This lengthy process of buying your dream house begins with the most imperative and critical aspect- identifying the property you intend to purchase. Earlier we were dependent on estate agents, builders and property consultants for this advice, that is no longer the case.

Most banks and housing finance companies now offer property search services giving you an option to deal with an institution that has bench marked practices.

Lenders like HDFC, ICICI, and home finance company have a property search division which helps you to locate a property keeping in mind your financial status and repayment capacity. They also undertake to arrange visits to the property site, assist you in legal documentation. The lenders provide a complete one roof solution for buying property, to financing the property and completing the transaction with the builder or the developer with professionalism, transparency, and comfort. Lenders only finance a property if the lands records of the property are clear, plans are approved by the government body and title of the property is clear to safeguard the customer and ensure their money is safe. Hence the customer also feels in the safe hands when he appoints the lender to locate and identify the property he wants to buy.

The lenders for their services rendered do not charge any fees on builder property but they do charge a fee on the resale property. The lenders and housing finance companies have a large network of contacts with builders and developers and hence can offer the borrower large options in terms of location of the property and also have a strong negotiating power to get a the best offers and pass on the benefits to their customers.

Clearly this arrangement benefits the lenders and the customer and brings a high degree of professionalism to the entire transaction.

FIFA is incorporated in Mumbai as a nonprofit organization and the main objective being to emerge as an all India knowledge sharing platform and forum for IFAs, have a code of ethics and business practices for different trades and subsequently emerge as self regulatory body.

Trading process in India is a complex process as there is lot of interaction between the clients and it is imperative to share this knowledge by FIFA, and facilitate the smooth functioning of the business. Also FIFA members will guide others in improving the skills of people involved in different trades and motivate them with their innovative strategies, success stories and lateral and balanced thinking.

FIFA will interact with stakeholders, regulators, mutual fund houses ad share suggestions and ideas to bring a healthy environment to the trade.

FIFA intends to promote and protect the interests of all investors and bring them on a common platform, interact with the policy makers of the government body and ensure and safeguard the interests of its members.

The foundation is also in talks with other regional bodies and associations of IFAs and expects all of them to come under a common platform of FIFA.

Stock market trading which is coordinated by SEBI and interacting with SEBI on a common platform will make it easy for the business and trading community, investors.

There some ways to note to reduce the burden of the rising insurance rates for vehicles.

Many insurance companies offer rates according to the details provided to them by you like age, gender, marital status, occupation, claim history, driving track records. Hence providing the right details can get a discount of 10 to 25%.

You are entitled to no claims bonus for every claim free year. If you don’t claim (NCB) no claim bonus for  for a few years you are entitles for a reduction of premium cost by about 50%.

You can also take a policy for higher deductable amount in the policy. This means that you will only pay the initial small amount of the repair bill and the major amount of the repair bill will be paid by the insurance company.

Also becoming a member of the Automobile Association of India (AAI) gives a discount on the premium rates by some insurance companies.

If you have a no claim bonus get it transferred when you sell the car. The insurance company will issue a no claim certificate which will get you a good discount on the new cars insurance.

But summers in India relate to other interesting activities also.

Summer holidays make children squeal in delight and they are free from dull boring routine of school life and have all the time to play, dance, sing, to watch movies, television, eat junk food and drink different cold drinks and beverages. Also, summer is the best time for children to travel and visit some of the most exotic places in India.

Mothers on the other hand are free and have more time on their hands and indulge in shopping in a big way and they are the key decision makers and influence the way shopping or travel, entertainment is planned.

A recent survey has shown how summer influences these businesses-

As summer is vacation time, travels agents, airlines, and hotels, target family packages for local tours in India or overseas tours and cruise tours. The travel companies and 30 to 35% of their yearly sales happen in summer.

Companies dealing in air conditioners launch new products, offer attractive schemes in summer and their sales peak in summer and 70% of their total sales is in summer. A short summer can be disastrous for them

Beer sales are the maximum in summer months of April, May, and June and with IPL in action the companies are making a killing in sales- 35% of their sale are in summer time.

