Robber at ATM machine

ATM - PIN Number Reversal - Good to Know

In case you found yourself in the not-so-comforting situation of being robbed in an ATM location. Here’s what to do -

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can

notify the police by entering your PIN # in reverse.

For example, if your pin number is 1234, then you would put in 4321.

The ATM system recognizes that your PIN number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine.

The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to the location. All you can hope for next is that the police will reach in time.

Plastic Money

Say ‘Plastic Money’ and you are received by a welcoming smile by any young adult. Plastic money is the alternative to the cash or the standard 'money' we use and is referred to the credit cards or the debit cards that we use to make purchases in our everyday life.

The pros of plastic money are far too many. It is more convenient to carry an ATM card of a bank account having thousands of rupees than to carry the same amount in your pocket. It is also much safer to carry it along or to travel with it as if it is stolen one can consult the bank whose service you are using and get it blocked hence saving your money from getting stolen or even lost.

It was a year before economic reforms kicked off in 1991 that Citibank became the first bank to launch a credit card in India. Today there are millions of plastic cards being used for monetary transactions.

However popular we might be to plastic money, there’s more to it than just credit cards and debit cars.

Different types of cards:

1.Credit Card

A credit card is plastic money that is used to pay for products and services. All you need to do is produce the card and sign a charge slip to pay for your purchases. The institution which issues the card makes the payment to the outlet on your behalf; you will pay this 'loan' back to the institution at a later date.

2. Debit Card (My favourite!)

Debit cards are substitutes for cash or check payments, much the same way that credit cards are. However, banks only issue them to you if you hold an account with them. When a debit card is used to make a payment, the total amount charged is instantly reduced from your bank balance.

A debit card is only accepted at outlets with electronic swipe-machines that can check and deduct amounts from your bank balance online.

3. Charge Card

A charge card carries all the features of credit cards. However, after using a charge card you will have to pay off the entire amount billed, by the due date. If you fail to do so, you are likely to be considered a defaulter and will usually have to pay up a steep late payment charge.

When you use a credit card you are not declared a defaulter even if you miss your due date. A 2.95 per cent late payment fees (this differs from one bank to another) is levied in your next billing statement.

4.Smart Card

A smart card contains an electronic chip which is used to store cash. This is most useful when you have to pay for small purchases, for example bus fares and coffee. No identification, signature or payment authorisation is required for using this card.

The exact amount of purchase is deducted from the smart card during payment and is collected by smart card reading machines. No change is given. This is the very famous smart cards used for our BEST buses and Metros

5.Diners Club card

Diners Club is a branded charge card. There are a wide variety of special privileges offered to the Diners Club cardholder. For instance, as a cardholder you can set your own spending limit.

However, since this card is typically meant for high-income group categories, it may not be acceptable at many outlets. It would be a good idea to check whether a member establishment does accept the card or not in advance.

6.Photo Card?

If your photograph is imprinted on a card, then you have what is known as a photo card. Doing this helps identify the user of the credit card and is therefore considered safer. Besides, in many cases, your photo card can function as your identity card as well.

7.Global Card

Global cards allow you the flexibility and convenience of using a credit card rather than cash or travellers checks while travelling abroad for either business or personal reasons.

8.Co-branded Card

Co-branded cards are credit cards issued by card companies that have tied up with a popular brand for the purpose of offering certain exclusive benefits to the consumer.

For example, the Citi-Times card gives you all the benefits of a Citibank credit card along with a special discount on Times Music cassettes, free entry to Times Music events, etc.

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By the way, did you know that Canada will be replacing its paper currency for plastic? Not just credit cards but actual plastic money. By the end of 2011, the Bank of Canada will replace the nation's traditional cotton-and-paper bank notes with currency made from a synthetic polymer. Canada will purchase its plastic money from a company in Australia, one of nearly two dozen countries where plastic currency is already in circulation.

