Investments

How many bank accounts do you hold? 2? 3? 4?

How about that one account that you opened while in college and haven't bothered to check again? Has it been two years since you withdrew from or deposited money in that account?

You may be surprised to find that you are not able to transact in that account anymore. This is because that account of yours is now designated as a dormant.

Fortunately, it's quite straightforward to get these accounts back in active state. This post covers dormant accounts in detail as well as lists steps to reactivate them...

Outside FDs, PPF is probably the most popular investment vehicle for saving taxes.

But, till recently, it wasn't that convenient to make use of this vehicle. You could only open an account up in a post office and had to visit physically to deposit money in it.

Fortunately, things have changed and now many top banks now offer easy and convenient PPF investments.

And amongst these banks, State Bank of India is probably the most popular choice. It's the one with the highest reach and was the first bank to be approved to open up PPFs on the Government's behalf, back in 2011.

In this guide, I will walk you through the exact process of opening and operating your PPF in any SBI branch. I will also cover what to do if you already have an PPF in a post office...

You see a regular contribution from your employer towards EPS every month. And you have been told that this is a mandatory contribution towards your retirement pension.

But, have you ever wondered... what's the exact benefit of this deduction and how much EPS amount you will get when you finally retire?

Not many know their potential EPS payouts. And to be honest, EPS is not that straightforward to calculate as it's driven by a number of rules that have changed quite a bit over the years.

In this post, I will try and demystify these rules and resultant calculations.

I have also created what I believe is the most comprehensive EPS calculator available right now anywhere and you can use this calculator to help you estimate your pension amount quite easily.

So, let's get going...

Like most other banks, SBI too has been offering savings accounts with an Auto Sweep facility for many years now.

They have named it as 'Savings Plus' account.

Savings Plus for SBI is essentially a savings account linked to their MODS facility.

With MODS, any surplus funds above a threshold limit can automatically be transferred to the fixed deposits while withdrawals are made in multiples of INR 1k.

In this post, I will do a detailed review of Savings Plus account and provide my recommendation on whether you should opt for it or not...

Do you already have a public provident fund account?

If yes, congratulations! You made an excellent investment choice (at least in my view).

PPF is an investment option that everyone should avail of as soon as possible. It's amongst the best fixed income investments, it boasts of high returns, it's risk free and most importantly it's also 100% tax free.

However, as great as this investment is, you may be facing one issue...

... i.e. of having to visit the bank branch or post office physically to make a deposit.

In a world, where everything is online and at your fingertips, visiting physically to deposit money seems so much from the past. It's a hassle.

In fact, so much so, that some friends have actually discontinued their PPF investments just because of this reason.

Fortunately, things have changed. And now, in most cases, it's actually possible to skip these physical visits completely.

Read on...

Public Provident Fund has been a darling of long term investors for a long time. And that's for a good reason...

PPF is amongst very few investment options that are truly exempt exempt exempt i.e. the initial deposit, interest and the final maturity amount, all three are completely free of any tax liabilities. Also, PPF is as risk free as it gets as it's backed by the sovereign guarantee. Further, PPF returns and interest rates are amongst the highest in fixed income category.

Combine these three factors and no wonder that PPF is as popular as it is.

Now, when it comes to opening a new PPF account, the first place that probably pops up in your head is your local post office... or quite possibly, 'State Bank of India'.

No surprise there to be honest, as for the longest time, these were the only places to get a PPF account from.

Thankfully, things have changed...

In Indian culture, savings are considered to be essential...

...in fact, the first thing you are taught once you start earning is to take some portion out of your monthly salary and invest it wisely.

Now there are many investment options out there (see: best short term investment options), but if you want assured returns without any market risk whatsoever, you should look at post office savings schemes.

Post office small saving schemes will not offer as high returns as market linked investment products (like mutual funds), but their return is guaranteed by the government of India and hence it's as risk-free as it gets.

Now, if you have ever gone to your local general post office, you have probably discovered that they have 9 different investment options.

What are these 9 options? And which one is actually suitable for you?

Let's see...