1.  Minimum possible time to start doing part payment

Most of the banks put certain time limit before which you cannot do any part payment. If you do, of course they will charge you some extra fine. Since you have already taken a loan, you can’t go away with this policy. But if you act smart, you can save more than you pay as fine. I will suggest you compare how much you will give as a fine and in effect how much interest are you going to save on it. For example, if you are doing a part payment of 5Lac and have to pay a 2% interest on your the part payment amount, which comes out to be Rs. 10,000, do check how much interest you could save in the long run (ref : my other article on it)

2. Try moving your ECS account in same bank as the loan provider Bank

Say you have a loan from ICICI, and the EMI gets deducted from your Axis Bank. Now you did a part payment on 20th April. ICICI will come back and say that since your EMI is being deducted in another bank, it will take a month to make the adjustments and hence your new effective EMI will only in place by June (not May!). On the other hand if you have your EMI deducted from ICICI itself, the effect is immediate and it will reflect from the next month itself (i.e.  May). Please consult your bank how this might help you.

3. Do check how many part payments you can do in year

Some banks put a limit on the number of part paymetns you can do in a year. Please do check with you bank and plan accordingly.  For example in some banks you can only do 3 part payments a year. I will advice that instead of thinking multiple part payments, consult the bank and decide on the number of payments you could do.

4.  Never trust on any verbal commitment from Customer Service!

This is most important. The customer service executives can misguide you in most of the cases (I can say that as I was assured for few things and I planned accordingly, but in the end had to take a loss of approx 60K!). So act wisely, drop in an email to the customer service center and get a written response. For example they can verbally say that you can pay as many downpayments as you can, but in the end when you actually do it, the bank will cite certain RBI guidelines which would mean your plans go unfulfilled.

5. Always go for duration change and not lowering EMI

I have covered this topic extensively in one of my other articles on managing Home loans. But in summary, the Bank employee will try to convince you that by doing a part payment you get the benefit of lowering EMI. Never listen to that! A golden rule, lower EMI higher interest in long run, lower duration, higher saving of interest. So act wisely, while doing a part payment, always look for lowering duration. You can even instruct the Bank to keep the EMI constant whenever you do a part payment (and reduce duration) and that can be done automatically. I did that so I know it can be done.  Do read the last point just in case you are doing a fore-closure

6. What to do if I am planning fore-closure!

Now hoping you paid your EMI’s on time, did part payments and are at a stage when you are willing to pay the rest and fore-close the loan. Do remember one thing, always make the part payment such that you EMI can be adjusted such that only 1 year of EMI are left. This is because most banks do charge you certain interest for foreclosure, but if you let the loan complete its normal run, there is no issue. Hence keep this in mind and always keep 1 year of EMI still in place. But there is another catch. If you are planning to do further down payment, read my next article on Fore-closure as there are some Catch-22 situations which you might have to deal with.

I will try to add few more points which can prove to be useful, so keep checking this space.

I hope I was able to help you get few things clear regarding part payments. If you have any suggestions, or may be any points which I might have missed, please feel free to share it in the comments section.

-Abhi

“The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request.

After doing some detail R&D I found in the webserver logs that there is an error message :

”
20110614T163352: photos.abhiztips.com/addons/_ajaxratings/ajax_ratings/db.php suexec policy violation: see suexec log for more details”

At least I narrowed it down to this suExec error.

Finally the solution ::

It turned out that I had the Ajaxrating plugin folder on my server with access  right 777. After changing it to 775 as required by the Webserver policy, it got resolved!!

So in summary if you start getting the SuExec policy violation error, try checking the directory permission and set it to 775

Do Google for more results

-Abhi

I am using custom fields (variable name “image”) which points to the URL of the uploaded image. Now I was in a big trouble. Reason being I wanted to be associated with VFXY Photoblogs but they require feeds with thumbnails in it 

In order to solve my problem I did some google search and came across few interesting tips. Thanks Nathan!

I will share it here what I did and how I did.