REALTY REALITY

Okay, I’m sort of used to my friends telling me how I resemble Konkana Sen Sharma in Wake Up Sid. She was all that I am (according to my friends), although I feel I’m much better (personal opinion, but let’s not get into that!) Similarities include both of us are journalists by profession, ambitious, and a matter of paramount importance: HAVE A DREAM TO OWN AN APARTMENT IN THE CITY

Though I hardly understand terms like FSI, carpet area, maintenance, stamp duty and all that terminology which kind of gives me the creeps at the thought going through the whole process of house hunting. But dreams aren’t dreamt of with each and every single detail sorted out right? The only thing that matters is that I want to own an apartment of my own in the city… The thought of having an independent area that I’d call – MY OWN is way too exhilarating. Sometimes I think that’s my ultimate ambition in life, even beyond a successful journalistic career.

There comes the trouble! Even though I agree of being an ignorant person (only in this sector), which I clearly stated above , I am unfortunately not so ignorant to not know that realty rates in Mumbai and in fact overall the country are sky rocketing. Every time I see the Property Plus, or DNA Property, I am welcomed by rates of 1BHK, 2BHK and 3BHK that are unthinkable. Now practically I don’t bother with 2BHK and anything more than that, but the rates of even 1BHK makes me feel of dreaming an unfulfilled dream.

As if the rates of property in Mumbai aren’t high enough, experts say that the rates will still increase to something like 25-40% MORE. Can you believe that, it’ll be like the rates would go beyond earth, travel all the way to at least Jupiter and come back .Forgive my exaggeration, but how can somebody afford a 1BHK- ONLY ONE BEDROOM, HALL AND KITCHEN for 20lacs??? And like all of us know, I am not even bothering to think about areas like South Mumbai or Dadar (how I wish I could!)

As I think of owning my own apartment, I start contemplating on my approx salary, my approx expenditure, my approx indulgence and my approx EMIs….It makes me feel that I'd either survive or own a house. These are the only two options. Loans are always there, but interest rates don’t give any soothing effect either. So basically, owning an apartment of my own would come down to not LIVING my adult, professional life (as LIVING LIFE, in today’s terms doesn’t come cheap!)

But, there a silver lining here, as there usually is in life…This particular news had me jumping in joy! According to CRISIL research group, the house prices in Mumbai to decline in 2011.

According to that research diminished affordability and rising interest rates will lead to decline in prices in 2011. Prices of houses soared by 43 per cent in 2010. Prices thus surpassed their peak values, attained in the first half of 2008, by 26 per cent, adversely affecting housing affordability. CRISIL Research therefore expects prices in Mumbai to decline by 8-10 per cent in 2011.

“Reduced affordability and a likely increase in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India will subdue demand and depress housing prices in Mumbai in 2011. In NCR, relatively better affordability will prop prices despite any increase in interest rates,” explains Nagarajan Narasimhan, Director – CRISIL Research.

God bless RBI!!! Maybe, I might get that airy, well lit, centrally located 1BHK. My own apartment away from the noise, with beautiful cream coloured curtains, photo frames of cherished memories hanging up on walls, a beautiful bouquet of white carnations decorating my dining table…..I might just get it! :)

Why Should You Invest Your Money???

• You don’t wish to slog ALL your life, just to have a better life ahead.
  
  
• Inflation still exists (onions, petrol, groceries, remember????) in spite of the Indian government doing all that they can (at least they say so!)
  
  
• We don’t belong to a set of people who believe in ‘simple living and high thinking’ even though we’d like to say we do.
  
  
• None of us can say we have enough black leather boots or zardosi sarees or iPads or even BMWs…..
  
  
• Everytime we watch Aisha, Badmaash Company, Priceless, we wish we were the protagonist.
  
  
• Though we believe in saving hard earned money, a Frankie a day or a taxi a day are temptations we can’t resist.
  
  
• Even though we do watch movies on Tuesdays utilizing the Vodafone one-on-one free scheme or prefer going to Chitra, Plaza or low cost theatres, we’d love to make instant plans and go catch a movie whenever (not early mornings, please) and wherever possible.
  
