoring is a profitable opportunity for those looking for a part-time job online because you could earn up to $60,000 per year if you work hard enough. Tutors don’t need a website or fancy business cards. Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to generate a client base. Parents often brag about their positive experiences with a tutor.

Below are some platforms you can start tutoring from:

Tutoring on Fiverr

Tutoring services are highly demanded as homeschooling parents require extra help. Tutoring on Fiverr is an excellent alternative to earning money online without a degree. You can offer your services online or meet people in person to train students for a few hours a week.

Tutoring on Givling

One alternative to earning money online is to become a tutor on Givling, a social networking app and website.

Givling is an online social network with millions of users. It is an excellent way to gain experience while making money online. Users can choose the subjects they wish to tutor. The best part is that Givling is available for US citizens only, so there are no age restrictions.

Tutoring on Mistplay

Tutoring on Mistplay is similar to teaching on other online gaming platforms. You receive units, or GXP, for your time and effort.

To earn money from Mistplay, you must earn enough units and refer friends to earn extra units. You can easily make a lot of money by earning on Mistplay! This online platform is straightforward to use and has a variety of games that people of all ages enjoy for rewards.

Helping market researchers

There are many market research companies that need a variety of users to get data and opinions for several projects.

For example, a research company for small businesses will create online surveys based on the requirements of its client. Once the company creates the surveys, they send them to all people registered in its database. The users receive the survey, complete it with their honest opinion, and get paid for that.

If you join a paid survey platform, you will have a chance to earn extra money while sharing your voice.

Dropshipping is a new way to earn money online.

Dropshipping has been the hot new business trend for the past many years, attracting people from many backgrounds. YouTubers, personal finance TikTok users, and even regular folks are now promoting this new way to make money.

The process entails purchasing a cheap item and reselling it for profit. It requires the creation of an online shop and advertising on social media platforms.

You will need a good e-commerce platform like Shopify to start your dropshipping business. Shopify makes your dropshipping business look professional, enabling you to focus on building your business instead of your full-time income.

Webinar training

There are several reasons to invest in Webinar training as an alternative to earning cash online. The most common is that you can create valuable content that people will pay for. Even better, you can make webinars available for free.

Depending on the topic, you can even charge people for the training.

The benefits are clear: you can sell products and services to people interested in learning more. Paid webinars are also more attractive than free webinars. You can offer webinars for free in exchange for an email address.