11 Easy Hacks to make you Richer in the new Financial Year...!!!

We are just 9 days into the new Financial year. This is about time when the 'Financially Educated' plan their income allocation and tax structures so that they can reap the good results of their decision-making in the forthcoming year.

Now, "Financial Literacy" was a subject I often avoided in order to cloak my ignorance. But following Dr. David Schwartz's advice of "digging deep into the lesser known subject", I have now begun to enjoy this learning process. I am a fortunate soul to have people around me who are in good, stable stead to guide me through the financial-ignorance backwaters.

Given below are some tips, straight from the Teacher who I think is the biggest Financial Wizard I know in personal capacity. These tips are very basic ones, and are more like a gentle general reminder so that one can stay financially strong in the coming times. 

Here we go:

1. We all should save minimum 40% of our income.

2. We should keep 6 months expenses as an emergency fund. 

3. Minimum 20 times of our yearly income should be our retirement fund.

4. Cost of our house should not be more than 6 to 8 times of our family annual income.

5. EMI should not be more than 35% of our gross monthly income. ZERO IS BEST ANSWER.

6. We should have minimum Mediclaim of 5 lakh. 

7. Life cover should be Minimum 10 times of our yearly income. Ideal and cost effective is to take term plan.

8. Ideally 65 to 70% of our income should go for creating appreciating assets and rest for consumption. This will help ease pressure on us as we age.

9. Rate of returns should ideally beat inflation.

10. Rule of 72 & 115 :
How many years double or triple our money ?
* 72/Returns= double in yrs
* 115/ returns = triple in yrs.

11. 100 minus our age should be our equity allocation. It is the best asset class in the world.

Of course, there is no magic formula that can make you rich overnight. It s a matter of diligence, patience and conscientious effort. And many more of such things. :)

But then, as is rightly said, "Well Begun is Half-Done"!!

"Out of the Box Thinking" - A beautiful Story...!!!

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag.If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

This is a story with a hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way. The key is, "T H I N K".

If you liked this story… please give me a thumbs up, share it on Google+ or Pinterest, share with friends, family and children. You might spark a thought, inspire someone and possibly change a life forever!

So, Think and Think "Out of the Box"...!!! :)

Back To Water Colors...!!!

Felt like going back to Water Colors for a bit.
Some inspired creations. All in a night.
An ode in color to the effervescent spirit of Womanhood.

1. "Fluttering Dreams"

2. "Interlude"

3. "...half-hummed song"

More Power To Us...!

Lots of love.                                                                                                                                                                            

You're the Girl, Khushboo...!!!

From making for me a birthday cake out of marie biscuits, bournvita and milk, some 6 years ago, in our L-shaped hostel rooms, to teaching me to properly bake amazing eggless cakes, all with tooty-frooty inside and proper chocolate icing outside for this year's birthday that went by just 2 days ago, it seems like we came a long way, but doesn't really feel so. And there is one thing that has remained intact, all this while. The only person who can match up my excitement for an upcoming Birthday, is you!

What a friend can really mean in life, is what I have learnt from you.

There were times when we were together for the whole day, and then there were times when we were out of touch for years together. But you just never gave up on me. Relentlessly, you kept looking out for me, found me and then held me to never let me go. And today, I can say with a lot of pride, that a big part of all that is good in me, is because of you.

I have always wanted to thank you, for a lot of things. But never really got the chance. And more than that, I never really knew how to do it. But today that I am finally on it, I feel there cannot be a better occasion.

There are some things I am especially grateful to you for. And the effortlessness with which you inject new ideas into my head, and make me actually pursue them, AND finish them, tops the list. That could be the paintings, recipes, knitting, writing, and so on.
I am a natural rebel, and adding my own twist to anything someone teaches me how to do, comes with utmost fluidity to me. Because of this, more often than not, I have ended up with disaster outcomes. But somehow, with you, I just caved in, from the beginning. There was some voice inside me which compelled me to simply trust you. That is exactly what I did. And I am happy to see where that has brought me. :)

Thank you so much Ladkiii for helping me figure out those gifts I wanted to give Mr.Husband - our first photo frame, the key holder, those handmade Coffee mugs. These gifts have marked such important milestones for us. Thank you for sending all those precious gifts - handmade chocolates, kurti, jhumke, perfume, that exotic spice box, so many other things. Thank you for teaching me to bake all those wonderful cakes. Thank you for giving me cooking tips, experimenting with me, sharing all those links for food and creativity. Thank you for asking me to do all that stuff, the paintings, MDF boards, the woolens, the articles. Just because you asked, I did them, for you, and in the process I realized that I can do it. You helped me regain that confidence, that strength in myself. You made me so much better than from where I started, after the break.

Thank you for sharing all the stuff with me that we talk about. For all the laughter. For all the emotions. But more than this, thank you for being around when I really needed you the most, and could never say that. For never never never giving up on me. For finding me from somewhere and sticking close. For holding me and never letting go. For being around now. For all your love.