Note: Use this only if you are comfortable editing/modifying your wordpress theme!

Step1:

First and foremost you need to open your functions.php (Login to WordPress -> Appearance -> Editor -> Select functions.php) .

In this file you need to add the below function :

function rss_post_thumbnail($content) {
global $post;
$cn_image = get_post_meta($post->ID,<span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong> image</strong></span>, true);
if ($cn_image != '') { $customfeederimage = '<img <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">width="160" height="106"</span></strong> src="' . $cn_image . '" />'; }
if (has_post_thumbnail($post->ID)) { if ($cn_image == '') { $customfeederimage = get_the_post_thumbnail($post->ID, array(165,165) ); } }
if (!has_post_thumbnail($post->ID) && $cn_image == '' ) { $customfeederimage = '<img src="/whatever.jpg" />';}
$content = '<p>' . $customfeederimage . '</p>' . get_the_excerpt();
return $content;
}
add_filter('the_excerpt_rss', 'rss_post_thumbnail');add_filter('the_content_feed', 'rss_post_thumbnail');
//add_filter('the_content', 'rss_post_thumbnail');

In the above function you need to replace the keyword (I am using the keyword image) with the custom field you are using (e.g customimage). Use it without quotes.

Secondly you can specify the height and width of the image you want to attach.

In case you don’t have a custom field, this code will still pick your post thumbnail.

Once edited, save the file and quit. You are almost done!

Step2:

Once you have edited the file, you feeds might not show up with images directly (e.g www.example.com/feed). I had a problem hence I am sharing it here. I use google feedburner (feedburner.google.com) to grab my feeds. So I will suggest to create a feedburner account and register your feeds.

Once registered, you will get a feed URL similar to http://feeds.feedburner.com/AbhizPhotoBlog  (based on what you select as the name of feed).  Now when you click on this feed URL, you will clearly get the images with the feed.

Step 3:

In order to set your feed address to the default of the Google Feedburner, install a plugin “FD Feedburner Plugin”. This plugin is very useful.  Once installed in WordPress, go to Plugins -> Feedburner Configuration and in the field “Redirect my feed URL”, give your Google Feedburner URL address and click Update! This is it!!!!

Now you have a custom field with image added to your RSS feed and also defaulting it to the Feedburner URL.

Please let me know how it works for you. Hope it helps!!

-Abhi

First things first, you do not need Pbxes for configuring the caller ID !

Below are the steps you need to perform and you are good to go !

Step 1: Login to your Account and Click on the Personal Details section

Step 2: If not done already, fill in your details in the Invoice Details section:

Step 3: The most important part. In the Phone numbers section, fill in your number which you want to set as caller ID. Remember this has to be a valid number as you get a system generated call to verify it.

As you see above I have masked my number, but that is the place you have to put your number (in the format [country code][number] OR +31123455666 )  and click “Verify selected number as Caller ID”. If the number is not verified, you will receive a call and a code will be give. Using this code you will have to verify the number.

Once you get the message “This number has been verified as caller ID” you are DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me know if you have issues in the comment section and I will try to find a solution!

-Abhi

If you have been using your GDocs spreadsheets for a while (which I assume you should   ) then you must have encountered situations where you need a FILTER formula which has to be filtering the full column. You must have been taking the easier way till now I assume, i.e. dragging the FILTER function till the bottom. Its easy and solves the purpose, but if your data is dynamic and you want the new row to automatically use the FILTER it becomes a bit of a problem. As you can see below, since we did not drag the FILTER function till the value 80 the function could not be used

Now I will explain you how easily you can make use of MMULT and ARRAYFORMULA to achieve this task 

I will recommend you read my article on MMULT before proceeding to get a better understanding.

