Beyond the Price tag?

I saw this picture on Facebook....This prompted me to write this blog...

Let me start with a decliner- I love Lay's and it  is one of the best tasting potato chips in the market.

I am looking at this more on the value? How many times do we look beyond the price tag? If a price is cheap does it mean its low in value?

Often Brands, Advertisement, and peer pressure are the reasons for making financial decisions. I sometimes come across clients who decide on a financial plan because a friend also did it. Its quite a challenge to explain that each of our financial needs are different. 

To compare Value with cost is a challenge. Some of the criteria in assessing are 

Meets the objective- The first criteria is to see if it meets the objective. It cannot be decided on impulse. How many times have you bought something because you think you may need it sometime in the future and never used it. It maybe at a discount but if you don't NEED it, there is no Value.

Reliable- When it comes to food, the most important decision is the reliability of the company manufacturing. The quality control processes in place, the food handling methods, cleanliness and the quality of the raw materials used helps us make the decision. 

Functionality- A lot of times we come across products that are lower price but have more functionalities.

Accurate- Functionality and accuracy go hand in hand. There maybe a lot of functions in a product, but if they do not perform accurately the purpose is lost.

Efficiency- My daughter always prefers a particular brand of pen. She argues that the flow of INK and the smooth movement makes her handwriting look neater when she writes. Especially in exams, when she is trying to race against time.

Coming back to the picture above, What do we get when we look beyond the price tag!!!!!.....

Financial tips for Women

The general impression about women and money is that we don't know how to handle it. Although it may not be 100% true, many women do not take interest in Financial planning.

For many money is emotionally connected. Our beliefs about Money and our emotional connections decided how we handle and spend money. Money also affects relationships, love and other matters in our life. There are also sometimes Psychological stumbling blocks that also prevent one from achieving their Financial goals.

Here are some tips to achieve financial independence.

Set Financial Goals-  Having a goal is key to financial success. You need to work out what you want and where you are currently in achieving it.

Spend less earn More- That's the primary step to build wealth.


Be Financially independent - Depending on your spouse or family to handle your finances will not help you reach your goals. You need to be involved.

Watch your Spending- Don't spend to feel good. This can never help you build your self esteem. Look for other ways to boost your self esteem.

Education- Make a conscious effort to learn about money and finance. Read books, attend talks and educate yourself to handle money wisely.

Get involved- Get involved in the day to day spending and accounts of your house.Talk to your spouse about money and how he handles it.

Not late to Start Its never too late to start. So start getting involved and learn to handle your money TODAY....

How to beat inflation?

I recently received this cartoon in an email. Good Humour indeed. But lets look deeper into this...

When strikes me in this Cartoon is that its very clear that depending on Salary alone to Manage Cash flow is not enough. We need to look at Passive income streams that will supplement our income.

Planning to have a good Passive income stream requires diligent financial Planning. Firstly, what is very important is Discipline and Commitment. Able to save for the lean days is like the Ant and Grasshopper story. Its not easy when you see people around you having a good time buying what they want, when you are give up some pleasures for having a better time in lean time.

Robert Kiyosaki, the Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and designer of Cashflow came, says he invests for Cashflow and not for Capital Gains.

The options that are available are plenty.. to suit everyone's budget and need... One just need to start the journey....

Financial Resolutions

This cartoon Prompted me to write this blog..

Do you make resolutions every year!

When we talk about Financial Resolutions, all of us can have different resolutions that is relevant to us.

- Buy a house,
- Upgrade the car
- Travel overseas
-save for the rainy days
- save for a wedding... etc.etc...

For for anything that has to be financially planned, the first thing to look at is the Cash flow.

- Do you spend less than what you earn monthly.
- Do you save at least 10% of my monthly income.
- Do you have at least six months worth of my income as emergency funds.
- Do you pay my credit card bills and other debt obligations, in full and on time each month.
- Do you have adequate financial protection.

If you have worked out a Cash flow statement of how much you earn and how much you spend,
if you have a surplus then its good. But if there is deficit, then you need to do some serious Budgeting.
The three things that matter for a good Budget-

• Know what is your Income, 
• What are the expenses, 
• when the due dates are for each payment to be made. Budget is time sensitive. 

Once the Budget and Cash flow is done, you need to review it regularly to see the progress towards your goal.

For any resolution to be achieved, constant review is required. Wishing you all the best in achieving your Resolutions...

