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Let’s put on our thinking cap: Depositing our pay cheques in bank and using the credit and ATM card for spending seems easy. However keeping the track of your income and expenses, to get full value for your money is possible only with budgeting. Budgeting helps most of us to keep track of our income and spending and not overspend. In practice 10 budgeting myths retard the savings of a lifetime. They are: 1) I earn a lot and need not budget: This requires a change of perspective. Michel Jackson lived like a king but died awash in $400 million debt. Budgeting by watching your spending pattern helps trace unnecessary expenses on clothes or eating out, and help you save for a future or for a much wanted dream holiday. So how much you earn has got less relevance. What is more important is budgeting. Proper budgeting can make a low income earner to retire richer and overspending can make a high income earner a pauper. 2) I hold a secure job and see no reason to save: This...

Do you want to create wealth? Are you satisfied and happy as you are? Most of us would answer the first question as Yes, and the second as No, and if you are one of them then you are at the right place at the right time. My Hearty Congratulations! to you. Wallace D. Wattles said, “Every person who gets rich by creation opens a way for thousands to follow - and inspires them to do so." Wealth creation is not the privilege of a few, but as Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed, “Man was born to be rich, or inevitably to grow rich, through the use of his faculties." Here come the 4 maxims to wealth creation as jacks out of the box: 1. When young be a youngster, when old be mature. "Don't let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream and he thinks you're crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you're lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you're greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn't understand." By Robert Allen Some youngsters are easily influenc...

Let’s introduce do’s and don’ts of investing: Most of us have our own perception of investment based on our experiences, but also tend to be confused with the opinions given by others. Knowing the do’s and don’ts of the stock market would help us turn really as a smart investor. The do’s and don’ts in the stock market are: slow, steady, and boring wins the race: It is best not to panic over information about stocks on the media. Being slow and steady with looking at the activities that your money is to be used for would ensure that you invest in ventures that are good, useful and profitable. Reading good books on personal finance will help you in taking right financial and investment decision. In addition, finding good financial advisors would help you get advice regarding stocks and mutual funds, along with entrusting the custody and management of your funds to them. All this may seem too boring and time consuming, but it is better to be cautious than bitten too hard. D...

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty five years ago, two young men graduated from the college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were smart and both were filled with ambitious dreams for the future. Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion. They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had a kid. And both had gone to work for the same industry and held similar positions in different companies. But there was a difference. One of the men’s kid has completed M.S from a reputed university in USA and the other kid has completed a graduation from a local university. What made the difference? Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in our kid’s career? It is a carefully thought out long-term planning for kid’s future. As a responsible parent, you would not like to compromise on your child’s career, regardless of rising cost of education. You...

Director            Imtiaz Ali Cast                  Ranbir Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Aditi Rao Hydari, Jaideep Ahlawat, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Kumud Mishra, Moufid Aziz, Avantika Akerkar Year                 2011 Genre               Drama Away…. Beyond all the concepts of wrong doing and right doing There is a field….. I will meet you there – Rumi The movie ends with this couplet.   And probably sums up the entire story quite aptly.   The story of Janardhan Jhankhad (Ranchhod Das Chanchad has started a trend with Bollywood which will be here for a long time to come) – JJ for short is a sadak chhap Dilli ka Chhokra (a roadside romeo) from Pitam Pura.   He has known only the guitar from ...

Director            Steven Spielberg Cast                  Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kim Stengel, Glad Elmaleh, Year                 2011 Genre               Animation The ever revered and loved Herge (may his soul rest in peace) had once gone on record to state that if there was anyone who could have made Tintin into   a movie it would have been Steven Spielberg.   Now why would anyone else not dare to challenge this statement? To figure out the answer to this conundrum, you will not have a choice but to watch the movie.   It is only Spielberg who can do justice to an enigma that has regaled us for over 8 decades now.   A fantasy, that has transformed every child’...

You have got only a few more months to complete this financial year. Very soon you will get a call from your company to submit the proofs for tax saving investments. So why don’t you spend some time on organising your tax plan? 1) Proper Allocation of Annual compensation Restructuring your salary with some additional components can reduce your tax liability. This restructuring doesn’t require any additional cash outflow. The following components can be efficiently used to reduce your income tax liability.  Transport allowance to the extend of Rs.800 is exempt  Medical expenses which are reimbursed by the employer are exempt to the tune of Rs.15000  Food coupons like sodexo or ticket restaurant are exempt from tax up to Rs.60000  Individuals who are all living in a rented accommodation can include House Rent Allowance ( HRA ) as a part of their salary  Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) can be part of your salary as this can be claimed twice in a block of 4 years. 2) Effective Utilizatio...

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY) As I mentioned in my earlier post, after Diwali I am looking to cook foods that are bland, not so colorful and light. So I decided to make cabbage and green peas thuvaran with some molaghu rasam. I love the combo of cabbage and green peas. Its absolutely delightful. MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN Ingredients Cabbage - 1 medium size Green peas – 1 ½ cup (fresh or frozen) Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Udad dal - 1 tsp Green chillies – 1-2 Grated ginger / ginger paste – 1 tsp Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (Prefer coconut oil) Salt as per taste. CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY Method Chop the cabbage & rinse well under running water in a colander. Rinse the green peas as well and keep aside. In a Kadhai (wok), Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and udad dal, when it begins to crackle, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green c...