Looking to get an optimum result on your FD? Used the FD Calculator

Investing in Fixed Deposits is one of the best and most secured ways to let your money grow. It is a onetime investment that reaps interest monthly, quarterly or at a short term as per your choice. The safest feature of a fixed deposit is that it is not subjected to market risk. You get an assured return on your amount invested. The maturity amount and the interest earned when you open a Fixed Deposit account can be determined using an FD calculator. This gives you a clear picture of how your investment is working out.

To optimise your outcome from investing in fixed deposits you should always compare the rate of interest provided by the bank, the time period for which the investment is being made and at what interval the interest is being calculated. The FD calculator comes in handy while analysing where to invest.

It is wise to make multiple FD accounts than investing the entire sum at once. In case of an emergency, even if you withdraw from one of the FD accounts while the others stay intact. The bank in case of a premature withdrawal from a fixed deposit account levies a penalty that it deducts from the amount it pays you. The amount that you receive in such an instance is calculated using an FD calculator by the bank and it includes the principal amount and the interest earned till then.

Your FD might be your easiest way to get a loan from the bank. The bank where you have your FD account can provide you with a loan of nearly the amount of the value of your FD. The percentage given as a loan ranges from 85-90%. This loan is granted for a short period of time and under no circumstances can exceed the period of you FD. You can know your loan amount by calculating the value of your FD.

The FD calculator can be a good guide for determining the way to extract benefits of your FD. When the math is done we get a better grip on what we are heading to. The interest you earn out of your FD can either be reinvested or withdrawn.
Reinvestment provides you with a higher amount of interest than the previous year. If you keep withdrawing the same rate of interest is given every year until your FD matures. The interest earned from FD is taxable if it crosses a certain limit. There again FD calculator helps you to assess your interest amounts and aids in its management. It is a tool that simplifies the financial jargons and gives you an easier insight into your money and its management.

EMI VS SIP: Which is the better Options?

Our needs are changing every day. Gadgets, lifestyle objects and vehicles are now slowly becoming a part of our daily needs. To meet with these requirements we need to choose the mode of payment wisely depending on our income, affordability, price of the product and our other liabilities. Various fund management and payment methods such as SIP and EMI have come up that makes expensive goods affordable. With EMI calculators being available online we can now easily enter our required amount and suitable time through which we shall repay and voila we know much we need to pay every month sitting at home.

WHAT IS EMI?

Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) is a method to repay a loan taken by a person from a bank. It is a fixed amount that a person pays to the bank each month to pay off the principal amount borrowed and also the interest acquired on it. EMI facilities are available on all forms of loans such as car, house, education etc. You can also use emi calculators to facilitate emi payments.

WHAT IS SIP?

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is used for a mutual fund scheme where you are allowed to invest small amounts over a period of time rather than paying a lump sum amount once. The amount payable at a SIP can be as less as Rs.500.

EMI VS SIP

The utility of EMI and SIP are case sensitive. They both have their advantages and dis advantages. While EMI increases the net amount paid by you for purchasing a product, SIP increases the time needed for you to be able to buy it. A SIP is useful when we want to develop a fund and have future plans to invest them. But for immediate needs EMI is a better solution.

EMI gives you the option of purchasing in the present instance. Situations like expenditure for your education cannot wait for you to slowly grow your fund. This has to be done immediately before you pass the eligible age. Here taking an education loan is a better option. Loan calculators help the process of determining monthly EMI’s by dividing the principle amount and interest acquired by the time over which it shall be repaid. But if you think from another perspective a student starting a career is burdened with the yoke of a pending amount. Here as a parent, you can start saving early in small amounts for your child’s future and education through SIP. 

It is intelligent to pay EMI for creating an asset such as building a house rather than for buying a product whose price depreciates over the period through which you pay the EMI such as a car, laptops, furniture etc.

Benefits of Scheduling Future Transactions in Mutual Fund

Investments are the got to option for you to roll your money. The common concern about investments is what to invest in. Mutual funds are usually the safest and most feasible option especially for new investors. Investing in Mutual funds through Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), gives the investor the option to invest periodically and not shell out a large sum of money at once.

It has been seen that while investing, investors prefer to set a specific date for carrying out their transactions (both payment and receiving). Depending upon their convenience and availability of funds and their need, they can schedule future transactions while investing in mutual funds India. This date of payment can be set according to an investor’s schedule of receiving payments, redemption of funds from other investments or other reasons for a cash inflow. Also the date for redemption of the mutual fund or receiving the dividend can be adjusted as per the needs of the investor.

