The Pros And Cons Of Investment With Banks And Financial Institutions

Almost everyone wants to retire young and rich. That’s why most people want to start investing so that they get a high return on the money that they have. This lets the money to continue to flow in. You can choose banks or financial institutions for this purpose. Here are some of the pros and cons of investing in conventional methods like Bank fixed deposits, versus financial institute mutual funds.

Fixed Deposits

Fixed deposit is an investment plan where you invest a sum of money in a bank for a set period (tenure) with a specific rate of interest. This is one of the most common investment approaches with banks.
Pros:
Low risk
The safest investment with a bank is a fixed deposit. It gives steady growth and provides maximum security to your principal amount.
Assurance
When you open a fixed deposit, the interest rate is predetermined and remains the same throughout the term. This means that the growth of your principal isn’t subject to any other influencing factors.
Tax benefits
You can get tax benefits when you start a fixed deposit. Your taxable amount will be deducted according to the deposit you’ve made.

Cons:
Lower earnings
When compared to other investment plans, these have a very low rate of return. Although it’s risk-free, the earnings are mediocre at best.
The effect of inflation
When compared to inflation, FDs don’t offer returns good enough to beat the inflation. They’re just a decent investment that offers security at most.
Taxable
In spite of having tax benefits, FDs don’t entirely save tax. The returns you get after maturity are taxable. This means you won’t get the full benefit of your investment. That’s a major drawback.
Low liquidity
FDs come with a lock-in period. This takes away flexibility in your investments.
A premature withdrawal has two side effects. First, you’ll be charged a fee for pre-closure. Second, the interest rate reduces. Both are losses that should be avoided.

Mutual Funds
Stock or equity is the ownership of shares in a company or business.
Pros :
Highest returns
From all investments option, equity/stocks are the best when it comes to returns. If invested properly, the average returns ranges from 12-15%. Some good investors can even reach numbers of up to 20%.
Liquidity
Another advantage with stock investment is that you can withdraw your money anytime you want.
This flexibility works better in the long run since it lets you keep control of your money.
Tax-free Dividend
Many companies give regular dividends on stocks. That’s a great way to generate an alternate income. The best part is that is that it’s not taxable.

Defeat Inflation

With returns being high, stocks are a great option to beat inflation significantly.
Cons:
Highest Risk
Equity is the least secure investment you can make. With some strategic planning and proper management, this can be avoided to an extent.
Reallocation
Equity funds don’t perform all that well when you leave them to mature like FDs and PFs. They need to be monitored regularly.
According to market fluctuation, certain funds might not perform well. In those times, you should reallocate these funds to a more profitable organisation. This isn’t easy and needs you to monitor the market regularly.

Whether you’re investing with banks or financial institution, both have their own merits and demerits. You should take a call based on your current status and financial goals that you’ve set.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

  • Part-time job options for summers

    Are you on the hunt for a part-time job this summer? If so, look no further as we have shortlisted some part-time jobs that you can take up this summer to make productive use of your time and earn some extra cash. After all, it’s never too early (or late) to start learning. Here are some options for you to choose from:

