15 years of Good Old Trusted Companion - My first car!

I have written a lot on my car and some of the people who know me personally also know how much I love to talk about it. The last time I wrote a blog on it was in 2018 with this post.

Not a lot has changed since then but the car has turned 15. I still love the way it works, the way it starts, it feels so awesome. Some of my rough days in life had been sorted by just going for a small drive in this good looking car. My parents too love this car as much as I do and a part of me always loves to drive them around in this car. 

I was 14 when we had bought a 2006 Hyundai Santro Xing home and now 15 years later how much things have changed that I have finished my education and into the 6th year of my professional life. My formative years were spent looking at the car asking questions to my myself; whether I will be able to afford this car? Would I get to drive this one day? This car reminds me of my insecurities of teenage life surrounding career and life at large. And now in 2021, to be able to drive this around, it is extremely satisfying.

Looking back, 15 years is a long time and there are loads of memories; some of which are as a teenager being driven around by Daddy and then as an adult driving the car around. Back in that era of 2000s, the roads were filled with Wagon Rs and Santros, it was a moment wherein a lot of families had their first car. Most of us know how it feels to get our first car. You are filled with joy, excitement and pride. In my case, Daddy was already using it (his first car was an Ambassador) but I had to wait till I was 21 to drive this car. I remember the first time I drove this car, it was pure happiness to do something which till now was done by my brother or Daddy.

Having a car changes our young life, we have new found independence and responsibility behind the wheel of that car. It is reflective of my journey from teenager to an adult wherein I have far more responsibilities to fulfil. We had great family moments too! My cousins have always been very kind enough to travel in this small car even when we have better and bigger options in the family!

A first car is always more than just a car. It can be symbolic for one of the memorable times of our lives and although I am not thinking of letting it go, it know it will be tough to say goodbye to it. It will be like saying goodbye to a part of me. I was never left stranded in this car. I was always impressed with this car as a teenager and fell in love when I had started driving it.

The way it works, the engine is butter smooth and zippy even after 15 years, steering is precise, everything else functions just as well as it should. We never did anything after market for the car, only regular service and replacement of worn out parts at Authorised Service Centres; of course driving it well immensely helps also.

We do realize the age of the car and have a second and a bigger car for doing the routine travel but I would like to believe that good old trusted companion as I call it, is irreplaceable.  

I know nothing is permanent and some day I will have to let go of this car but the memories of this car will be etched forever in my mind and heart. 

Hoping for next 10 years with this one! 

Visiting the Indo-Pak Border Zero Line at Nadabet in Gujarat

I had always been fascinated about Border areas; the lives of our soldiers and army men though I had never interacted with them in person but thankfully I got a chance to visit the Zero Line, India Pakistan border at Nadabet in Gujarat in February 2021.

The emotion of seeing our security forces guarding us was so overwhelming. We were so taken away by the place, the charm it exuded, the air, the things around us, was just exhilarating.

The border roads with their typical single lanes and side lanes opening every km on either side for vehicles to pass which means if a vehicle is coming from the opposite side, you had to wait in the side lane or else you run risk of taking the car off the road, we did not take the risk since we were driving a Hyundai i20.

However, we came across a diversion and we got to test the off road ability of our i20 😀 

One of the side views!

About the Place! 

India Pakistan border stretches from Gujarat towards Rajasthan and J&K. The total length of the border in Gujarat is around 508 kms out of which 340 kms are feasible for construction of fencing. 

One such fenced Border Outpost (BOP as BSF calls it) is Nadabet which has been developed as a tourist spot with assistance from Govt of Gujarat.

The attractions involve retreat ceremony by BSF, camel show, fusion band performance, bird watching, photo gallery and a film on BSF. However, the retreat ceremony and camel show have not yet commenced after COVID. They will start the same once the pandemic ends.
Another reason for me to visit this place again :)

However, besides the border, there is a Nadeshwari Mata temple with a lot of clean open spaces and a perfect place to rest before going to the Zero Line. We had our home-made lunch at the temple premises itself. There is a guest house too.

How to reach?

It is close to 257 kms from Ahmedabad (small variation of 10-20 kms based on the place you live in Ahmedabad).
We left in the morning at 7 am and covered the distance without hiccups. Highway is reasonably good however we expected better roads.

The last town/village is Suigam. Suigam-Nadabet Zero line is 45 kms.

The Place - Zero Line

We had to avail the permit and got ourselves one with ID Proof and after complying with the registration/checking formalities at BOP Nadabet, we proceeded towards the Zero Line. The last few kms were surreal, it really made us rethink about our privileged life.

The way to the Zero Line is the best part of the journey. There is a vast rann on both the sides, you can see the white surface and history(not confirmed though) has it there was a river few decades back.
 

