Kotha-jaampanDu(Papa Tho Dengulata)

The Vote on Account has come in according to expectations on the tax front. As far as direct taxes are concerned there are no changes in keeping up with the convention for such events. For the individual taxpayer this means that they have to start the next financial year based on the situation that they face currently which translates into a continuation of what they are doing. The investment limit under Section 80C is thus restricted to Rs 1 lakh and the basic exemption limit stands at Rs 2 lakh for those below 60 years, at Rs 2.5 lakh for those between 60-79 years and Rs 5 lakh for those who are 80 and above. The relief for individuals is on the expense front as excise duty cuts in the automobile space and consumer durables will ensure that several of their purchases will get cheaper in the next few months. This is good for all those who have such purchases planned as it means a cost savings but the downside is that these are large ticket purchases. Even locally manufactured mobile phones will get cheaper. There is also a benefit in terms of a moratorium on educational loans that were taken before 2009 so several students will benefit on this front. This means that the budget for the individual household will remain under pressure if the higher inflation continues going ahead.

Papa Ni kuutha Pagala Denganu

The first thing you need to know as a parent is that the best way of teaching your child about money is leading by example. There are better chances of your child learning good financial habits when he sees you practicing them, rather than you telling him or her what these habits are. Better still if he goes through this himself, as his understanding will be far better through experiential learning.

Whether there are money constraints or not, you still need to tell your child that these constraints exist. More importantly you need to show this by not buying anything and everything that he asks for, irrespective of your being able to afford it or not. Not only that, you need to exercise restraint when it comes to spending money on something that you want. It could be a movie starring your favourite actor that you skip watching on screen stating that it is too expensive an outing and you will instead watch it on TV when it will be telecast in a few months.

Daabaa Surprise 03(Hot Aunty boothu kathalu)

“The Three Questions” is a famous short story written by Leo Tolstoy. The story takes the form of a parable and talks about a king who wants to find the answers to what he considers the three most important questions in life. The king believes that if he gets answers to these three questions he will never fail in his life. The three questions for which he is trying to find answers are: When is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all time? While the king got answers to these questions when he met the hermit, for those making investments and trying to work out sound and fool proof financial planning, these three questions are still unanswered. Every investor faces these three questions, though the framing of questions is little different from those which king had to find answer for. So let us look at the answers of these three questions in the world of financial planning and what would be probably the most ideal answer for any investor.

Daabaa Surprise 02(Telugu Boothukathalu)

Is inflation your enemy? Anybody and everybody can answer this question by giving an affirmative response,” Yes”. Inflation is indeed our enemy as far as consumables is concerned. So as far as food prices, cost of education, cost of medical services etc. are concerned, inflation is indeed bad. After all, rising prices indeed hit our pockets and make purchasing power of money go down. But is this logic of inflation hitting us hard applicable in all aspects of life? The answer is no. In case of investment assets, the logic works just opposite way in many scenarios. This is what investors need to understand and capitalize on. There are some asset classes which respond positively to inflation and in fact help us build wealth as the price of these assets appreciate because of inflation. Let us look at some of the investment assets that we hold in order to understand the other impact of inflation which is surprisingly positive and helps us actually build wealth. Real estate and inflation: All those who own real estate, especially residential premises in cities, should thank inflation for making them wealthier even though it is notional wealth. With cost of construction going up, the price of new houses has gone up making old houses costlier as well. Though housing prices have gone up for other reasons as well, inflation has definitely been a major contributor. For those, who don’t own a house the act of owning a house has become tougher with passage of time

Daabaa Surprise(Telugu boothu kathalu)

In a move that will delay revision of natural gas prices by a few months, Election Commission today asked the UPA government to defer notifying doubling of price of the fuel produced by companies such as  Reliance Industries till general elections are completed. A new pricing regime was to be implemented from next month for all private and public sector natural gas producers under which rates were to rise to USD 8.3 next month from current USD 4.2 per million British thermal units. The decision was opposed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which alleged that it was taken to favour RIL. CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta and an NGO had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the rate hike. The apex court is to resume hearing on the issue from tomorrow. Though the decision to revise gas prices from April 1, 2014 was first taken in June 2013 and notified on January 10 this year, the Oil Ministry had approached Election Commission for permission to announce the new price . The EC this evening wrote to the Oil Secretary Saurabh Chandra saying since the matter was sub-judice in the Supreme Court, a decision on revision in gas prices may be deferred. "...after taking into account all relevant facts, including the fact that the matter is sub-judice in the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Commission has decided that the proposal may be deferred," it wrote to Chandra. The decision would mean that the revision is delayed for at least a few months as the new government may like to review the entire decision and take an independent view. While today's decision by EC will not have any bearing on 80 percent of the gas sold in the country as producers like  ONGC will continue to sell the fuel at existing rates and contracts, it would mean current sales contracts entered by RIL will have to be extended beyond expiry of their term on March 31.