When it comes to saving and investing, people are obsessed with the returns they’re going to get on their money. Whether it’s debating the merits of a particular investment strategy, discussing the pros and cons of insurance, pensions and mutual funds (or increasingly unit linked plans) or simply searching for the best interest rate on […]
Do people make serious financial mistakes? Difficult question to answer, and it also depends on whom to ask. However the question should be framed slightly differently. “Have you made any serious financial mistake? And if you are saying NO, do you understand what you are saying?’ My interaction with people of various ages shows the […]
Most people are generally under the impression that the Government of India (actually the party in power) misuses the psu money and that is bad. True, well almost. HOWEVER, please note that some advantages that the psu undertakings enjoy should not be ignored. For a very long time you could pay your advance tax ONLY […]
We just saw…part 1 of ‘should I retire at all’…now here are the hassles – or why I have been having these doubts! Here are the reasons: Of course the most important question is “Will my corpus last 4 decades….for me and my wife to survive on”… 1. In India we have NO social security […]
When asked about Retirement, normally people are in a denial mode. Why even ask them ‘What will your family do, if you drop dead’…is a question they hate to hear. They even hate me for asking these questions. It is difficult to know what to do…so best is either do not do anything or speak […]
Anybody who comes on television says ‘there is a huge demand for infrastructure, so invest in infrastructure’ -brilliant argument, completely wrong. Experts, if you have forgotten your basic Economics, here is the answer: Demand = Need for a product + Ability to pay+ Willingness to pay. Let us look at another product: Pensions. Who […]
Many people who think they understand risk do not understand risk coming from completely unexpected sources. I do not mean some 50% market crash – one is reasonably prepared for a market crash, but something else. – What happens if the government withdraws medical cover for retirees of government organisations? -What happens if PPF is […]