    • Waiting tables
      It has often been said that a person should be a waiter or waitress at least once, so why not consider this a lucrative job option? You can ask around at the local cafes and restaurants or look in the newspapers for a suitable part-time job waiting tables. This job can help you learn several things like hospitality and time management, and it can also help you develop people and communications skills. Usually, you do not need to have any formal credentials to land the job; you must only come with a willingness to learn.
    • Customer service representative
      Many retail, travel, or insurance businesses look for people to help in their customer service department. This job makes you the link between companies and customers, and you can interact with customers via phone, online chat, or in person to help resolve their queries. Usually, you’ll be offered part-time jobs that can also lead to full-time opportunities, and you can learn and develop several valuable skills like problem-solving, soft skills, tact, and the like.
    • Recreation worker
      During summers, children are usually sent off to summer camps. So, you can consider becoming a camp counselor who helps oversee various physical and recreational activities at these camps if you like working with children. You can help oversee arts and crafts and team-building activities, and you can also interact with the children at the camp. This role is also found in nursing homes, hospitals, and local government agencies and is one of the most popular part-time job options you can choose from.
    • Translator and interpreter
      If you got good grades in a foreign language, why not put them to good use? Nowadays, many professionals look for translators and interpreters to help bridge the communication gap in their business dealings. If you are a gifted foreign language speaker, or if you have learned and aced multiple languages in school (like Mandarin, Russian, and the like), you can look forward to working as a translator. This job is in demand in courtrooms, hospitals, schools, and several businesses.
  • Things to know about buying laptops online
    Laptops have become extremely popular owing to their versatile features and functionalities. The best part is that you can carry your handy laptops anywhere without any hassles. Plus the performance, robustness, compatibility, and convenience stay unparalleled. Well, you can execute a rich plethora of tasks on them. Be it surfing the Internet, streaming music and movies, communicating and interacting with the online world, you can perform all these jobs anytime and anywhere. These are sufficient reasons for you to consider buying new laptops instead of a desktop computer. Well, there are some other reasons which you must consider to buy these high tech gadgets online. Convenience: You can sit in your comfort of your home and proceed to buy laptop online. You need not rush over the entire town to find out the reliable supplier and brand of laptop model. Sit in your living and browse the rich selection of laptops. You will have greater convenience, freedom to choose and satisfaction. Selection: The selection range you will get at online stores is much larger than the physical stores. It is relatively easy to configure a laptop online. Also, you need not depend on the sole advice of the sales representatives. You can check the product ratings and reviews to know about the laptop you want to buy. Go through the third party review sites and online guides to dive deep to learn about the laptops. Pricing: The best part is you can get the best pricing when buying laptops online. You can choose to buy the laptop at the cost you can afford to buy. You can do some serious comparison across the comparison sites for the costs of laptops and save money. You can even save tremendous money with the help of coupon and promotional codes. Some common things you must pay deep attention when buying laptops online: You must try the laptop before buying. This means that when you have selected a specific laptop model to buy online, you can visit the physical stores to try hands on it. The brick and mortar stores offer laptops for test driving. You can fiddle with the keyword, touchscreen, trackpad and other parts. After you have got hands-on experience with the laptop, you can consider buying it online. Make sure you buy laptops from suppliers who have a strong return policy with money back guarantees. Take a look at the size of the laptop. Size is the most important factor which makes laptops highly portable. No doubt bigger screen sizes give you a wide and expansive viewing area. However, the portability is reduced. You can determine the laptop’s size depending on the size of the trackpad and keyboard. You must even select the size depending on the usage. If you are a frequent traveler, you can buy the small ultrabooks. But, if you need it for office work a standard laptop with 13.3 or 14 inches would be ideal. And if you need laptops for home and don’t carry them along with you, a 15.6-inch model would be perfect. You can even consider buying laptop hybrids which offer space and power for keyboards. Some people assume laptops, 2-in-1s, and tablets the same things. However, it isn’t. If you need gadgets for multitasking, running complex apps and quick web searching, laptops are the ideal choice. Tablets have some confinements which are conquered by laptops. You shouldn’t make assumptions about what the machine can do. Instead get the proper features and specifications and then buy the right laptop. The Internet is a warehouse where you will find an extensive range of laptop models. You will definitely find laptops which are suitable for your needs and budgets.
  • 12 Popular Moisturizing Shampoos for Dry Hair
