Pratapgadh - The fort of Strength and Glory

We visited pratapgadh in month of August 2015. There were light rain showers during out visit.

Enjoy the below images from our Journey to Pratpgadh, from Navi mumbai to Pratapgadh (near mahabaleshwar Satara)

On the way to Pratapgadh, early morning photo. Forgot to set date time in my old Olympus camera.

The properties of the images show incorrect dates.

Waterfalls were everywhere, while climbing the ghat toward's pratapgadh, as it was raining. It was a beautiful weather.

We were travelling by my cousins Tata Sumo. 3 couples and 2 children.

The greenery everywhere was awesome. It was stress relieving feeling and the environment was all filled with positive energy and fresh air.

While climbing the mountain the fog started building up, which gave a beautiful view of the road and hills.

My basic photography skills, trying with Tata Sumo and waterfall.

How to earn money through youtube ?

YouTube is a video sharing website, where everyone uploads , shares and views the videos. YouTube is one of the ways to earn money online. The only investment required to start this is Camera for recording and Software for editing videos.

Below are steps to create a YouTube account:
1. Create a account on YouTube
2. Start uploading your videos on YouTube
3. Create creative videos with your ideas, which will be interesting to people
4. You should not upload the copied videos from anywhere else, they should be unique and recorded by you
5. While uploading the videos, you need to categorize them and upload into different YouTube channels, e.g. business, health, entertainment etc.
6. There are many people who are earning 7 to 10 digits income from the YouTube videos


Below are few ways to start earning from YouTube videos:
1. YouTube partnering program:
This is the first method on which you partner with YouTube to earn money from your videos. You can check the terms and conditions from YouTube partner program online, which are country specific. Once people start to view your videos, YouTube starts posting advertisements on your videos, if the advertisements are viewed or clicked by users, you and YouTube get paid from the advertisers

a. Earn from Video Views:
YouTube partners can make $2 to $5 per 100 video views. The rate paid by YouTube depends on how popular your videos have become on the online channels. If your videos start becoming popular and you have more than million views, you can earn more than $2000+ on that videos.

b. People Subscribing to Your Channels:
If you keep creating creative content and uploading to the YouTube channels, you might attract people to subscribe to your videos. YouTube partner program will start paying you $0.05 for one subscriber. In this way if increasing popularity, gets you 10000 subscribers, you can get paid $500 + money.

c. Your YouTube Channel Views:
YouTube partnership program will provide you $0.01 per channel view and if your channel, which includes all videos gets 100000 views then you can get $1000 + money


2. Showing Direct Advertisements on your videos:
If you keep creating creative videos and uploading to your YouTube channel, you can become famous on YouTube, which will attract direct advertisers to you. Or you can directly approach advertising companies for showing advertisements on your YouTube videos.

3. You can advertise your own services or products:
If you are into business or services, you can show advertisements for your own business. This will help to promote your own business online.

Verdict:
There are several people there outside who are earning, $1000 + per month. If you are creative and if you can convert your hobbies into videos which can be uploaded to the YouTube channel, you too can definitely start earning $1000 + money online.

8 methods to make money by writing articles

As mentioned in my previous blog 9 ways to earn money in your freetime, this is one of the method writing articles online.

Below are few 8 methods to make money online, by wrting articles.

1. Blogger.com:
You can go to the Blogger.com and create your own website, with the url you choose. example: you want a website with name tips.com, you will get a website url as tips.blogspot.com. blogspot will be there in the url, as your website will be hosted on the blogger.com for free. This is a great platform for the people who want to earn by writing the articles online.

how to go ahead with this
a. Choose one of the area of your passion and interest and on which you can talk for hours untiringly
b. Create a blog website at www.blogger.com
c. Start writing the articles on regular basis. Make sure you write atleast 3-4 articles per week, which will ensure you have enough content on your website.
d. Advertise your blog on social networking sites, like Google+, facebook, Linkedin as this will divert the people traffic to your blog who might be interested in reading your content.
e. Once you have good traffic, you can check the various ways of making money from your blogger website.

Example: The money can come from the Adsense program run by the blogger.com itself. For more details about the earning check the website www.blogger.com.

2. Wordpress:
The www.wordpress.com is similar to the blogger.com. This is one more platform where you can be independent writer and earn money by writing online articles. Wrodpress will be very helpful to the experienced bloggers.