  
• We believe in ‘living life king/queen size’ without making compromises on our own needs (you can’t blame me of being a feminist)
  
  
• And lastly, ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH!

We can never be sure how long our pocket money or salary will last us . Eventually, it like any other resource will get extinguished ….. We don’t only need to earn good money, we also need to let our money grow for us. And this can happen only by investing it.

Why Invest:Where you invest your money is not of prime importance but keeping it invested is paramount. By keeping money in our bank accounts, rather than investing it, we are only storing it away in a safe place. The money you’ll end up having is the money you saved with a very minute amount of interest over it. By investing money, you are generating money through earning interest or by buying and selling assests that can work for you.

Where to Invest: it truly doesn’t matter where you invest till the time your investments help your money grow.Here, unlike other facets of life, means aren’t important . You have a wide range of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate, own business to invest in.

High Expectations You can never be sure how a market will move. You can only speculate. There isn’t any guarantee of how high the SENSEX will go, but there is a guarantee that investing will keep you in good stead in the long run.

Twenties is THE age! According to investment experts postponing your investing career is second only to not investing at all on the list of investment sins. The earlier you start the better off you are.

Playing it safe. If you're young, most of your investing dollars should be in the stock market. You have enough time to weather any dips in the market and to reap the rewards of long-term gains. Although you may want to transition into bonds later in life as you depend on your investments for income, stocks should make up a large portion of the portfolio of every investor.

Playing it scary. Not every investment is for everyone. Even if you're a daredevil, you shouldn't pour all of your money into something that could end up going down the drain.

Trading in and out of the market. We believe the best approach to investing is the long-term one. Pick your investments well and you'll reap greater rewards over the long term than you had ever dreamed possible. Trade in and out of the market and you'll be burdened with fees that chip away at your returns, and you'll potentially miss out on gains that long-term investors enjoy with much less effort.

As they say, "Money isn't everything, but happiness alone can't keep out the rain."

Tax System explained in Beer

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your beer by $20’.

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth would now pay $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And, the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a Dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that is how our tax system works.The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

(This isn't written by me but I thought it would be a good read)

Topping The List

The budget was just declared a few days ago and knowing very little of it, it was a different topic that caught my attention in the budget this time. It was this aspect called the ‘fiscal deficit’.

FISCAL DEFICIT: When a government's total expenditures exceed the revenue that it generates (excluding money from borrowings). Deficit differs from debt, which is an accumulation of yearly deficits. Fiscal deficit gives the signal to the government about the total borrowing requirements from all sources.

Many rating agencies (companies that assess financial strength of companies and governmental entities) have noted that the government might struggle to achieve its fiscal deficit target for 2011-2012 which is of 4.6% due to the increasing prices of crude oil and other commodities. Now, our finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee has although continued his confident stand on fiscal deficit by stating that, "There are some people who have expressed some doubts over fiscal deficit target, but I can assure you they need not worry over numbers." All thanks to the various spectrum sales that have happened in the country in the current year (never mind the corruption being dealt with there!)

So after that, we come to another interesting topic called ‘black money’ Though, I am sure you’d know what it is, but still, just to get the picture straight, black money is, unaccounted-for and untaxed cash generated by dealings in a black economy, black market, or organized crime.

The topic of black money stashed away in tax havens of Swiss banks are a hot topic. And why shouldn’t it be? The amount stored in Indian accounts in the Swiss banks is a stark irony to 41% of India’s population which is slated to be below the international poverty line.

According to the data provided by the Swiss bank, India has more black money than rest of the world combined. India topping the list with almost $1500 Billion black money in Swiss banks, followed by Russia $470 Billion, UK $390 Billion, Ukraine $100 Billion and China with $96 Billion.

Let’s not get into how shameful a situation it is for India to top a list of this sort, the fact remains it is the MOST RICHEST COUNTRY in sense of its BLACK MONEY. Now this is an amount which is 13 times larger than the nation’s foreign debt.