    There are several factors that can result in dry hair. The sun, heat-styling addiction, over-coloring are just a few reasons. Whatever may be the cause, brittle strands does not only lead to frizz and split ends but make the hair lackluster and dull. In order to make the hair healthy again, the first thing you need to do is to change your shampoo to a more suitable one. The idea is to use hydrating and moisturizing shampoo. It is important not to do anything that will make your hair drier than it already is. Popular moisturizing shampoo for dry hair with estimate prices are listed below: ALTERNA Haircare's CAVIAR Anti-Aging® Replenishing Moisture Shampoo If regular hair coloring is the reason for your dry hair, use this shampoo to give the much-needed moisturizer to your hair strands. It protects hair color. You can get it for $32. L'Oreal Ever Pure Moisture Shampoo Rosemary This is another shampoo you can use if you use hair color. This shampoo locks in moisture and protects color from fading. It is affordably priced at $7. dpHUE Hydrate Shampoo Dry hairs are almost always unmanageable. dpHUE is formulated with green tea, vitamin A, and vitamin E which replenish hair strands and make them manageable. This shampoo retails for $24. VERB Hydrating Shampoo If your hair is damaged by the summer heat since you have spent quite some time at the beach, you can use this shampoo. It offers UV damage protection as well. This is possible due to the presence of sunflower seed extract in it. The price of this shampoo is fixed at $14. Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo This cream based shampoo does not only make your hair smooth and soft but smells heavenly. This one is priced at $19. Leonor Greyl Nourishing Shampoo If you have long hair, the chances of getting dry ends increase. This shampoo is formulated to tackle this kind of problem. It makes the hairs and their ends stronger, smoother and manageable. Get this for $45. Dove Nutritive Solutions Shampoo Coconut provides the same kind of nourishment to hair as it does to skin. This shampoo locks in moisture into the strands and makes your hair smell like lime and tropical coconut. This one is affordably priced at $5. Dove Oxygen Moisture Shampoo Dove has another shampoo under its belt that will clean your moisture-starved hair and give them the necessary hydration. You need to shell out just $4 to enjoy the benefits. R+Co Atlantis Moisturizing Shampoo This one is made for people with coarse and thick hair. It contains babassu oil and witch hazel that help to restore hydration and manage dryness-related frizz common for this hair type. You can buy this for $28. Bumble and bumble. Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Shampoo There is nothing that this miracle shampoo with a blend of six essential oils cannot do. Along with providing hydration to the hair, it smoothens, prevents breakage, detangles and eliminates frizz. This one is available for $31. DAVINES MOMO Shampoo You would love everything about this shampoo. It has a crisp citrus scent. Moreover, its mineral and vitamin-rich formula make brittle hair feel smooth and soft again. You need to pay $26 to buy this one. Klorane Shampoo-cream with Abyssinia Oil This shampoo is for everybody who has curly hair and has chemically relaxed their hair. The key ingredient, Abyssinia oil, helps to restore brittle, damaged and dry strands. It is priced at $20. While buying a shampoo, ensure that it is made to suit your hair type and condition. Apart from cleaning your dry hair with a hydrating and moisturizing shampoo, you must also condition your hair. It is always suggested to buy a conditioner that is available in the same range as the shampoo brand. However, if your shampoo does not come with a complementary conditioner, you can surely look for conditioners that will complement the shampoo.
  • Tips for lengthening your TV’s life
    Whether it's an expensive smart TV or an ordinary analog TV that you have, it can last up to 40,000 hours and some manufacturers claim that it might go beyond that under controlled conditions. It is in the hands of the user to extend its life span by following easy tips which does not cost much money. Clean it up The new generation TVs and home theaters are really smooth shinny attracting dust particles due to the wheeling of static electricity generated around them. Keeping it clean not only helps in making it look better but with little maintenance you can make the video/audio systems will produce and deliver better hearing and viewing experience. Never use a paper towel or toilet papers to clean a greasy screen, instead make a mild solution of soap and water to wipe. Conceal the cables You have to be very careful handling with cables wire as high electric current passes through them. It is advisable to switch off the power before you get started. Nobody likes to see too many wires hanging from the TV. Concealing them not only keeps it tidy but also prevents damages. If you fine a cable tie to wrap it up try Velcro instead or even wire based twist ties. While securing the cable wires make sure that you run each electrical wire separate to prevent electrical interference which will lead to burning of cables and result in short circuit and degraded audio and video signals. The wire can be hidden behind the wall mount or furniture on which the TV is fixed Install a stabilizer/surge protector Power inconsistency can harm your TV as modern TVs are highly sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Install a good brand of stabilizer to regulate the power input. Many LED TVs fail mid-way due to display problems and busted power caps from power surges. By installing voltage regulator, you can protect your TV from hazard power surges and keep your TV work efficiently even if you install any other heavy devices at home. Stabilizer might be an expensive option but you can use a surge protector as an alternative which is cheap in price. Buy reliable surge protectors of 10 and more outlets with space for large power packs. Fix your TV on the table If you have rested your TV on a table, it is time to buy a dedicated TV stand. A TV stand comes with special features which are easy to use and store accessories. Consider TV stands from specialized companies if you are looking for style and also hire a local cabinet maker to customize your TV stand. Invest on stands which provide good ventilation, integrated cable management, enough shelves for encasing speakers, video streamers, remote controller, and cable boxes.
