Subhav Samarth

This article has been taken from the internet from the First Federal Savings and Loan Association Of St. Petersburg. Your savings, believe it or not, affect the way you stand, the tone of your voice, and your physical self-confidence. A man without savings is always running. He must. He must take the first Job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life's chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others. Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a relaxed way, have time for judicious estimates, and not be rushed by economic necessity. A man with savings can afford to resign from his job if his principles so dictate. And for this reason, he will never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company, and therefore more promotable. He can afford to ...

Let us understand the usage of credit cards in a country like India.   A lot of people use credit cards for buying things even if the thing is not affordable to them. A lot of people say that credit cards are good if you use them intelligently and judiciously. You get cash back, rewards points, free tickets, and other offers. Great to hear and think that I will use credit cards only when needed and extremely cautiously.  But the reality is  DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS. I REPEAT, DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS. You do not need it, no matter what anyone says or how many benefits of credit cards you read or come to know about. Let us understand a few basic points about Credit Cards: It's a type of card you can purchase whatever you want through that credit card (upto a certain limit), without having money in your bank account. The bank pays for you. But, you'll have to pay the sum you used to the bank after a specific time. Imagine, Amit purchases a credit card from HDFC Bank on 1st J...

Let us begin with understanding currency first. In ancient times, thousands of years back, there was no currency (money like rupee or dollar, etc.) to trade or buy items that people wanted. At that time, the most common system of buy and sell was the barter system. People exchanged goods or services in exchange for goods or services. Suppose if I wanted rice and I had sugar in my house, I will find someone who will take my sugar and give me rice in exchange. This system of exchange of goods for some other goods is called the barter system. It was the standard mode of trade or buying or selling of items that people needed. But this was not very easy to practice. E.g., if you needed food immediately and you had some iron, you will have to find someone who will exchange food for iron. Sometimes it was difficult to find someone who would exchange your item for their items. The process was also very slow and even the quantity of exchange and the value of each item was not decided. E.g., ho...

We hear and read a lot that the stock market is a dangerous place. People lose their entire savings in the market. Staying away from the stock market is better etc. A lot of fear-mongering is done regarding the stock market.  But how exactly is the money lost in the stock market even if we plan to stay invested for a long duration? Let us understand in detail. There are 3 major ways (apart from trading) by which money is lost in the stock market.  1) Investing money in penny stocks: Penny stocks are the companies/stocks which do not have any real market value and are available at a very cheap price in the market. People buy these stocks in the HOPE that it might grow a lot in the future and it will give them good returns. Suppose you have 1000 rs and someone told you to buy ABC stock which is available at 10 rs per share. So, in 1000 rs, you can buy 100 shares. You will have 100 shares and you will hope that in the future if this company grows and its share price reaches 500 r...

Let us now understand in detail mutual funds, one of the finest and easiest financial products available in the market.  Mutual Funds are a financial product that is available for people who want to invest in different types of investment options but do not have the time or expertise to choose good company stocks by themselves. As mentioned in an earlier blog (read understanding the basics of the stock market), a Mutual fund is a wonderful thing. Suppose you and your 4 friends want to invest 1000 rs each in the stock market, but you are all not sure which share to buy for profit. So you all go to a person in your city who is an expert in the stock market. He tells give me your money and I will invest your money in stocks as per my expertise and all profits will go to you 5 people. He will just be investing on your behalf. So he takes your money and invests in the stock market on your behalf. This is what a mutual fund is. A Mutual fund is basically when a lot of people give their ...