3. Squidoo:
The website www.squidoo.com provides you an online opprtunity to work and earn online. One of the sucessful ways to write the articles is to publish the latest and unique content. You can register on www.squidoo.com and start writing the articles you love.

4. Hub Pages:
The www.hubpages.com gives you a one more way to write articles and earn money online. It gives you multiples ways to earn money through Google Adsense, Amazon products, eBay.. and more.. You can register to www.hubpages.com and start writing the articles online.

5. Zujava:
The www.zujava.com is another website which pays you for writing articles online. There are two ways of earning money on zujava.com:

a. You need to write 3 articles after login to Zujava and request Zujava to review your articles. Once your articles are published, you start earning money.
b. The second method of earning money through this method is to refer your friend, and once he starts earning money, Zujava will pay 25% to you. For e.g., the friend you referred has earned Rs. 4000 in a month, you will get paid Rs. 1000 i.e. 25% of his earnings.

6. Constant-Content:
This is another website which pays you for writing unique articles. The earnings on this website depends on the number of downloads, as the downloads are paid downloads. If you have any unique articles, then the earnings can be great. For this register at www.constant-content.com and start writing online articles.

7. Edit Fast:
The edit fast website is the one which offers you $10 for every article you submit, for the list of categories mentioned on their website. Register at http://editfast.com/english/editjobs.htm?register=REGISTER to start writing your articles.

8. Expert Columns:
On the www.expertcolumns.com website you can publish the articles and start earnning money. There is one important thing to note about this website, the earnings do not come from Adsense i.e. click to pay. Your payment completely depends on how many pageviews you get. To start earning online register at www.expertcolumns.com.

9 ways to earn money in your Free time

1. Create your own products :
Creating your own product in your free time is a great way to earn extra money. And who knows that extra might become your full time income. To give you an example on this, on of my friend did s short term course on how to create chocolates at home. Then he actually started creating and selling the chocolates on streets. In past 3 years, he has grown his business in good amounts, i.e., he has his own branded 3 chocolate shops and growing more.

2. Work as an Advisor:
If you have a specific knowlegde, in which you are expert, then you can start working as an Advisor to different companies. E.g. There are many companies which hire financial, technical advisors. Which are well paid for the advise they provide with the knowledge they bring in the company.

3. Write Online Articles :
If you are familiar with the subject on which you can write, you can spend 3-5 hours a week to write 2-3 articles per week. For this, you need to write it with great interest and passion. There are various platforms, where you can write articles and earn money. Some of them are Squidoo, Hubpages etc.

4. Create your own blog or website:
You can set-up your own blog or website, if you are ready to spend some money to maintain it anually. On this blog, you can write any posts or articles of your interest. As compared to writing articles on others websites is different from wrtiting articles on your own website or blog, as here you are the only one for everything i.e., from bringing ideas, to writing content, maintaining website and everything releated to it.
Her you own everything and you enjoy all the benefits. If you are passionate about something, you can create your own world and this will be viewed everyday by whole world.

You can start writing your blogs with Blogger.com, which is completely free. When you feel you need to now move on to your own website and can afford maintaining it, then you can easily transfer the content from there to your own website.

5. Become a Teacher for something you know:
One of my friend who is a Electronics Engineers, has good knowledge into Digital Techniques and Applications. He is expert in what he is doing and working for a MNC company. He spends his freetime, during the weekends, saturday and sunday for 2 to 4 hours conduting the Training classed for the Engineering Students. He earns about 15 to 20K per month, just from his weekends 2-4 hours of training classes. He says, he just spends his time on what he knows and loves and sharing  knowledge, Money comes on its way.

6. Earning from You Tube:
If you have any hobbies like dancing, cycling or anything you like or share the tips and tricks with the world. You Tube is the best way to create your own video and share the knowledge you have through your skills.
E.g., You like cycling, then you can create your own video about, what you should remember while going on long rides ? What tools you should carry while going on long rides ? What gear is must while going on long rides ? and more. There are few people out there who claim they earn about 1000$ per month with their youtube videos. Now, this depends on how interesting your topic and the video is.

