For Whom Wealth Matters
April 5, 2012 9 Comments
In case you ever wonder how much higher or lower FD rates are likely to go here is a table showing historical rates.Personally I consider 8%pa as a sort of cut off point and have an aversion for FDs of any length when rates are below 9%.So I try to book them for longer tenures when rates are higher and ride out the lean periods.When FDs are lean pickings the PPF is likely to be a better bet. Read more of this post
April 5, 2012 Leave a comment
I have long been interested in knowing more about the historic Rupee Dollar exchange rates and the story of the devaluation of the Indian Rupee.I previously posted some data I had gathered on the subject here:https://wealthymatters.com/2011/09/25/the-rupee-dollar-exchange-rate/ .This post contains some more data I came across today here http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/are-weddings-in-india-really-driving-gold-prices/ :
In early controlled exchange rate regime, the rupee exchange rate hovered around Rs 4 in the 1950s, Rs 5 in the 60s, Rs 7 in the 70s, and Rs 8 in the 80s. The liberalized era of 90s was different, the rupee moved in the Rs 20s (the rupee was also partly decontrolled in early 90s) and Rs 40 in the decade of 2000. Read more of this post
April 5, 2012 1 Comment
The details of this idea can be read here:http://7million7years.com/2011/05/26/the-pay-yourself-twice-wealth-strategy/
The general idea is that if we want to be seriously wealthy we need to do more than just save a small part of our incomes to be invested for the long term in various savings instruments so that we can achieve various life goals .Such a strategy will help us secure a middle class lifestyle but no more.So paying ourselves once secures us some insurance against the vagaries of life.To raise the capital to build businesses and participate in other higher risk ventures and to buy other truly passive assets we need to pay ourselves once again.
BTW the savings rate suggested so that we pay ourselves twice is over 75%. To check your savings rate why not use the calculator here:https://wealthymatters.com/2011/01/17/am-i-wealthy-calculator/ ?
April 4, 2012 Leave a comment
The table above is from http://7million7years.com/2011/05/26/the-pay-yourself-twice-wealth-strategy/. I put it up here as it is such a nice way of explaining things and keeping expectations of returns from different types of investment vehicles realistic.
February 6, 2012 1 Comment
Collecting coins can be an engrossing and rewarding hobby.
I started collecting coins when I was about 2 years old.My dad worked in the airport then.Every few days he would bring me a few foreign coins and my mom used to tell me about these far away countries.My mom was also trying to prepare me to begin school and her way of teaching me about money and counting was to get me to play with the brass coins of those days.These were the earliest coins to make their way into my collection.
When I started collecting coins I didn’t have any focus nor did I care about the value of the coins might have in future.But years later I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how much my coins were worth.A brass 20 paisa with a lotus picture was a pretty common coin then and even now.Nevertheless it sells for no less than 8 rupees today.A compounded annual gain of close to 10% per year for 48 years. Read more of this post
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