Getting this equation straight, our current fiscal deficit (which is our excess in expenditure over revenue generated) is rupees 3.5 lac crore and the amount in Swiss banks is approximately rupees 64 lac crores.The subtraction is easy even for a person like me. The total black money accounts for 40% of GDP of India, and keeping all political aspects aside, it just makes sense to get back this cash and free ourselves of various debts that we are under, provide OUR people some basic amenities (afterall, the politicians owe them that!) and decrease the bad name that we have earned in the global circle.

FINANCIAL STABILITY - and what it means to me!!!

ROSE DAY!!!

One of the event that every Ruiaite (me an alumni of Ruia college) looks forward to, is scheduled for the 20^th September. Myself being like just another college going student is obviously excited about it. It is the one day when everyone (ok! Probably not everyone but at least I ) am all busy expecting roses and rose cards and yes to my agony even though I can’t resist…….chocolates. And yes! How can I forget, the reaction of your “special” one when he/she receives your card (with the added effect of the RED rose. In other words its something I’m really waiting for…..

So for a person like me (Oh! In case I forgot to mention, I’m a typical girl ,looking for an occasion to look good, all ready to get compliments and loving each and every adulation that comes my way) looking good is really…read : REALLY important.As luck would have it I was strolling on Matunga streets when I saw this dirty – green coloured halter neck. But still out of curiosity (and thank god for that!!!!) I happened to ask if they had the same one in a different colour (read: BLACK!).It usually happens that stuff that I like is either not fitting, too tight or too baggy or simply too expensive (come on! I’m still not earning… ) and that day was just like the others….they didn’t have it in black. However the attendant turned up all smiling to tell me that they have a brown one (not that I love brown but well something is better than nothing…or better put as brown is better than green!!!)

Well there is absolutely no point describing my trying it on, loving it, hating myself for putting on so much weight and looking at myself from each and every angle possible….(typical girl I told you!!!).The cruz remains that I ended up buying it for 300 bucks (luckily I had that much cash that day!!!!)

So well, what actually happened(by now you might be wondering where financial stability comes in!!!) is that my mom happened to find it not so decent! Come on now decency is a very relative according to me and heck! that’s what generation gap is all about…..isn’t it????

Anyway in the evening the topic ended by me saying- “I like it and I’m wearing it. PERIOD!!!”. So far,so good. But whoever said life was all smooth sailing. Due to a fight with my sister the topic came up again late in the night. Now mom was like, “you didn’t even think twice before handing over those 300 Rs for this indecent top of yours”. Well, I happened to say that it was just a matter of 300 Rs.(Ohkay! Now this is an advice to all my fellow teenagers…..never, ever use the term “only” or “just”when it comes to cash. Never! PERIOD And if you’re trying to prove that you’re some smart ass….go ahead and face your fate).

Like a typical mom, my mom too went on and on and on and on as to how hard she works and doesn’t spend on herself only to see me cash out money for an INDECENT, REVEALING TOP. Not that I don’t agree to the 1^st part of the sentence (I love you mom!) as that definitely is how the situation is but not indecent and revealing, no! I don’t buy that. And since that night all I’ve been wondering is how peaceful it would be if I were earning. Then I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about a thing; on spending cash on something my mom found indecent, of buying something that I’d probably wear only once a year,of wasting her hard-earned cash on 2 meters or probably less lycra!

Had I been earning and financially independent I would be able to speak with my head held high (Gosh! some pride…) that it was my cash and I would decide how to spend it and on what …..It does seem a very trivial issue right now, but back then it was something quite humiliating. Something quite shameful, something that doubted my sense of expenditure and mainly right and wrong (come on it’s a big decision whether to buy a top or not !!!)

But then in any case I have to wait for more 6 months (to be an adult, I’m still 17 for the record) and a good job opportunity to come along. But till then, “ummm….. mom / dad may I have some cash please…….”

NOTE: This was written a long while ago, just thought this could go with the blog as it shares the main topic- money!

Valued Business!

