Home loan interest rate benchmarks have kept on changing over the last decade. We used to have the Prime Lending Rate (PLR), which was replaced by Base Rate. The base rate, in turn, was replaced by the Marginal Cost of Funds based lending rate (MCLR) a couple of years back. Now, SBI is launching a home loan product where the benchmark is linked to the Repo rate. Internal … [Read more...] about PLR, Base Rate, MCLR and now RLLR (Repo rate linked lending rate)
Financial Planning
Review: HDFC Life Super Income Plan: Makes sense?
In one of our previous posts, we had reviewed a traditional plan from HDFC Life Sanchay Plus. In this post, let’s look at another popular traditional plan, HDFC Life Super Income Plan. Traditional plans are opaque, provide low life cover and poor returns. Therefore, I do not hold a very high opinion of traditional life insurance plans. However, before writing off any … [Read more...] about Review: HDFC Life Super Income Plan: Makes sense?
The DHFL Mess: Learnings and What should you do?
Debt mutual funds are again in the news. On June 4, 2019, DHFL could not make the interest payment on one of its bonds. It says that it will pay in another week. Does not matter. Even the slightest delay is considered a default. As per extant rules, even if a default happens in one security by DHFL (not the one held by the fund scheme), the value of the all the bonds from … [Read more...] about The DHFL Mess: Learnings and What should you do?
How the Sequence of returns risk affects your Financial Planning?
When we plan for a goal, we assume a rate of return on investments for the goal and plan investments accordingly. Picking up the long-term average return is a rational choice. Long term averages are fine (even though long term averages can also change). However, the sequence of returns matters too. For the same level of long-term return, the actual output can be very … [Read more...] about How the Sequence of returns risk affects your Financial Planning?
Review: SBI Life Smart Champ Child Insurance Plan: Is it good enough?
No parent wants to compromise on their child’s education. In fact, child education is one of the most prominent goals for almost all my clients. Many readers write with their queries about investing for their kids’ child education too. Many want a one-stop solution for their kids’ education. For this reason, many ask about the “Best Child plan” or the best child plan from … [Read more...] about Review: SBI Life Smart Champ Child Insurance Plan: Is it good enough?
Review: ICICI Prudential Future Perfect Plan: Not so perfect
ICICI Prudential Future Perfect is a traditional life insurance plan. A part of the maturity amount is guaranteed while the other part is variable and linked to the investment performance. In a way, it is a hybrid product where it retains some features of both non-participating and participating traditional plans. Let’s find out more about ICICI Prudential Future Perfect and … [Read more...] about Review: ICICI Prudential Future Perfect Plan: Not so perfect
Axis Bank QuikPay Home Loan: A home loan without EMI: What’s the catch?
While a home loan helps you purchase your dream house, an EMI is an unwanted by-product. If I were to tell you that there is a home loan product where you don’t have to pay EMI, what would you think? Don’t get too excited. You still have to make loan payments. Just that your monthly loan payments won’t be the same every month. EMI stands for Equated Monthly Installment. … [Read more...] about Axis Bank QuikPay Home Loan: A home loan without EMI: What’s the catch?
Review: LIC New Jeevan Nidhi (818): Pension plan from LIC
LIC New Jeevan Nidhi (Plan 818) is a pension plan from LIC. You invest for a few years. At maturity, you utilize the accumulated funds to purchase an annuity plan. Simple, isn't it? Let’s find out more about LIC New Jeevan Nidhi and see if it warrants a place in your investment and insurance portfolio. LIC New Jeevan Nidhi: Key points Two premium payment options: Single … [Read more...] about Review: LIC New Jeevan Nidhi (818): Pension plan from LIC
Review: HDFC Life Sanchay Plus: The good and the bad
HDFC Life Sanchay Plus is a Non-participating traditional life insurance plan. That means the payouts are guaranteed. There is no market risk or risk associated with varying annual bonuses. You know upfront what you are getting into. Moreover, it is a deferred payout plan i.e. maturity value is paid over a period of time. Let’s find out more about HDFC Life Sanchay Plus and … [Read more...] about Review: HDFC Life Sanchay Plus: The good and the bad
Things to keep in mind if you have SBI MaxGain Loan
Most of us have to take home loans to purchase a house. Home loans come in multiple variants. One of the popular home loan variants is a Home Saver Loan. A prominent example is the SBI Maxgain Loan product. In this post, I would briefly touch upon how home saver loan products work and what are the things that you must keep in mind if you have already taken such a loan. How … [Read more...] about Things to keep in mind if you have SBI MaxGain Loan