Thank you for being the bestestest friend I could have. From the core of my heart, I wish you a long, healthy, happy and wonderful life replete with love. And now that you are on your way to blow life into an angel, the very thought that this world will have some more of you makes me feel so bountiful and happy, I cannot explain.

Stay blessed always.
Love you so much!

Stree-free & Refreshed in minutes...!!!

A post I did on this topic before had 7 ways. This one has just one. As powerful as ten. Here it is for you to try.

If you are a right-handed person, and if at any point of time you feel totally stressed out, just pick up a pen and paper and move into a silent retreat for a few minutes, preferably to a place with a table and chair. Now, hold the pen in your left hand, and try writing. As good as you can. Write anything that comes to your mind. You can begin with your name. Then write the names of all the people you love the most - your spouse, parents, best friends, pets. Write things you really like about them. Write any motivational thought that inspires you. Basically, just write anything that makes sense. Because after all, this is going to be one historic moment when you are doing a rare thing. And the result is as precious as preservable. Make the best of it. And you will notice that by the time you finish writing what you started, you are already feeling so much better!!!

If you are a left-handed person, you can try the same with your right hand. 

What actually happens in this exercise is that while using the hand we hardly use, in an applicative task like writing, our brain tends to use all of its concentration at one focal point, streamlining our energies into a single activity. And this is very much like what happened when we first started learning to hold our pencils and write properly as kids. All the focus on a sole intention barricades all other thoughts and processes inside the brain. So, for that brief duration of time, you get drifted into a world with just one purpose, one idea to work on. When you snap out of the task after you've finished writing what you started, your thoughts have already been aligned, and you have a renewed vigor to start afresh. Your mind will have been cleared, and you will be able to deal with your stress more rationally. If not, at least you'll be able to just handle it. 

As I always say, try it to believe it. And whenever you try, please take out some time and let me know how it worked for you.

But having said that, this New Year I also wish that you never have to try this JUST because you are stressed out. Go ahead, try it just for fun. Who knows, you may end up being ambidextrous way before you realize...!!!

Lots of Love.

The Poem @ The Petrol Pump...!!!

Poetry is one of my first loves. 

And it just happens. There's no time or date to it. There is, however, almost always, a lot of rhyme and reason to it. :)

So, last Sunday, my husband and I were at the Petrol Pump, when we happened to see a bigggg full moon right in front of us. It was beautiful. The moon, the view, the whole feel to it. It was overwhelming. So much that words started welling inside me and I did not even have the time to think if I wanted to let them spill or not. That decision was already made by some supernatural poetry-patronizing power, and I started tapping on my phone. Totally dedicated to my husband and the way his face shone in that magical moonlight, this is what came out of it:

Chand aur uski Chaandni ka
Rishta bahut Purana hai
Dono jab bhi sath ho to
Noor me dooba zamana hai

Chaandni kehti Chaand se
Tumko shayad maloom nahi
Par khud k hone ka ehsaas
Maine tumse hi to Jana hai

Tumse hi shuruat hai meri
Par fitrat mein bikhar Jana hai
Tum bhi to har din Badal jate ho
Is baat KO sabne mana hai

Inki meethi nok-jhok ke
Kisse naye purane hain
Makhmali is aashiqi ka
Deewana sara zamana hai

Par ik raaz hai aisa bhi
Jo shayad sabko maloom nahi
Ki chandni-chand ka ye joda
Sirf waha nahi, jaha sabne Jana hai

Ek aisa Chand hai zameen par bhi
Kuch pagla kuch parwana hai
Jisne saat fero ki saat kasmo se
Mujhe chandni mana hai...!!!

(In This New Year, May Love Prevail...!!! :) )

Happy New Year...!!!

Brand New 2015...!!!

New Year, new month, new day, new way!

I love this feeling of new. It brings so much energy, optimism and zest. It somehow conveys that all is well with the world, and if anything isn't, yet, it will now be.

It inspires to keep the head high, shoulders square, backbone straight, and forge ahead. No matter how the road is, just keep going. 

It softly whispers in the ears that there is a lot of love and care in the air,all for you. A lot of beauty to take in, a lot of freshness to inhale.

It bucks you up, and tells you, that this new marks a new beginning of everything - things that you always wanted to do and never started, or things that you started, and you still have lots to add to them.

Last month, I was working on the December posts, and there are a lot of drafts, that are still raring to be published. I shall try to post all of them now, in this new month of the new year. I am pretty proud of myself, for all that I did. The month of December probably has more posts to its credit than all other previous posts combined. And that's no mean feat.  And this gives me more strength to keep going. The challenge I gave to myself, made me more aware, dedicated and innovative. And it also encourages me to continue my pursuits. 

I would like to thank, with all my heart, all those beautiful people, who read my posts, gave me inspiration, insight, suggestions and adulation. All of you make blogging so much more fun and exciting for me. Thanks a countless tons...!!!

In this New Year, may Love Prevail...!!!

Best wishes always.