We did spot a few birds but there were rare anyways, here is a panoramic view of the scenic desert.

The view from the viewing deck! They have constructed these wonderful viewing decks for tourists to view the vast expanse of the desert.

With this, we reached the Zero Line with BSF Jawans welcoming tourists with smile (who knows what all hardships that smile is hiding), there is another viewing deck at the Zero Line. I wondered how difficult it must be for BSF to work tirelessly in extreme heat, wind and unfavourable weather. Respect!

The most iconic image of the journey.

It was just a one day trip and we came back the same day but this was on my bucket list for a long time. I really feel this was my best trip post the pandemic driven 2020. The picturesque environs, the conversations with BSF Jawans, the drive really made it memorable! This is an underrated place!

(P S - Most of the credits for the pictures goes to my brother Parag and also for agreeing immediately for this trip without any second thoughts, he drove while I was watching the desert all over from every side)

Personal Finance; Different Avenues (Part 2)

Last week, I had written about Personal Finance and talked about certain points. In case you haven't read it, you can check it here.

In today's post, we will discuss about three different avenues available for you to invest and in some cases to protect your savings.

• Fixed Deposits and Recurring Deposits
  
  These two are the financial instruments which you would have easily come across in today's world. FDs and RDs provide a higher rate of interest than a regular savings account. The maturity date is fixed when you opt for a tenure ranging from 7, 15 or 45 days to 10 years. The interest rate usually varies between 4 and 7.50 percent, however it is based on the monetary policy adopted by the Central Bank of any country.
  
  Recurring Deposits is a kind of term deposit mostly useful for people with regular monthly income to deposit a fixed amount every month into their recurring deposit account and earn the applicable interest rate.
  
  The most important point to note while calculating the returns from FDs and RDs is Tax Rate. The interest earned from these instruments are chargeable to Income Tax.

• Public Provident Fund
  
  PPF is a savings and a very popular tax saving instrument in India.
  The scheme is fully guaranteed by the Central Government. A minimum yearly deposit of Rs 500 is required to open and maintain a PPF account. The maximum amount which can be deposited in a year is Rs 1,50,000/-.
  The interest rate is compounded annually and paid on 31st March every year.
  The total duration of the scheme is 15 years and thereafter the subscriber can choose to extend for blocks of 5 years each.
  The interest rate is declared quarterly.
  
  The important point here to note is that there is a lock in period of 15 years. Premature withdrawals are allowed from the start of the seventh Financial year. Entire corpus on maturity is tax free.
  
  For more on PPF click here.
• Stock Markets
  
  One can invest in Stock Markets either by investing directly in stocks or through the Systematic Investment Plan(SIPs) with the Mutual Funds.
  
  For investing directly one needs to open a demat account with a depository and a trading account with a broker.
  The basic difference between Trading and Demat account is that Demat account keeps your shares electronically and Trading account keeps your funds which are invested in Stock Markets.
  Investing directly is generally perceived to be little more difficult than investing via Mutual Funds. The key while investing directly is to understand the basics first and educate yourself.
  
  This is a vast subject and here are a few re plugs of old posts on it which might be useful :
  http://pratikmantri.blogspot.com/2016/11/mistakes-you-should-avoid-while.html
  http://pratikmantri.blogspot.com/2016/06/key-learnings-from-investing_43.html
  http://pratikmantri.blogspot.com/2017/05/books-on-investing-and-stock-markets.html
  
  
  The other option to invest in Stock Markets is through the Mutual Funds route. The basic concept of MF is that it pools money from many investors to purchase securities. MFs help in diversification, liquidity and professional management. MFs not just in invest in securities/stocks but they also invest in debt markets.
  
  There are few funds which are eligible to get you the rebate in Income Tax in India, they are Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS). There is a 3 year lock in period in ELSS.
• National Pension System
  
  It is a voluntary defined contribution pension system in India. It is tax efficient under various Sections of Income Tax Act and is managed by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
  
  It is a market linked product but with restrictions on its withdrawal but provides an attractive long term saving avenue to plan for retirement.
  
  You can find all the details about NPS here.

There are other savings instruments like National Savings Certificate, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana which I have not discussed since that would have made this post even longer!

Personal Finance; Basics (Part 1)

I have always come across many people who have done all the hard work in their respective careers and professions but have been unsure of how to efficiently manage their personal finances. I will attempt to present few basics of Personal Finance in the layman's language.
So, Personal Finance at a very basic level is managing your money in the most efficient manner. It includes saving, investing, insurance requirements, retirement planning, real estate needs and tax planning.