To schedule and manage future transactions in mutual funds India, the investor should have a common account number (CAN) that is issued by the Mutual Fund Utilities (MFU), which is a shared service initiative taken by the mutual fund industry under the aegis of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). This CAN allow an investor to access and manage multiple mutual fund schemes across participating fund houses.

BENEFITS OF SCHEDULING A FUTURE TRANSACTION

1) Flexibility of the date of transaction – The transaction can be made as per the need and convenience of the investor and need not depend on the predetermined date as per the company. This helps the investor to plan payments from the amount received from the mutual fund as well as for further payment in the fund (as in the case of SIP) or further investment.

2) Transact from anywhere – Having a CAN will let you make the transactions online and it will save you from a periodic visit to the mutual fund office or the intermediate agent. This lets you manage your funds sitting at home.

3) Payment made on the same date – Once you fill up the CAN, you can use the CaST (create and schedule transaction) facility to plan your future transaction. On the date you have scheduled your transaction, you shall receive an SMS and email to make the payment (in case you wish to purchase mutual fund units). Your payment shall be cleared on the same day.

4) Will prevent you from defaulting – The notification system and flexibility will help you manage your funds better and will do away with any chance for you to become a defaulter.

5) Provides you a long time to arrange for payment – It is allowed to plan a transaction for up to 90 days in advance and hence provides you sufficient time to be prepared to make the payment.

All you need to know about Online Tax Payments

India is making a considerable progress in the field of information and communication technology in the recent years. The implementation of the ICT can be seen in the developing e-governance policies. The spear heading venture in this development is the provision of online payment of taxes. Online tax payment is saving lots time and labour and increasing the transparency of the administrative system.

HOW TO PAY TAXES ONLINE?

From your income tax to property tax to wealth tax can be paid online. To make online tax payments you must have a bank account with net banking facility and also ensure that the bank has provisions for making E-payments. In case you do not have an account in a bank that provides such facilities or is an unauthorised bank for paying taxes you can pay your tax from another person’s account but make sure that your PAN is mentioned in the E-challan.

WHY PAY TAX ONLINE?

Saves time- You can save lots of time and avoid standing in long to pay your tax. This has been a huge harassment associated with payment of taxes. Old and young, irrespective of age were seen standing in long serpentine lines for hours outside tax offices and registered banks for collection of taxes. Online payment allows you to sit at home and pay the tax at your convenience.

Accuracy- To err is human, there will always be a big chance of errors occurring when other people are involved. Filling in the details for your own tax payment will save you the harassment of having misspelled names and inaccurate information on your receipts that are extremely important for future reference in case of any dispute.

Convenience- Online tax payment can be made at any time of the day. While paying manually you are limited by the banking hours to make payments but the online transaction increases your convenience.
It increases transparency- Corruption can be curbed by increasing the use of online payment. Chances of taking bribe will be eliminated as there would be no human interface involved while carrying out a transaction.

Can be paid from any location- You do not need to worry about becoming a tax defaulter just because you are out of station anymore. Through online tax payment options you can pay your tax from any location and will not need to worry about visiting the specific collection centre or office.

No chance of misplacing your receipts- The E-challan is automatically generated immediately after you make the payment for your tax online. This can be saved virtually for future reference and when needed, it can easily be downloaded.

Do you know the benefits of the Different NRI Accounts

The need to hold an Indian bank account does not cease when a person leaves the country to stay abroad. To serve this purpose, banks offer NRIs with special types of accounts such as the Non-Resident External (NRE) Account, Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account and the Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) Account. These facilities helps people staying abroad take care of their family and close ones back in India, with faster and less complicated modes of transaction. With the increasing popularity of digitalization and betterment of the internet facility, transacting and managing NRI accounts have become much easier. Many banks have branches across the globe that makes operating such accounts with better convenience.

TYPES OF NRI ACCOUNTS

1) NRE savings account
2) NRO savings account
3) RCF  savings account
4) RFC savings account
5) NRE current account
6) NRO current account
7) RFC fixed deposit account

REASONS TO HOLD AN NRI

1) NRIs are not allowed to hold resident savings account in India as per Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guide lines. Hence existing accounts should either be converted to NRI accounts or opened separately after closing the resident account.

2) Manage your earnings from India such as rent, pension, dividend etc. while staying abroad can be done through your NRO account while you shall enjoy a certain amount of interest as well.

3) Earn tax free interest on your foreign income made outside India (NRE). A high rate of interest is provided by the banks on depositing foreign earnings and the amount is tax exempted. This the most important reason why people living abroad wish to hold an NRI account.

4) For those who have returned to India after being an NRI for at least over a period of one year it is very convenient to have an RFC account. You can enjoy tax exemption for the time you remain a Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR). This account also allows a person to change it to an NRE/FCNR account in case the person goes back to an NRI status.