As shown above you have an array of “Source” data and you want to automatically pick the values if there is any value in

Step1:

Based on your input value, first you need to create a [1 X N] array (e.g [0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0].  The one represents your input value which needs to be selected. This can be achieved by using the formula

=  ARRAYFORMULA ( SIGN (  B2=TRANSPOSE(E2:E10)  ) )

• SIGN is used so as to convert the TRUE/FALSE values to 1 and 0.
• ARRAYFORMULA is used so that the full transpose array is picked up

Step 2:

Now our next task is to return the required filtered value.  Since we need to return the values from Column F, we will do a Matrix multiply of the above [1 X N ] to the column F  [N X 1 ] array. So our formula becomes :

=  ARRAYFORMUL ( MMULT ( SIGN (  B2=TRANSPOSE(E2:E10)  ) ;  F2:F10 )

There will be a matrix multiplication performed and the value from column F corresponding to the Input will be returned.  Please NOTE :  F is the column from which you want the results to be returned

Now if you see below, when I enter value 70 in input, I automatically get the result of filter from columnF !!  That is it!

Step 3:

If you have noticed, there are some unnecessary 0′s in the places where you don’t have an input value. You can easily remove them using IFERROR function explained here already.

The formula now becomes :

=  ARRAYFORMULA ( IF(isblank(B2:B10);iferror(1/0); MMULT ( SIGN ( B2:B10=TRANSPOSE(E2:E10) ) ; F2:F10 )))

And thats it!!!!

Tip  :  For example purposes I used a limited array (e.g F2:F10), but you can use an open ended array (e.g F2:F), just make sure that the matrix is compatible.

Let me know via comments if you need any assistance .

-Abhi

Ref: Gif files created using MakeGif.com

I was in a similar situation, tried my hand on many many websites and finally came across Logo Logs.net. They are a free logo provider and there is no catch.  Visit their website for more info. You will have to specify your website and requirements and thats it !

Extract from their website :

“Free Logo Design Services
Logo-logos sends electronically formatted logos, which can be used in any media for FREE. Just acknowledge us anywhere on your website and let us know; so we can email your professional business logo for FREE!!! “

Now let me confirm based on my personal experience that their service is too good. They provided me the first logo in just  3 business days and requested my feedback. After providing my feedback they came back to me in another few hours and I got a logo which I really liked. I highly recommend using their services. The reason I am advocating that is because you can do it on your own, but having some professional do it for you really makes a difference.

If you want to try your hand on other services on your own, below is a quick list.

• Logo maker
• OnlineLogo Maker
• Free 3D Logos
• LogoSnap

Let me know if this article was helpful !

-Abhi

Update: I just moved from FatCow to

The benefits are many:

• Seamless migration
• My websites perform faster than before (www.amlabc.com , www.amlabc.com , www.theclickpic.com )
• The support of FatCow was good as well. Again no complains from the WebhostingHub. Their support is really great!
• There is one drawback though.  For some reason they blocked my IP as there were 112 open connections somehow. Hence for a shared hosting, this might create an issue
• more later…

Ever wondered how people across the web world host their website, what’s the exact step involved etc.. ?
I was in the same dilemma when I planned to start my own blog on my own URL

To be frank I did not know the basics of where to start. But since I know now, I thought to share with others. First of all you need to purchase a domain (e.g. www.abhiztips.com), the name you want to give to your site. Then you need a provider who can host your content. There are several parameters which you need to consider before chosing a provider. Please note!! I will suggest to purchase a domain separately and not get lured to take the free offer from the provider!

It was a big problem choosing the right provider. There are several factors which you should consider, or to say in simple terms, you should have the following questions ready when you approach any provider.

