The Money Bees - Money Matters

Your Child's Education - Can you really afford it?

2011-09-30T18:15:00.000+05:30

I am sure that you are budgeting and planning for your child's education. And you have made a budget for the same. But have you ever realistically considered the costs? Here are some numbers - A 2 year MBA at IIM Ahmedabad costs 13.7 Lacs only in fees. Cost of living, books, food, and other expenses are extra. The fees at ISB is Rs. 21.5 Lacs+taxes as per their website. The fee at private

Death by Debt

2011-09-27T16:51:00.002+05:30

Below is a rant on debt, finances, sacrifices and aspirations which makes you think (a little dark, but worth a read) http://www.the-nri.com/index.php/2011/09/indian-suicides-in-middle-east/ One thing is clear in the article – the single biggest cause of suicides the world over is financial illiteracy. Be it the farmers in Vidarbha region (India), the urban youth of the megacities today which

The Next 30 day goal - Publishing the first ebook from The Money Bees

2011-09-26T16:50:00.001+05:30

Wow. Its been 2.5 years of blogging at The Money Bees. Time really flies. With the Blog now established and having a loyal reader base, it is now time for us at The Money Bees to take up our next challenge (I have been working on this for sometime now actually). To publish our own ebook - "The Money Bees guide to Personal Finance". Just to give you a glimpse of the book, the index will look

Readers Forum - The Money Bees

2011-09-26T00:12:00.004+05:30

Today, we are happy to launch the readers forum on The Money Bees. Here the readers can start their own disucssions and share their own stories. A place build by the readers, for the readers. To access the forum and start sharing your thoughts, just click on the title of the post. Saurabh Maheshwari 2011. The Money Bees. The owner of this space is a banker by profession and writes on different

How to stay away from Temptation

2011-09-24T15:18:00.000+05:30

Everyday, we are bombarded by messages from marketers about the best deals available, never before prices, an opportunity of a lifetime, etc etc. They keep pushing messages about why we need this and that and why our life will never be complete without a particular ________ (name your gadget / accessory / clothing / shoes or whatever else comes to your mind). After a point, the temptation to buy

The Secret equation of creating HUGE wealth

2011-08-26T18:13:00.001+05:30

Hi, If we earn a handsome amount and then go ahead and spend all of it, and then some more - rest assured, we will never be wealthy. So a good financial plan is where the income is more than expenses. And the bigger the difference, the faster we will travel on the road to prosperity. So the equation looks like this - Income - Expenditure = savings and wealth. (this equation is also called a

Do you respect money - A quick test

2011-08-16T13:06:00.000+05:30

Hi, I have a simple question for you - Do you respect Money? I can see most of you nodding your heads vigorously - YES... We do respect Money. What a stupid question to ask.... So, here is the test which I have - take out your wallet / purse / Money Clip or whatever you use to carry your money in. Peep inside and have a look on how you have kept cash, cards, cheques in it (for the time being we

The Best of Money Bees - A compelling WHY

2011-08-05T22:30:00.000+05:30

Hi, this post was earlier published in 2010 and it is the highest read post for The Money Bees. In a way, it is what all of us live for - A Reason. (Find the earlier post here - A compelling "WHY") Without further ado, here it goes - A Compelling "Why" - by Denis WaitleyI have a suitcase for you. In that suitcase there is $1 million in cash. The suitcase is sitting in a building that is about

Back and loving it

2011-07-31T23:13:00.000+05:30

Hi, Wow...The last post was on March 31st 2011. Seems like an eternity away. But time has flown so fast that I have been barely keeping up with all the demands it presented. A new role at the workplace - that of starting a new division from scratch, Building a new team, replacing an existing team member, getting a Business Plan and ensuring that we get the business off to a solid start, Nephew

The Money Bees Carnival - The Best of Personal Finance around the web

2011-03-31T17:25:00.000+05:30

Hi, Here are some of the best articles on PF that I have read on the web this week- Moolanomy - 5 Financial Ratios Every Dividend Investor Should Know Moolanomy - A Basic Look at Long Term Investing Budgets are Sexy - Be careful mixing money with family! Chritianpf - 5 Essential Budgeting Categories – How You Should Fund Your Budget on March 29 2011 Saurabh The Money Bees. 2011. *

The Best of Money Bees - My Journey as a Self made millionaire

2011-03-28T07:07:00.000+05:30

Hi, Starting today, once a month, we will have a look at some of the best articles on this blog. This will be in addition to the normal posts that will continue. We will start this with a post My Journey as a self made millionaire - Adam Khoo, which was earlier published on May 2009. Good Morning. Today I was reading a book called "Secrets of a Self Made Millionaire by Adam Khoo" and I came

How EPF investments can make you wealthy?