  • Curious about atopic dermatitis? Here’s what you need to know
    Atomic dermatitis is a chronic condition that can make your skin red and itchy. Though this condition is more common in children, it can occur in people of all age groups. Atomic dermatitis can remain dormant and flare up periodically, and it can be accompanied by bouts of asthma and fever. People diagnosed with this condition are prescribed dermatitis medication that has to be taken especially during periods of a flare-up. What are the symptoms and causes of atopic dermatitis? The symptoms of atopic dermatitis can vary for different people. A look at dermatitis pictures will show the following common symptoms:
    • Dry, itchy skin with itching particularly severe at night.
    • Red to brownish patches on the skin, mostly on hands, feet, ankles, wrists, eyelids, neck and upper chest. In infants, these patches appear on the face and scalp.
    • The skin patches may be covered with small, raised bumps.
    • The skin over these patches may be sensitive and swollen from scratching.
    It is not entirely known as to what causes atopic dermatitis but finding the right dermatitis medication depends a lot on the extent of the condition. It is believed that eczema can be caused due to gene variation. This can affect the skin’s ability to create a protective barrier against the environmental irritants and allergens. What can be the complications associated with atopic dermatitis? The complications of this condition, if not treated properly, can lead to one or more of the following conditions:
    • Asthma and hay fever: In most children, eczema can lead to asthma or hay fever. More than 50% of young children with atopic dermatitis develop either asthma or hay fever by the age of 13.
    • Skin infections: Chronic atopic dermatitis can cause constant and persistent scratching, which can result in open sores and cracks. This leads to an increased risk of bacterial and viral infections such as herpes simplex virus.
    While there is no cure for atopic dermatitis, there are dermatitis medications to reduce the pain and itchiness associated with this condition during flare-ups. It is also helpful to avoid using harsh soaps and keep the skin moisturized with the use of medicated ointments.
  • Chronic Bronchitis: An overview
    Bronchitis is a term used to define the condition of inflammation of the bronchial tubes. As a result of the inflammation, mucus is discharged in high quantities in the tubes. This causes the tubes to swell up and therefore close off. The condition can be categorized as a chronic bronchitis cough. A cough appears on a day-to-day basis, forms sputum, which lasts for a very long time going into months. Difference between acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis The major difference between acute and chronic bronchitis is that the former is not very serious in nature. Acute bronchitis occurs due to cold or other respiratory infection and improves gradually. It recedes in a matter of a few days without leaving behind any effect. Chronic Bronchitis, on the other hand, takes place gradually with time. It results in continuous episodes of bronchitis which may last for months or years. In the case of Chronic Bronchitis, the continuous inflammation in the tube results in the accumulation of mucus in a very high quantity. This accumulation ends up blocking the air path, causing breathing difficulties. Symptoms Of Chronic bronchitis The major symptom of chronic bronchitis is the chronic bronchitis cough. It includes very heavy, continuous and painful coughing. It brings mucus from the lungs. The mucus may vary in color. It may range between white, yellow, and green. Other symptoms include: Fever Uncomfortable feeling in the chest bad breath Congestion in sinus Fatigue Chills Advanced stages symptoms: Change of color of lips and skin due to lack of oxygen in the blood Swelling in legs and ankles Heart conditions Increased intolerance for environmental irritants. Infections in other part of the body Causes of Chronic Bronchitis The cause of chronic bronchitis is the irritation and inflammation caused continuously in bronchial tubes. The main reason in the development of chronic bronchitis is smoking. Both first hand and secondhand smoke aids in the enhancement of the condition. Other causes include: Air pollution Toxic gases from industries and chemical fumes Repeated lung infections When to see the doctor? The major factor which helps in deciding the time to visit the doctor is the bronchial cough. Many people who smoke confuse the bronchitis cough with smoker's cough. Such confusion delays the treatment. See a doctor when:
    • Your cough lasts more than three weeks.
    • You see a change in the color of your mucus or see blood in the mucus.
    • You have a persistent high fever.
    • The coughing disturbs your sleeping cycle.
    • You feel tightness in your chest and shortness in breathing.
    • If you keep an eye out for these symptoms and take precautions as and when necessary, you will soon be cured of this disease.