Stationery shops, Xerox machines, cafes and an Archies gallery is a frequent sight near colleges and schools. Although CCDs and Baristas are new in the locality, it’s the stationery shops that have been (in usual cases) ruling the scene for the past many years. Ruia College’s famous stationery shop, A 1 is right next to a Frankie and Chinese shop and bang opposite the parking lot, making it very conspicuous in its surroundings.

I’ve always been a big fan of all new pens in the market, the different colours/ shades of refills, the smell of new blank text books and a crazy collector of different types of diaries, I once wanted to own a stationery shop myself. However, after having spoken to the owner of A-1 Stationery, or ‘Uncle’ as everyone lovingly calls him, my ideas started getting slightly quashed.

Although Uncle started running the shop (which earlier also included tailoring jobs) after his father retired from the job and has been running it for the past 55 years, he now tells me about his plans to wrap up the business. One might think that a stationery shop would make huge profits, but one also has to remember that competition will always keep getting tougher and tougher. Adding to it, uncle says, employees need to be trustworthy, which is not the case as of this moment. “Earlier, the people who would work here would be part of the family itself, so we could trust each other. Also, we had such loyal and trustworthy customers that we never had even an iota of doubt in them. But cases of shoplifting are on the rise daily,” says uncle. Wondering how times changed, uncle tells me how there were so many instances when he left the shop to fetch something with only a customer in the shop to keep a watch.

We talk about my favourite topic- PENS and I ask uncle a question I’ve wanted to ask for years, as a child, how do YOU earn? “Well, there is a profit margin of say, 10-15% on the pens we sell. It is a good venture because, a pen is something that can’t EVER go out of fashion. They are always in demand. Even promotional activities by the company give us about additional 2% profits than usual. Sometimes the company tries to entice us by giving us ‘bonuses’ like goods worth Rs. 100 free on goods bought for Rs. 5,000, although this is nothing but a hoarding trick. They make us buy stock that we don’t need and hence block our own capital. They use these strategies more during the holiday season, when students have vacations as otherwise, sales drop steeply.”

As I chat with uncle, I notice that in the past few minutes, every second customer that has walked in has asked for a cell phone top up or recharge. According to uncle, who believes in moving with the times, it is the ‘mobile zamaana’ that each and every shopkeeper wants to tap in. According to him, keeping recharges and top ups helps increase footfalls and indirectly sales. “A stationery shop is a very attractive thing, you can never have enough of a pen or colours,” uncle says as I give a head nod and a smile in complete agreement. But on a more serious note, uncle claims that though it increases footfalls, the mobile business isn’t very profit making. On any top up the profit margin is 1.5 % on the amount of top up, which is hardly anything. Varying service providers give almost the same margins, though the maximum profit that can be achieved in this category is 2% which is still pretty low.

As Valentines Day approaches, I ask uncle how are the sales for greeting cards and uncle replies saying , “not much”. Uncle then asks me to see the cards for myself. As I start going through the open shelves I notice very few so called “romantic cards”. This is a complete contradiction to the cupid glass pieces, heart shaped pillows, golden paper wrapped chocolates and basically red colour everywhere. “Business is not everything, infact its nothing if it goes against our values. I know adding Valentines day cards would help my sales, but I don’t agree to the whole idea itself. I see students aged 15-16 coming and buying ‘I Love You’ cards, at an age where you don’t know love, commitment and what all it entails, it would be wrong on my part to cater to such an audience. Other than that, in these days of technology, sales of cards have decreased tremendously as its more convenient to send a text message or call or post on facebook wall, at least that way the other person knows for a fact that you remembered his birthday or whatever occasion."

Wrapping up my small little interview with him, Uncle added on to say, “ I’ve seen so many students come and go, and it gives me immense pleasure when ex-students drop in just to see how I am, how the business is taking shape, and it is then that I realise, that I might not be running a huge profit making business, but I affect many lives daily. And if I can do that with all my earnesty and values intact, I'm surely doing good business”.