Money Saving Tips

Do you still buy Insurance products for your Investment needs? A farmer plans for a drought or flood. A pilot plans for an emergency landing. A bank provisions for NPAs and bad debts. Payment companies plan for cyber threats… The list is never ending. Risk is an inevitable aspect of life. Acknowledging this reality, our objective shifts from loss aversion to positioning ourselves managing risk. We plan for our retirement or any uncertainty during our life. An individual should plan according to his needs and goals. Every individual goes through different phases in life and makes investments depending on whether the person is risk averse or risk seeker. Every generation experiences a different lifestyle and prefers a different investment style. Some look for wealth creation, while some others invest for children’s future. Another set of investors focus on retirement planning. Investment means something in which you put our money and you expect it to grow over the time. There are...

Difference between card payment via EMI on shopping site and paying credit card due via EMI https://www.fundstiger.com/difference-between-card-payment-via-emi-shopping-site-paying-credit-card-due-via-emi/ When you make a purchase online using your credit card, you can convert the transaction amount into equated monthly instalments (EMIs). This essentially means that you have converted the transaction (dues) into a loan and have opted to pay it via EMIs over a fixed number of months as chosen. There are two ways you can convert your credit card payments into EMIs. They are: either through instant EMI conversion on the e-commerce portal itself or convert the transaction amount into EMI after the transaction via Net-banking. The EMI includes a portion of the principal outstanding and interest component, which you need to pay every month until the full amount is paid. However, not all transactions can be converted into EMIs. Only those transaction amounts which are eligible for c...

Mastercard commits Rs 250 crores to support small businesses in India https://www.fundstiger.com/mastercard-commits-rs-250-crores-to-support-small-businesses-in-india/ Their dependence on the cash-economy and supply chain disruptions have made India’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) amongst the hardest hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these challenges, Mastercard announced a commitment of Rs 250 crores ($33 million) to help reboot Indian SMEs and enable business recovery. As part of this commitment, Mastercard will roll out multiple initiatives to: Help small businesses by growing digital payments awareness and providing low-cost acceptance solutions – online and offline – that are simple, safe and secure Drive inclusive growth by enabling small merchants and kirana stores with access to credit, knowledge and tools that will drive operational efficiencies; and Empower women entrepreneurs by increasing their business acumen. This is an extension of Mastercard’s ...

Income tax return filing deadline for FY 2019-20 extended to Nov 30, 2020 https://www.fundstiger.com/tax-return-filing-deadline-fy-2019-20-extended-nov30/ The government in a press conference dated May 13, 2020 announced that the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline for financial year 2019-20 has been extended to November 30, 2020 from July 31, 2020. “Due date for all income-tax return for FY 2019-20 will be extended from July 31 2020 and 31 October 31, 2020 to November 30, 2020 and tax audit from September 30, 2020 to 31st October 2020,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during a press briefing. Further, the government via notification dated June 24, 2020 (effective from June 30, 2020) has extended the date to issue Form 16 (TDS certificate for salary) to employees by employers to August 15, 2020. As per chartered accountants, the government had earlier extended the deadline for receiving Form-16 from June 15, 2020 to June 30, 2020 via an ordinance dated March 31, 2020...

Wadhwani Foundation launches ‘Sahayata’ initiative, commits investment of Rs 200 crore The Wadhwani Foundation (WF) has announced the Sahayata Initiative to help distressed small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the economic crisis and public health workers improve COVID-19 knowledge and skills. Wadhwani Foundation has committed Rs 200 crore and is building an ecosystem of partners, including government ministries and agencies, banks, and consulting firms, to help operationalize this large and complex initiative. The Sahayata Initiative consists of three: Sahayata Business Stability program Sahayata COVID-19 Skillingprogram Sahayata Public Health Innovation program Romesh Wadhwani, Founder and Chairman, Wadhwani Foundation,in a statement said, “COVID-19 has created both a health and an economic crisis that is especially harming SMEs and jobs. Without proper credit and consulting support, the short- and long-term damage to the SME sector will be enormous. The Foundati...

Maruti launches vehicle lease subscription service for individual customers https://www.fundstiger.com/maruti-launches-vehicle-lease-subscription/ The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday launched its vehicle lease subscription service for individual customers under ‘Maruti Suzuki Subscribe’ brand. The company said it has tied up with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Ltd, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, Japan, to launch the subscription service in India. The subscription service will begin as a pilot project in Gurugram and Bengaluru and will be initially available on Swift, Dzire, Vitara Brezza and Ertiga from Maruti Suzuki ARENA Channel and Baleno, Ciaz and XL6 from NEXA Channel, the company said in a regulatory filing. Maruti Suzuki India joins rival Hyundai Motor India, which had last year launched its subscription model initially in six cities across India as part of its partnership with self-drive car-sharing firm Revv. Similarly, MG Motor Ind...

Avoid high TDS rates by transacting online, filing ITR regularly https://www.fundstiger.com/avoid-high-tds-rates-transacting-online-filing-itr/ In order to tighten the noose on those who don’t file income tax returns (ITR) despite earning taxable income and discourage cash transactions, the Finance Act 2020 introduced higher TDS (tax deducted at source) rates on cash withdrawals for those who do not file ITR. The rule came into effect in July but the withdrawal limits for FY20 will be calculated from April. Those who haven’t filed ITR for the past three financial years (FYs) will have to pay TDS at the rate of 2%, if the amount withdrawn from the bank is above ₹20 lakh but doesn’t exceed ₹1 crore in an FY. If the amount exceeds ₹1 crore, TDS will be deducted at the rate of 5% under Section 194N of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for those who do not file ITR. However, even if you have filed your ITR but withdraw cash above ₹1 crore in an FY, you will still have to pay TDS but at a lo...

Don’t just consider the interest rates when taking a home loan Interest rates on home loans have been falling ever since the lockdown, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) opting for deeper cuts in the policy rates to revive demand and economic activity that has taken a beating due to covid-19. In its last monetary policy meeting, the central bank reduced the repo and reverse rates by 40 basis points (bps) each to 4% and 3.35%, respectively. One bps is one-hundredth of a percentage point. New customers can now get home loans at much lower rates than what was available earlier. “The sub-7% is the lowest interest rate on floating home loan in the last 15 years,” said Gaurav Gupta, CEO, Myloancare, a marketplace for loans and credit cards. While interest rates are one of the key factors borrowers look at when choosing a lender, it’s important to consider some other aspects too. In a falling interest rate scenario, existing borrowers may feel stuck with higher rates but there may b...

What you need to know before buying a covid-19 health policy? https://www.fundstiger.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-a-covid-19-health-policy/ The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has mandated general and health insurance companies to offer standard covid-19 products, as the pandemic shows no signs of abating. Insurers are expected to offer these products from 15 July. The insurance regulator has also allowed all insurers, including life insurance companies, to offer short-term covid-19 products. However, regular health insurance policies already cover the costs for covid-19 treatment. Renu Yadav asked experts if there’s any real need for having specific products for the disease Current health policies can’t cover covid-19 treatment cost The current design of health policies isn’t able to adequately cover covid-19 treatment. Patients are reporting significant out-of-pocket payment of around ₹50,000-2,50,000 in spite of having en...