Time is Money

When we talk about Money, I often hear comments about how unfair it is that some have so much money and there are many who don't have even the basic for survival..

What stricks me is that many of us forget something very important. TIME. The Rich or the Poor, we all have one thing that is totally fair. We are all given the same amount of time and how we use it is totally up to us.

I would like to share an email I received with excerpts from a book First Thing Every Morning by Lewis Timberlake.

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If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400—with no balance carried from day to day—what would you do? Well, you do have such a bank...time.

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as "lost" whatever you have failed to use toward good purposes. It carries over no balances and allows no overdrafts. You can't hoard it, save it, store it, loan it or invest it. You can only use it—time.

Here's a story that drives the point home.

Arthur Berry was described by Time as "the slickest second-story man in the East," truly one of the most famous jewel thieves of all times. In his years of crime, he committed as many as 150 burglaries and stole jewels valued between $5 and $10 million. He seldom robbed from anyone not listed in the Social Register and often did his work in a tuxedo. On an occasion or two, when caught in the act of a crime by a victim, he charmed his way out of being reported to the police.

Like most people who engage in a life of crime, he was eventually caught, convicted and served 25 years in prison for his crimes. Following his release, he worked as a counterman in a roadside restaurant on the East Coast for $50 a week.

A newspaper reporter found him and interviewed him about his life. After telling about the thrilling episodes of his life he came to the conclusion of the interview saying, "I am not good at morals. But early in my life I was intelligent and clever, and I got along well with people. I think I could have made something of my life, but I didn't. So when you write the story of my life, when you tell people about all the burglaries, don't leave out the biggest one of all... Don't just tell them I robbed Jesse Livermore, the Wall Street baron or the cousin of the king of England. You tell them Arthur Berry robbed Arthur Berry."

Here are six terrific truths about time:

First: Nobody can manage time. But you can manage those things that take up your time.

Second: Time is expensive. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of our day is spent on those things or those people that only bring us two percent of our results.

Third: Time is perishable. It cannot be saved for later use.

Fourth: Time is measurable. Everybody has the same amount of time...pauper or king. It is not how much time you have; it is how much you use.

Fifth: Time is irreplaceable. We never make back time once it is gone.

Sixth: Time is a priority. You have enough time for anything in the world, so long as it ranks high enough among your priorities.
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Have a wonderful day and Prioritize your day well in advance so that you dont end up having a huge " LOST ACCOUNT".
Do post your comments.

Rating downgrade for US

In 1997, when the Asia had a financial crisis, the G7 and IMF came up with a regulations, and conditions to resolve the situation.

Now that the developed economies have a crisis, who is going to resolve this matter.

Today some of the best monitored and regulated Countries are in Asia. This is indeed a Proud moment.

The truth however is that whatever mess US or Europe is in, We still are linked to their problems as they an important link for the growth. We are dependent on them for technology and also consumption.

So the bottomline is it doesn't matter if US is AAA rating or AA+. we still need them for our growth.

The seven "R"s for 2011

January is always packed with talks and seminars on how the year will turn out to be... and from one such talk, I compiled the list of "R"s that can affect the investment markets this year.

First R- Reflate the US market. US is facing deflation and the challenges faced by the economy and the measures taken to reduce the Deflation could impact the world market.

Second R- Rebalance Asia. While US is facing deflation, Asia is facing high inflation. The inflationary pressures are huge and that could have a negative effect on the market.

Third R- Resolve the Eurozone Debt Crisis. PIIGS- Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain were in serious debt crisis in 2010. How they manage it this year will have an impact on the markets.

Fourth R- Remember S&P 500. Historically, if the first 5 days of S&P trading is up, S&P ends up high end of the year. This has turned out to be true for 37 time of the last 41 years.

Fifth R- Rally in US markets in the 3rd year of the US presidential term. Again, statistics shows that the 3rd year of the US presidential term has always had a market rally and on a average the markets have risen more than 10.5%. This statistic is particular true especially in the first term of a new president.

Sixth R- Year of the Rabbit. CLSA does forecast every year on how the Chinese year will be. To read the full review please go to the link below. These are for Hong Kong Market. Overall, their prediction is that the Hong Kong Market will do a bunny leap this year.
https://www.clsa.com/index.php

Last and Seventh R- Reality. The speaker tweaked the words of Forrest Gump- My Mama said, market is like a bag of chocolate. You never know what you will get.