Books vs other information sources!! Consuming content from various sources is the new normal in today's world. The internet is flooded with interesting videos, podcasts, social media posts, blogs, articles, and so on, which not only give us valuable information but also keep us engaged for long hours. But can it replace books?  Books, be they paper books or e-books, are man's best friends in the sense that not only do they provide us with loads of information, but the process of reading also contributes to our physical and mental well-being in innumerable ways, which perhaps watching videos cannot meet.  Why Books?? Reading books has long been considered a mental exercise. It is actually a form of meditation because when you read, you totally immerse yourself in the topic, often imagining yourself in place of the characters and doing a sort of role-play in your mind. This contributes to reducing stress levels, blood pressure and heart rate, as you get cut off from a...

Investment: 7 Key-Pointers A few days back, my 22-year-old niece, who had just got her first job, expressed interest in learning more about investing in stock markets. She wanted some serious advice from me regarding how to go about the process. Of course, I gave her a detailed idea of fundamental and technical analysis. I suggested some online courses that would give all the details regarding how to read charts, analyze them, and make decisions.  Think out-of-the-box!! However, I could not end the training there. The question that stuck to my mind was, shouldn't I also educate her about investment-related issues that are not taught in books or courses and come only with experience? So, given below are seven key pointers that we all should keep in mind while putting our hard-earned money in the stock markets.  7 Key-pointers: Understand the trend - As an investor, you should understand the trend of the financial instrument in which you are putting your money. For instance, yo...

The concept of Share Buyback!! In corporate finance,  share buyback is an important concept, which makes it an approach that we, as investors, should investigate critically.   First, let us understand what stock buyback is. In case of buyback, the company will take back some of its shares from the market at a much higher price compared to its current market price. Therefore, if you return your existing shares to the company, it is similar to selling them off in the market but at a considerably higher profit, with zero risk. Opportunity.. However, good companies offering stock buyback opportunities at a very high price typically receive bids beyond their actual number of share buybacks planned. So, even though you may submit your bid on time, you may not always get the chance to take advantage of the offer. Purpose.. Now, let us see the purpose of the buyback of shares. When a company wants to raise money, it will issue shares to the general public. However, the case ...

Raise good kids – Build wealth!!!  Raising kids and saving for the future is a challenging job. Kids often have unreasonable demands, which, from their point of view, are things they cannot do without. Still, as parents, it becomes difficult for us to understand how to raise good kids and teach them how to resist temptation and become responsible in money matters. Therefore, it is essential to start early.  How To Fix  The Challenge?  Let us look at some solutions: Tip#1   Kids should be taught that an expensive vacation should not be a priority; instead, a good family time together or mixing with other cultures for better learning and experience is a great option.  Tip#2   They should be made to understand the value of earning while learning. There are many small and easy-to-do jobs that kids can opt for, through which they earn their daily expenses. Some of them include working in petrol pumps, retail stores, cleaning cars, farm work, tutoring, small...