Summer clothing apparel sales, with youth as the main target for summer collections make a sale of 20 to 45% out of the total turnover in summer.

Soft drinks and beverages, ice creams to cool and relax us 40 to 45% sales happen in summer.

Hence we can safely presume summers can make up or break up all these businesses.

There are many ways of investing your hard earned money. Given below are some modes through which you can invest your money and watch your fortune grow. Some of these methods are 100 % safe, whilst some have a certain amount of risk involved. But a smart investor will know when and how to invest to minimize the risk and maximize the returns.

The following are some mediums in which you can invest your hard earned money:

1. Savings account in a bank whereby you earn a regular income by way of interest.
2. Fixed deposits- in a bank will fetch you a sizable interest on maturity.
3. Bonds- are loan taken by the government and on maturity of a specified period paid back to you with interest. This money is used by the government for the development purposes.
4. Postal certificates- there are various schemes to invest with post office.
5. Stocks and shares- if you invest a reputed blue chip profit making company your money multiplies very fast, but one must be careful as failing stock markets can get you in to heavy losses.
6. Buying gold and silver at low price and selling when the prices are at its highest can get you good returns.
7. Real estate- with booming real estate market the prices of land, apartments, buildings are sky rocketing and investors are making a killing with huge profits.
8. Cut down your high interest rate loans and credit cards and money saved from that can be invested and multiplied.
9. Make investments in safe and reputed banks and companies.
10. If one has skills of entrepreneur one can invest in business and make huge profits.

Golden rule for investing: Diversify your investments. Never invest all your money in same place.

Retirement for some is a dreaded situation but it is a fact and a reality of life which we all have to face, but we can plan our retirement in such a way that post retirement we can have  a decent comfortable life style without depending on our children or for that matter on anyone. As we lean on others we tend to lose our self respect in old age and it is better to start planning our retirement at a young age when we have the ability and strength to work and make money and invest for a happy retired life and keep our dignity intact.

We may have pension to bank on, but with rising inflation it is not easy to survive. The best option is to plan your retirement by computing the amount you need when you retire and then start the implementation of making the right investments with the help of financial advisors .you must keep in mind while computing your amount the factors like inflation, time value of money, medical emergencies, unforeseen expenses, must be taken in to account.

It is imperative to start your savings for retirement with small amounts in to a suitable pension plan, which on maturity the corpus is invested in generating a regular income stream called annuity.

Never use your savings pre retirement as when your near retirement your body and mind is not in position to work like earlier and it will be difficult for you to survive if your use your savings prior to retirement.. Also with medical science making new developments human beings have a longer life span which means you have to depend on your retirement savings for a longer period.

Always invest your money with banks and financial institutions with repute as this money is your hard earned wealth and which you may need on retirement.

Many reasons have been attributed for this situation such as:

The profits and the market listings of many it giants has gone down drastically with showing no signs of a fast recovery.

Given the uncertain business conditions in Europe and USA, which have been effected due to recession and inflation, the decision making on the deals in the it industry have been very slow.

Nowadays contracts have become smaller in amounts and shorter in duration and with top companies in the race to bag the contracts it has become a very competitive.

There is plenty of negative sentiment in the IT industry as UK and some other countries in Europe are again slipping back to recession and in this given situation Indian IT companies are finding it difficult to procure business.

Some countries are better priced in out sourcing than India and are willing to work out and renegotiate contracts to keep Indian IT out of the race.

Due to elections in USA this year’s policy makers are silent on the future moves for IT sector and getting a visa for Indian IT professionals is much more difficult and expensive now, which in turn leads to decline in business deals for Indian IT sector, thus aggravating the situation further.

When you intend to sell your house you try to get the best offer and make hefty gains, and to do this your house must be in good shape to attract the prospective buyer and get a decent price.

When you put your house for sale make sure you paint the walls as this will enhance the interior and will get a better price and in fact at times you may get double the amount of which you spend on painting.

Fix the leaking taps as running water is quite an irritating sign.

Replace or fix the tiles and flooring and give it a glossy look.