It is about meeting personal financial goals, funding different goals like your child's education and marriage, planning for your retirement, buying a dream home or just accumulating wealth.

The first rule of personal finance is always 'Pay yourself first' this simply means that a certain percentage of income needs to be saved before it is spent. Income minus savings is expenses and not the vice versa. Once you have identified your financial goals, take an estimate of inflation adjusted requirements and decide how much of savings or investment is needed to achieve that. Saving the 10 percent of your income is a good start according to me and then increase it to 20 or 30 percent. You also need to manage based on your phase in life like when you are young, you have relatively less liabilities but that increases as you age. There are a very few basics on this, one of them is 50/30/20 rule.

The 50/30/20 rule is a very popular budgeting method. This method can be divided into the following three parts:

• 50 percent of your take home income should ideally go towards living expenses including routine household expenses, groceries, rent, utilities etc
• 30 percent of your take home income should ideally be for lifestyle expenses and spending on things like dining out, travel etc
• 20 percent of your take home income should be saved for your future goals including retirement, short and long term goals and also paying down debts.

The idea is to create a broader framework for maintaining a better control for your finances. The above percentages can be changed based on the age and circumstances of the person since we cannot accurately predict everything in the financial terms.

Another aspect important here is maintaining an adequate Emergency fund of say 3-6 months. As the name suggests, it is generally for financial emergencies. It can happen anytime hence you need to provide a cover for your household and monthly recurring expenses by saving enough. You cannot risk missing an EMI.

Keep a Tab on your expenses. If you are someone who is used to living a life from paycheck to paycheck then you are probably spending too much or need to work hard to increase the income. There might be a lot of unplanned expenses which can be avoided. There are lots of apps like Mint, Level Money which help in monitoring the expenses, using that might be useful. You can also categorize the expenses based into necessities or luxuries, fixed or variable. A more focused approach will lead to positive results in no time but you need to stay committed to the plan.      

Happy Saving!

Credit Cards, Worth it or not?

We all have heard of Credit Cards and usually get a lot of spam calls and messages for opting for a certain Bank's credit card. Here, in this post we are going to analyse whether it is a good idea to go for a credit card or not.

The Advantages

• It helps you build your credit history. Your credit history is your track record of borrowing and paying it back. It also determines your credit score, which is the basis of sanction of loans. Good credit score will always take you closer to your financial goals (by getting loans at competitive interest rates) if used responsibly.
• More secure than actual cash. You don't have to carry cash all the time for your purchases. If you lose your Credit Card or someone uses it for fraud, you can report such unauthorized usage to Card issuer and can block the card at the earliest.
• Reward Points and Cashbacks. If you use a credit card for your routine expenses, then reward points will add up fairly quickly. You can choose to redeem those points based on your requirements. 
• Better purchasing power with increased credit limits offered to card holders.
• Interest free credit and in some cases interest free EMIs too thereby helping you to manage your cash flows a bit better. 

The Disadvantages

• Uncontrolled spending. You get a higher credit limit and might push few people to go beyond their means. They will then enter the vicious debt cycle. It's important to only spend that much which you can payback every month. 
• Credit Cards Interest, Fees and Penalties. The interest rates on the outstanding amount if remaining unpaid after the due date usually ranges from 2.80 % per month to 3.9 % per month or more than 30 % per annum. This is 45 % p.a. in some of the cards. There are late payment fees, Cash Advance charges apart from the interest accrued on the outstanding amount.

We have looked at both the pros and cons of Credit Cards. Now here are certain important aspects related to credit cards which are mentioned in the Card agreement which we usually don't read.

1. If you have a dispute over billing say for Rs 500 then also pay the total outstanding amount which has been billed. Here's the fine print on that, say for example, you have a bill which is generated on 1st July with its due date falling on 18th July and you didn't pay the full amount because of dispute, right. Now, for all the transactions which you have done after 1st July will attract interest and penalties. You will be charged for interest on Rs 500 as well as the unbilled transactions from 1st July.
   So, this is a big don't in credit card. There are good dispute mechanisms in place and you can expect a refund for any disputes but recommend to pay the billed amount. 
2. Don't ever withdraw Cash from Credit Cards. You will start paying interest on every spends from thereon.

Conclusion

• Use a Credit Card and maybe use multiple cards with higher limits and lower limits but pay off the bills well before the due date.
• Use a credit card instead of a debit card when you are not sure about merchants because debit cards are much more difficult to recover money from. 
• A prudent Credit Card user can easily reap maximum benefits by managing reward points and other loyalty programs. 

Credit cards can easily turn from being a blessing to a curse if it is not used with control. Always ask yourself whether you really need this thing or not? Can paying it with cash possible? Stay interest free as long as possible.