2011-03-14T22:04:00.000+05:30

Hi, will you believe me when I say that EPF can make you wealthy beyond your wildest imagination? Can it make you a millionaire or a billionaire? A Crorepati? For knowing more, just download the spreadsheet and work the numbers Download here - EPF Corpus calculator So, have you worked out the numbers? The major benefits you get here are:- Tax benefits - tax savings on investments and tax

Automating Your Savings and Investments - A great way to get ahead financially

2011-02-23T16:46:00.000+05:30

Hi, For the last 6 months, I have been experimenting with automation as a way to improve the my savings / investment habit. So I did set up the following 3 investments:- 1. Payroll deduction of Rs 2000/- per month as voluntary contribution to Employee Provident Fund - EPF in India is a fantastic tool for investments. In addition to the tax breaks under section 80C, it also offers unmatched

Identifying avoidable expenses in 2011

2011-01-26T20:47:00.001+05:30

Hi, All us have sat down to prepare a budget, sat down with the list of our expenses and have always wondered about how to classify them in the order of their importance. We have always wondered if this is really an expense that we can avoid. Here, we give you a simple way to classify all your expenses and then decide which ones to avoid and which ones to continue with. I am sure that you

A compelling "WHY"

2010-12-29T15:32:00.000+05:30

Hi, I was reading this and would like to share it with you today:- A Compelling "Why" - by Denis Waitley I have a suitcase for you. In that suitcase there is $1 million in cash. The suitcase is sitting in a building that is about an hour’s drive from where you are now. Here is the deal: All you have to do is get to this building in the next two hours. If you get there before the end of the

Why should gold be a part of your portfolio?

2010-12-19T20:08:00.000+05:30

Gold traditionally has been considered only for its ornamental value. But over the past few years, it has gained more and more prominence as an investment vehicle also – just like stocks and bonds. So why should it be a part of your portfolio? Here are 4 reasons:- 1. Liquidity of investment - If you have invested in Gold in the form of Bars / coins / futures or through a commodity exchange,

Cash Flow or Net Worth - What is more important?

2010-12-02T20:20:00.000+05:30

Hi, The other day, I was reading a blog on Extreme Early Retirement by Jacob Fisker and came across the following thought.... _________ For extreme early retirement, I am not going to stake my financial stability on past results, even when they are based on Monte Carlo simulations, rather I am going to arrange for an alternative income stream (stock and bond based) that will generate enough

Personal Loans – A good option in some situations

2010-11-30T15:40:00.001+05:30

A lot of people are against Personal Loans (according to them, personal loans equal living beyond ones means). Though I agree with them to the extent that Personal loans should not be used to finance your day to day expenses, there are a lot of situations when taking a personal loan makes enormous sense. Some of them are:- To repay the higher interest credit card debts – If you are stuck with

Financial Planning in your Forties

2010-11-29T21:43:00.000+05:30

Hi, This is part 3 of the 5 part series on financial planning according to your age. In the first part, we covered financial planning in your twenties and the second part covered financial planning for your thirties. Today we will cover the forties and will have a look at the possible financial situation, the expected liabilities, the approach to be taken and common mistakes that one should be

Financial Planning in your thirties

2010-11-24T10:20:00.000+05:30

Hi, This is part 2 of the 5 part series on financial planning according to your age. In the first part, we covered financial planning in your twenties. Today we will cover the thirties and will have a look at the possible financial situation, the expected liabilities, the approach to be taken and common mistakes that one should be wary of. So here we go Financial Planning in your Thirties

Financial Planning in your twenties

2010-11-13T19:40:00.004+05:30

Hi, Today onwards, we will start a 5 part series on financial planning according to your age. What we will cover is the possible financial situation, the expected liabilities, the approach to be taken and common mistakes that one should be wary of. So here we go Financial Planning in your twenties' Situation Fresh out of college, Lot of passion and enthusiasm, just started work, cash flows

Real Estate - Impact of the latest RBI regulations

2010-11-04T15:46:00.001+05:30

Hi, The Indian Real Estate sector saw some new regulations rolled out by RBI today. The summary of the changes are:- Reduction in loan-to-value ratio to 80%, which most commercial banks were keeping at around 85%. Changes in provisioning norm for Banks (this is basically the money they have to keep as provision when compared to every rupee they lend) - At present, for loans up to 30 lakh, the

Your Personal Finances in the festive season

2010-10-30T18:15:00.000+05:30

This season is full of festivities – marriages, holidays (Christmas), vacations and events (new-year celebrations). The marriage season means expensive gifts and extensive travels. Holidays and the looming new-year means holiday with families and friends. Moreover, December as a month seems to be a month of celebrating and partying to the hilt. It is very easy to get very carried away in all this

Personal Finance - The only thing you should track

2010-10-18T18:05:00.002+05:30

Have you ever wondered – If one has to pick just one parameter which will define one’s financial standing – what should it be? Is it the Value of Total Assets owned or one’s total Income (yearly or monthly) or total cash in hand? Is it the monthly cash flow? Is it the person with least leverage? Or should it be the level of expenses? Is it the level of portfolio income earned or active income

6 Signs That Investment is in Bubble Mode

2010-10-14T15:15:00.001+05:30

Moolanomy Personal Finance (blog) recenly carried an article on 6 Signs That Investment is in Bubble Mode. The indicators are- 1. The Fundamentals Don’t Seem to Matter 2. Price Shoots Higher in a Short Period of Time 3. Good News about the Investment is Everywhere 4. Everyone Around You is Suddenly an Investment Expert 5. Programs on Getting Rich Spring Up Around the Investment 6. People Talk