The below list in my opinion should be sufficient:

• • Of course the first question is price, how much are they charging per year and what is the cost after 1 year ? Generally they provide discount only on first year and then the normal rates apply from 2nd year
  • How much bandwidth are they providing ? Generally these days they allow unlimited bandwidth. Bandwidth is basically how much traffic flows through your website
  • How much storage space do they allow ? This becomes significant question if you want to host large files/images on your website and link them
  • Important question! Does the provider allow to create subdomains ? If yes then is there a limit on it ? Generally most of them allow unlimited creation of subdomains, but its better to confirm. If you are wondering what the hell is subdomain, then let me explain. For example my base domain is “abhiztips.com”. Now I host my photos on “photos.abhizaworld.com” , a test version on “test.abhiztips.com”. These “.” prefixes (photos, test) are called the subdomains. They are very helpful since you can host a totally different site and don’t have to purchase an extra domain!
  • What is the kind of support do they provide? Most of the sites provide a functionality of webChat, which is very very helpful at times. Before purchasing, try to have some chats with the representatives about the above details and you will get an idea of how prompt they are
  • What kind of AdminPanel do they provide (e.g DirectAdmin etc..) ? Personally I don’t have any preference as such, but have heard people talking about it
  • Are they offering a free domain name ? Most of them do, but I will advice to purchase it separately, as this gives you a freedom to host your site anywhere and its only a matter of mapping it. Moreover the free domain remains only for one year max and turns to chargable from the 2nd year or so..
  • Do they allow FTP/mail servers too ?
  • If you are from a Linux/Unix background, its always helpful to ask upfront if they provide the command line access as well!

I did my own analysis and came across several providers listed below :

BlueHosting

FatCow.com

HostGator

Refer this link for more providers.

I did my own hosting comparisons and finally decided to go with FatCow as you can see I have their logo on the top of my site.  I have to be frank with you and tell that I will put some icing on the cake for FatCow as I am loving their service and hence recommend them for sure! They have a very very prompt support. You are immediately connected to the Chat with a representative in less than 15sec, be it any time of the day. For major issues, someone will handle it for you within 1hr! Also they have helped me a lot with some serious WordPress plugin issues. There is a problem though, they don’t provide you command line access so you need to rely on FTP. Moreover I don’t use their email often and have started using GoogleApps instead!

Please let me know what are your comments or suggestions and I will help you further.  If after all your comparisons you decide to purchase a FatCow subscription, then may I put a small request ? FatCow as part of  their affiliate program, will pay me some commission if you purchase their subscription clicking on here
Hosted By


Or clicking on the top corner of my website, since these links have my affiliate ID attached. I will appreciate your help and bring more and more informative articles in future with this support !!

Thanks for reading!

Update : 9-Mar-2011

Once you have started working on your website and looking for a professional but free logo, refer my article here !

-Abhi

You can refer to my another post where I have explained how to use the Home Loan EMI calculations! I will be using that for the facts and figures below.

First of all keep in mind, don’t get carried away by the shiny picture of ” Low EMI’s ”  :

This is a spoiler statement. Every salesman from a Home Loan branch be it ICICI/LIC/HDFC will tell you how easy you can repay your loan by paying XXYY amount of EMI per month ONLY!!. They never explain you the principal and the interest components. Please note lower the EMI, longer the duration which results in BIGGER interest at the end of the duration of your loan!

Try keeping your duration short :

First of all check out how much your purse permits to pay per month.  Then find out what is the max EMI you can pay. Once you have the max amount, try to minimize the loan duration.  As I said earlier, the more you extend your loan, the more interest you pay.  Of course decreasing your loan duration will increase the EMI, but look on the positive side. Your EMI has more principal component % (e.g 20-30%) in short duration than in a long duration (e.g 5-10%).

Let me explain with an example:

Say you have taken 20L as loan for 20years at 11% interest.  Now your EMI will be : Rs 21,328 per month!  If you break it down for a few months from start look at the breakdown of principal to interest ratio (for first 5 months)

As you can see you are paying only Rs 2,161.93 as principal and Rs 19,166.67 as Interest!!

Now try reducing the duration to say 15yrs and see the difference (for first 7 months) :

Look at the difference : The EMI got a bit increased from the previous Rs 21,328 to 23,363 but see now you are repaying more principal ( 2100 increased to 4100). This seems like a small change but infact its too big!

