This week in personal finance: Small savings schemes rate hike explained | Should you invest in real estate this festive season

Small savings instruments are favourite investment options for investors, many of who pool their savings in these products for retirement income including senior citizens, looking for safety and decent returns.The government this week provided relief to investors by raising interest rates of several small savings schemes by 0.3 percent to 0.4 percent for the quarter starting from October 1, 2018.

Small savings instruments are favourite investment options for investors, many of who pool their savings in these products for retirement income including senior citizens, looking for safety and decent returns. To know more about the exact changes in rates, read: Govt raises interest rates on small savings like PPF, NSC for Oct-Dec quarter The move makes most of the small savings products attractive with some of them such as the PPF providing EEE tax benefits. However, your investment in these products should be a well thought out. In case you are struggling to know the parameters you should consider while choosing these products here is some help. The onset of the festive season has brought about a barrage of real estate offers with and various kinds of discounts to woo customers. The realty sector sees this as a period to boost sales as it has been sagging for some years especially after the enactment of the Real Estate Regulator Act (RERA) and the hit that it took on account of demonetisation. Are you looking at the real estate advertisement with interest? In case you are looking to buy a property to live in, any time is a good time. However, if you are considering lapping up the offers as a pure investment, you need to give it a hard look. Investment advisors and personal finance experts feel that real estate as a pure investment play may not be a good idea at this juncture. Here is why. The Supreme Court recently passed an order directing states and union territories to frame rules to compensate accident victims by auctioning uninsured motor vehicles. The order says that if an uninsured vehicle or whose insurance policy has expired gets involved in an accident the vehicle will be auctioned to compensate the victims of the accident. So, if your vehicle’s insurance is about to expire do get it renewed on time! Here are the few outcomes of the SC ruling you should be aware of On the life insurance front, many of buy a policy looking at the highest sum assured offered without considering whether the cover is needed. Or, we may buy a policy looking at how low the premium is without sparing a thought on whether the sum assured will be sufficient to protect your family. While buying a life cover one should begin with an assessment of one’s life goals and accordingly, one should the need and then buy the best plan which can help them get the desired protection. Here are a few things you should consider while buying a life insurance to protect your family There has been a recent spike in the sale of single premium ULIP plans as compared to regular premiums. In the single premium plan, an insurer gets coverage for a full term by paying premium amount in a lump sum. Whereas, in regular premium ULIP plan, an insurer needs to pay premiums in intervals such as monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually for the policy. In our story Single premium vs regular premium ULIP plans: Which one should you buy?, we help you understand the key differences between single premium and regular premium ULIP plans for you to make informed decisions. Have you ever been told by your guardians not to use a credit card? While the reckless use of the plastic money is bad, using a credit card can actually be beneficial in many circumstances. For this, you should actually know the features offered by your card and you should know the smart way to make the use of them. Here are a few ways how can actually score well and earn several benefits while making the proper use of your plastic money Retirement planning should be integral to any personal long-term financial plan. Whether you like it or not, one day you have to retire from your salaried employment. This will mean a stop to you monthly salary deposit in your bank. Keeping aside rare exceptions, almost all of us retire at some point in time if we live long enough. The earlier you start planning for retirement, the better. < Here are some reasons why your retirement planning must begin now This week we have analysed the Axis Long-Term Equity Fund which was launched on December 29, 2009. The AUM of the scheme as on July 31, 2018, is Rs 18,262.47 crore which is the highest among the peers in Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) category. Our Axis Long Term Equity Fund review will tell you whether it is a good investment bet.