5) Manage transactions in India from abroad. You can authorise a person in India to operate the account. In case of an emergency your money can be accessed without your presence. Cheque books and ATM cards are issued to the authorised person.

6) The monthly balance to be maintained is lower as compared to those in foreign banks. This gives you more flexibility to manage your account.

7) Banks provide NRI account holders with international debit cards making transactions abroad faster and more convenient.

How to enjoy instant credits immediate payment Service

Festivals have got a new reason for spreading happiness, as banking goes beyond the banking hours and holidays. The last minute shopping and gifts can now be arranged without worrying about going to the bank. With Immediate Payment Services (IMPS), transactions can be made more easily and quickly. This facility allows you to transfer money to any account of any bank at any time of the day and also on Sundays and Bank Holidays. It saves you from standing in long unending cues to manage your money. The process of transfer of funds takes no time and the transferred amount gets immediately credited to the beneficiary’s account.

All you need to do to enjoy the IMPS service is having access to internet or mobile banking. It is compulsory to have your mobile number and a 7 digit Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) to transfer money using IMPS.

You can use the following methods to transfer funds by IMPS -

NET BANKING

• Log in to your net banking account.
• Go to “Funds Transfer” tab.
• Click on IMPS funds transfer using mobile number (you will need the beneficiary’s MMID), enter the details and confirm the transaction.
OR
• Click on IMPS funds transfer using account number (you will need the beneficiary’s IFSC code), enter the details and confirm the transaction.
• A confirmation SMS would be sent to you for your IMPS transaction.

MOBILE BANKING

(Android/iOS/Windows/BBZ10 apps)
• Log in to mobile banking.
• Click on fund Transfer Tab.
• Click on other bank using IMPS.
• Select option using IFSC/Account number.
• Select beneficiary, enter amount, remark and then confirm.
• A conformation SMS shall be sent to you for your IMPS transaction.

(Blackberry)
• Log on to mobile banking.
• Click on third party transfer.
• Click on IMPS funds transfer.
• Fill in the details of the beneficiary such as the mobile number, MMID, amount and comment and then confirm.
• A conformation SMS shall be sent to you for your IMPS transaction.

You will be charged a small amount as fee for using IMPS. The best part about IMPS transfer is that even if the receiver is not registered for IMPS, you can proceed with the transaction by filling in his account number and the IFSC code. It is also an extremely safe way of transacting as it has a two-step process to initiate a transaction with either the mobile number-MMID or the account number-IFSC. In case of any mistake while entering the number or codes the transaction will not be processed. IMPS is a very handy tool for the fast paced modern society and is a go to option while making any transaction.

Prepaid mobile recharge versus netbanking: Online Mobile Recharge

Communication is a necessary aspect of survival. Today cell phones or mobile phones are the most convenient and versatile mode of communication. Over the past decade, the facilities provided by mobiles have increased significantly. Now, the one thing without which you cannot continue using your mobile services for is mobile recharge. Earlier prepaid mobile recharge was the possible offline by going to the retailers. But now with the growth in the use of internet facilities it is possible to do online mobile recharge using net-banking services. Both these ways differ on a few aspects like:

• 24x7 Service- The biggest benefit of online mobile recharge is that it can be done at any time of the day. You can do it early in the morning, late at night or any other time throughout the whole day. This is not possible in the traditional offline way of going to the retailer and getting your recharge done from there.

• Recharge from anywhere- In the traditional way of prepaid mobile recharge you are required to go to the shop for getting the recharge done. In case the shop is too far or it is closed then this can prove to be quite problematic. Online mobile recharge can save you from the hassle of going out every time you need to recharge as it can be done from anywhere. You just need your smartphone and internet connectivity. Then you can do your recharge from your home or any other place.

• No delay- The offline mode of recharge can sometimes get delayed if the retailer is busy in any work or if by chance he forgets to do the recharge. So, it is not always efficient. But online mobile recharge takes care of this inefficiency as it is fully automated. There is no chance of human error and you can get your recharge done instantly.

• Multiple options- In the offline prepaid recharge service your options are limited to the number of retailers around you. You may face a situation where a retailer may not provide recharge services for your network provider. This will put you in a difficult situation where you have to again search for another retailer that provides recharge services for your network provider. This problem can be avoided in the online mode where you can find multiple apps and other service providers easily.

• Extra benefits- Online mobile recharge provides you with cashbacks and discounts on your recharges.  At times you may also get extra talktime or other such benefits.

So both the offline prepaid recharge and online mobile recharge through net-banking or other apps has their own unique features. The online mode provides certain benefits over the traditional offline method like anytime service, rewards etc. Therefore, opting for online mobile recharge can prove to be a good and smart decision.