Check the wiring and fix the faulty wiring. Ensure that there are proper and adequate bulbs, lamps etc as this will perk up the rooms and the ambience becomes brighter.

Keep your house neat and clean and hygienic as no one wants to buy a filthy house.

Put some plants and flowers to make it environmentally healthy.

Ensure that the toilets are clean and in proper working condition, with proper drainage system.

It is very important that you have all the documents pertaining to the flat ownership available with you and all your dues and loans taken against the flat are cleared. Avoid any shady deals as an enquiry will easily reveal the truth and you may lose out on a valuable customer.

All this may cost you a bit but you will definitely be compensated with a good price when you are paid the complete worth of your maintenance.

Mentioned here are a few ways to invest in this form of gold:

1. Gold exchange traded fund (ETFs) - is a popular way of investing in gold and can be done by the click of the mouse. When you buy a gold ETF, you get shares in a fund that derives its value from the market price of the gold. Gold ETFs are sold in the units of a gram of gold and a listed on all stock exchanges. To invest in gold ETFs you need to open a Demat and a trading account with the broker. One must invest in only those gold ETFs which have a consistently high volume on the exchange and a low expense ratio. Gold ETF is the most efficient form of paper gold.
2. Gold fund - investors who do not have Demat accounts or trading account and do not wish to invest in lump sum can opt for gold funds, but the charges in these funds are marginally higher. The funds are invested in a clutch of gold ETFs and are routed through sip route and are ideal for undisciplined investors as it instills discipline through regular, systematic investments in gold.
3. E-gold- this form of investment is offered only by national spot exchange limited. It can be bought by setting up a trading account with authorized participant in the NSEL. The e gold units are similar to ETFs gold and each unit of e gold is equivalent to 1 gram of gold and backed by an equivalent quantity of gold kept by the custodian. This investment is ideal for those who are buying large quantity of gold.
4. Gold futures - commodity exchanges like MCX and NCDEX allow investors to invest in gold through futures contracts. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified amount of gold at a specified date in future at a predetermined price. Futures are ideal for sophisticated investors who want to make a killing when the prices go up or take a short position and sell the gold if prices go down.

It is a mammoth task considering the logistics involved but it also opens a potential for saving a good amount of 20 to 30% if we do it right and follow some of these tips.

1. Besides the booking of your flight, the day and the time play a vital role in the fares, as the slowest days of the week – Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays always offer the cheapest fare than the other days. Similarly early morning flights or afternoon flights are cheaper as compared to the peak hour’s flight. Booking your tickets in advance by at least 3 to 4 months can get you the best of offers and you can save a substantial amount.
2. Always book hotel rooms with breakfast and dinner included in the room tariff rate. The hotel where you stay have expensive restaurants and it is advisable to check out decent eating places outside by newspaper or your contacts and have your meals at reasonable rates. Even the laundry service is expensive in the hotel, get your laundry done by a local laundry and save money insist  the hotel on free pick up from airport or station and save on transport.
3. Public transport is always cheaper than the taxis, hired cars and sightseeing by local tours works out cheaper rather than hiring car for sightseeing.
4. Booking late also sometimes gives you the best of deals as if the flights have no bookings and hotels are running unoccupied they offer a big discount up to 50%.
5. To book your tickets or arrange hotels networking sites are open to your travel needs offering you the best possible rates and even your local travel agent will guide you with the best of offers.
6. Some banks also give you discounts, incentives, mileage points if you use their credit cards for booking your hotels and for ticketing.
7. Always try to travel in a lean season and the fares and hotel rates are down by 50%.
8. Serviced apartments in many cities offer you the best of services and at rates cheaper than the best of hotels with the facility to cook your own food and do your laundry and gives a homely feel on the vacation too.
9. Carry your laptop on vacation as the Internet and phone calls are very expensive in the hotels.
10. Look for package deals and discount coupons which can be availed.

Its’ good to enjoy a holiday with family and let go of all the tension and worry. But in the process if you can manage to save a few bucks then it is indeed a feather on your cap.