LIFE INSURANCE - 1

Taking out insurance on your life is one of the top priorities in life. Just like 


owning a house. But, over the last decade, its importance and purpose have 


been made to look like something which they aren't. You need to accept one 


thing here. Life insurance product is not a pure investment like your Fixed 


deposit. The very fact that there are thousands of agents in the business of 


Life insurance who are making a living out of their commission should tell you 


that the percentage of commission is not negligible. Obviously, a portion of 


the premium you pay goes to them. And the commission depends on the type 


of insurance product that you buy. Naturally, the agent will try to push that 


product or those products which will fetch him high commission. Once you buy, 


you will be paying premium every month (or some such regular interval). The 


longer the period, the higher the benefit for your agent! To attract you, his 


argument will be to convince you that today's insurance product incorporates 


investment in the stock market etc. That means, if the stock market is down 


during the currency of your Insurance Policy, what you get back on maturity is 


below average.

Please observe that the problem lies NOT with Life insurance, but in the way you are approached by the agent.

Since you are paying premia with your hard earned money, keep in mind the following points:

  
 i.  Life insurance is necessary - for the sake of your dear family. Which means, the longer the term of your    Policy, the better for your family.


ii.  Bifurcate your Investments and Life insurance.  Take out an Insurance Policy, but invest your hard earned money elsewhere.


iii.  Look for a pure insurance policy.  The term of your Policies should be far beyond retirement age.  If you have more than one Policy, stagger their maturity dates.  For instance, if you have 3 Policies, you can have them maturing when you attain 62, 66 and 70.  Since you'll be getting some retirement benefits, you can wait for 2 years after retirement for the first Policy to mature.


iv.  If you take out only one Policy with a short/medium term, which matures say, when you're 50, you may not be able to take another Policy when the old Policy  matures and then you will have NO life risk cover.
(see ( i ) above).


v.  Do not take out a Policy only for the sake of tax exemption.  And it should never be your last minute tax planning. No doubt, you do get some tax exemption - but, that's a bonus!  If you need to invest only for tax exemption, there are other, much better, avenues.  At the cost of repetition, remember that it is your hard earned money.


vi.  A pure term life cover is the best.  It covers life risk at the lowest cost.


Invest wisely!

How To Increase Your Income - 2

Your financial goals depend on your future needs.  It also depends directly on your 
career / business.  If you are employed, there is a limit to your present salary. Unlike a businessman, you cannot increase your turnover and expect an increase in  your salary.  But there are other ways to do it:


You can learn more and more about your work and make yourself indispensable  to your boss.  This requires a high level of self-discipline on your part. (Let's face it : If your self-discipline were already high, you certainly would have got a raise/promotion by now).  
More about self-discipline in a subsequent post.


Another way is to save a part of your earnings every month for, say, 3 years.  At the end of 3 years, invest this amount in a Fixed deposit.  Ask your Banker to pay monthly/quarterly interest on this Fixed deposit.  You'll then have additional, passive income every month.  Your ultimate goal should be to increase your passive income to such an extent that you can enjoy early retirement!
Life Insurance:   Please look for this in my next post.  


Shankar
29 01 2012

How To Increase Your Income - 1

We all love to see that our income grows day by day.  We all love to see our Bank balance go up.  We all love to spend for our family.  But we do not seem to know how to do all these things.  
There is a way.  There is a scientific way to earn more money - a lot more than you are presently earning.  All you have to do is to observe those who became rich - how they got rich; what were the obstacles they had to overcome and  how  they manage their daily lives.  Of course, there are many other traits which they possess - but these three points are important.  All you need to do is to simply follow these three - and you'll see that there is a huge jump in your income.


The very first step for you, then, is setting goals.  Take a sheet of paper and pen.  Write down your goals; classify them  under  financial, health, personal, career, spiritual and any other which you have in mind.  Writing down is necessary.  Because, as the saying goes, "out of sight is out of mind."  If you do not have your written goals, you'll tend to forget them.


We'll start with Financial goals.  I'll explain - in detail - how to go about it in my next post. 
Meanwhile, if you want to start with some other goal and need assistance, respond to this blog.


Good day!