photo by Erik Schlange

National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) has launched a Short Message Service (SMS) based facility to know the status of challans. The procedure for availing this facility is as under:

1. The tax payer can send an SMS to 575758 with a message containing the word CSI followed by a space and CIN provided by the respective Bank at the time of making the Direct tax payment.

2. The CIN should be separated by comma (,).

3. Challan Identification Number (CIN ) consists of details such as BSR Code of Collecting Branch (seven digit) , Challan Tender Date (DDMMYYYY) and Challan Serial No (length less than or equal to 5 digit) and Amount. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

 
photo by seven_null7

1. Don’t just blindly buy what the financial advisor sells you. See if the stocks the suggested fund invests in are relevant and missing from your portfolio.

2. When a scheme’s return have run up too fast, it’s time to exit and not enter a scheme.

3. You don’t have to invest in a hot-selling fund just because a colleague is investing in it. Maybe it’s too hot to handle. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

 
photo by fotographix.ca

Have you been waiting for the right time to buy a house? If yes, then this is perhaps the right time if you can afford to buy and get a better deal as real estate prices have come down considerably from their all time high in 2006.

Though buying a house may prove to be a prudent decision during this time of slow down and economic recession, you will still need to be an extra careful while closing the deal; it may not turn out to be as prospective and advantageous as you might have expected. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

A lot of kids and teenagers nowadays do not recognize the cost of earning and spending money. They are not oriented that investing is necessary even if they are still pretty young or students. As parents, we play a critical responsibility in this subject, especially in today’s global climate, the importance of this cannot be stressed more.

You must be able to tutor your kids on how to save money. They ought to be able to understand the idea of money and investment as early as childhood. This will prepare them to be trained true money management, as they grow up. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Here’s a tip: If you have to replace a card on Paypal, first add the new card, and then delete the old card if you have subscriptions. Just adding the new card to your account won’t switch the subscriptions over, it will still cancel any subscriptions that were started on the old card.

To know more, read Rita Wilhelm’s experience about this.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

photo by andrewinpompey

Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess. Let us tap into the financial wisdom of our elders and become financially wiser. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Google has created TipJar, a new website where people can share money-saving advice and vote on how useful they find the information. Advice is divided in to several categories, including at home, at work, travel, shopping and family.

So far, more than 4,879 people have submitted 3,730 tips. Users have cast more than 54,230 votes about the usefulness of tips. The voting system means that the most useful tips will get greater prominence on the site.

Among some of the tips shared so far this one is what I personally believe in (and follow too):

“Master the thirty day rule. Whenever you’re considering making an unnecessary purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item,” shared by The Simple Dollar.

TipJar is an example of generating ideas through “crowdsourcing”, said Google.

“Google believes that people working together can help one another through even the most difficult times, tapping collective minds to find answers on how to make small changes that save the pennies,” said a spokesman. “We’d like to put these beliefs in to practice. So go ahead: Take a tip. Share a tip. We’ll all be a little bit richer for it.”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Outdustry is reporting that China’s biggest C2C online shopping site, Taobao, is the platform used for selling the cards. “All the seller actually sells is the gift voucher code which they send you directly through Taobao’s IM software. You can then redeem the card in your iTunes account,” Outdustry explains.

So, this gives Apple a depressing price point for its iTunes services in an otherwise unfathomable online music market: $2.60 (18RMB) for $200USD worth of products.

* Update: Bumped into a blog that has a step-by-step tutorial for those of you who don’t understand chinese.

Be warned, this is probably illegal where you live.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

photo by f-r-a-n-k

Currently banks charge Rs. 20 per transaction if you use an ATM of another bank. Come April 1,  2009 and you can use any ATM of any bank for any service free of cost; according to RBI.

The RBI has mandated that the ATMs should have unrestricted access for customers across banks. Be it the customer of a nationalised bank or a private bank, he will be able to access the bank account from any ATM without any additional charge. The RBI has provided the technology platform for this. This will also bring down the need for keeping large amounts of cash with oneself.

Banks can levy charges determined by themselves for withdrawals using credit cards and from ATMs located overseas. In a circular issued to all commercials banks, the RBI said customers should not be charged for even cash withdrawals at other bank ATMs with effect from April 1. It said a bank cannot charge its own customers for any ATM usage, with immediate effect. The guidelines are being issued to encourage customers to use ATM cards and ensure greater transparency in banking operations.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Suze Orman has been called “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse” by USA Today. A two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, # 1 New York Times bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today, Orman is undeniably America’s most recognized expert on personal finance. [Read more]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!