If you refer my post on how to calculate EMI, you will see how much interest you pay when you were on 20yrs compared to 15yrs. To make it simple let me do it for you. In the example above, for 20yrs you paid Rs 31,18,862.00 as interest whereas for 15ys you only pay Rs 22,05,483.00 a difference of HUGE Rs 9,13,379.00 .

So just imagine, by simply taking a burden of Rs 2K extra per month on your EMI, in the long run you are saving Rs 9Lac!!!! That is in no way a small amount

If you are an Expat or can do part-payment this section is for you :

I am myself an expat,  so I would like to share my experience as well.  The first thing when you go out of India and start saving abroad is purchase an apartment/house or land for investment. No doubt you earn a bit more compared to what you get in India.  When you have a loan back home in India, a wise thing to do is to do some part payments. Believe me that is an amazing thing to do. It drastically reduces your loan duration. Please make sure that you always keep the EMI constant. Else the bank will come back and suggest that they are doing a favor with regards to your generous “part-payment” and will reduce the EMI. Do you know what will happen internally ??

Let me tell you.  Your interest will accumulate more than your were supposed to pay, but you will get a false impression that your EMI has reduced so its a win-win for you.

Again let me explain with the above example. Say you have taken a loan for Rs 20L for 11% interest for 20yrs. Now say you do a part payment of Rs 5L. Check out the two scenarios :

Scenario 1: You let the emi go down with the duration.

In this case your EMI reduces to Rs 15,996.44 with a constant duration of 20yrs. Check out, you pay an interest of Rs 23,39,146.67.

Scenario 2: You instruct the bank(Yes you can do that) to keep EMI constant

In this case your EMI remains 21,328 but your duration drops to 120months or just 10yrs and your Total interest over the duration decreases to Rs 10,30,717.99 i.e a saving of Rs 13,08,428.68

Imagine using the Scenario 2 , you just saved around 13Lac from your hard earned cash!!!!

Have you heard this from a Customer Care Exec. “Interest gets lower so we will lower your EMI as an improvement”:

Do you really think this helps you ? Think again. Lowering your EMI increases your loan duration. Now do the math  This will increase your interest by many folds! So an advice. Make sure when the interest changes to the downside, request the bank to keep your EMI constant without increasing duration!!

I think that is enough info for now to at least think in a smarter way while making a decision either doing a part payment or choosing your Home Loan duration.  Do share any good ideas which you have so that others can benefit and stay away from the shiny, glittery traps which the bank lay over us. Use the comment section to ask any doubts you have.

Enjoy!!

-Abhi

Now the question arises, how to calculate the EMI. A valid question… Let me explain.

Please refer my Google Docs spreadsheet for Calculating EMI (please note someone else might be editing while you are working, so create your own copy)

OR  download an excel copy from here.

First go to the Input sheet :

Fill in the Interest rate % in Cell D3

Fill in the Loan duration in “months” in Cell D4

Fill in the Loan Amount in Cell D5.

Your results for EMI are highlighted in Cell D11.

Try playing with the duration to see how it impacts the EMI and how it changes the interest you pay till the end.

If you are planning for a part payment, make sure you input your outstanding principle amount in Cell D5 and not the original Principal amount. Then input the part payment you are planning to do.

NOTE: The part payment amount is always deducted from the Opening principal amount. So if you are doing a part payment say after 1 year, your principal will be opening Principal after 1 year (e.g 13th month) and the part payment amount will be deducted from that!

Then you will get the EMI you need to pay. In case of part payment, try playing with the duration to keep the EMI constant and see how much interest amount you can save!! (ref my post for Smart way to manage EMI).

Now please switch to sheet “Calculation”

Sorry I have kept this sheet only viewable. Here you can see the following interesting things :

• Monthly breakdown of principal and interest amount (Column C and D)
• Total interest you pay over the whole duration (Cell B7)
• Your EMI (Cell F2)
• Last but not the last, the Total Amount you pay at the end of duration (Principal + Interest ) in cell B1

And thats it!!

Please let me know if you have any queries on using it. Hope it helps you!!

-Abhi