7. Earn from your hobbies:
If you like doing Yoga, Gymming, Dancing you can turn this hobbies into earning. This can be done, by teaching someone who is in need of learning them. This way you enjoy doing what you do, while earning some income for you. One my friends enjoys morning Yoga, he does a private yoga teaching every alternate morning for 1-2 hrs and while living a healthy lifestye he earns somewhere aroung Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8000 per month.

8. Selling on eBay:
Everyone is familiar with eBay. We can sell anything on eBay. Even if you don't own any product, still you can sell it on eBay. There are various strategies which need to be considered while selling on eBay. You can check the website ebay.com where you will find more details on How to Sell on eBay. Try this in your free time and start selling something.

9. Network Marketing:
Earning money through this method for everyone is little tough, as only 20% of your contacts turn out to be actually helpful to you. But if you are once sucessful in this business, you have no limit to success. You will have very high income, in short span of time. You can work as an affiliate member and recommend products to anyone you know. It can be through e-mail, facebook, linkedin, twitter or any other social media. Whenever someone buys your reffered product, you get the handsome commision with the affiliate programs.


You can look at many more different ways to earn money in india during the free time. You can spend 2 to 10 hours in a week and earn this extra money. If you are able to do something you love and is of your interest, you can increase your extra income easily.

Few things that students need to know about Money

Very few high school students are financially literate. Many students have to learn tough lessons, when they step into their adult life, with the finances. While, personal finance might be a overwhelming subject to learn, so many students have developed many misunderstandings about money.

Below are the few misunderstandings

1. They cannot afford the college costs :
Most of the students are aware of the year on year increase in the college costs. Due to the increase in the college costs they try to skip the colleges and step out in the world to start earning. But they don't realize that, stepping out costs them more than completing the college and bearing the costs. As, after completing the college the work you get to earn will cover the costs you invested for college in the first year itself.

2. A person can save the amount which is left at the end of month :
It is never going to happen, that anything is left over at the end of the month. As money, always gets spent on something, if it is sitting there in your account. The money can only be saved, if it is directly transferred to some saving account or Fixed deposit or Recurring Deposit at the beginning of the month.

3. Budgeting is not for me :
The students who think budgeting is not for them, end up spending always more than their budget. While, at the end they start acquiring debt even before they start earning. Budgeting is important, as even small expenses can add up and can get you in big troubles.

4. Credit Cards are Bad :
Now this completely depends on you. If you are not able to control the spending done by the credit card, you should not own one. You can start with a credit card to borrow not more than 30 percent of the credit limit in each billing cycle and always pay the balance in full and on time.

5. All debts are bad debts :
Borrowing now to improve yourself will not be a bad idea. Students can go for education loans up to the amount which should not exceed the first year earnings of their first job. This will help them to achieve more in their education career.

What is FD ?

Fixed deposit also popularly know as FD is the safest investment option with fixed returns.  Fixed deposit account is an investment account in which money is deposited for a fixed period of time and a fixed interest rate is paid at the end of that period.

It is the safest investment option when compared to other investment types e.g. shares. Opening a fixed deposit account is very easy, you have to do just deposit the money into the account for a given period of time.

Listed below are the benefits of the FD:

1. You can save tax : The investments in fixed deposits up to a maximum of Rs.100,000 for 5 years are eligible for tax deductions under section 80 C of income tax act. Fixed deposits save tax and give high returns on invested money.

2. FD's are Safe : The FD's of reputed banks and financial institutions are regulated by RBI (Reserve Bank of India) the banking regulator in India are very secure and considered as one of the safest investment methods.

3. It can work as a regular income : Fixed deposits earn fixed interest rates for their entire tenure, which is usually compounded quarterly. For those who want an income on a regular basis can invest into FD and use the interest rate as their income. This makes a fixed deposit very popular way of investing money for retirees.

4. Higher interest rate than savings account : Investing in a fixed deposit account earns you a higher interest rate than depositing your money in a savings account.

5. You can have multiple fixed deposits : You can create more than one fixed deposit account in the same bank account, if you want to save for different goals.

Apart from the benefits, there are also some drawbacks of investing in FD

1. The interest benefits can be wiped out with the rising inflation: The actual benefits or income from FD can be annualized by a rising inflation. Suppose the inflation which is currently at 4 % rises to about 8%, your fixed deposit at 10% annual return will effectively yield only(10%-8%) = 2% of return. This return would have been (10% -4%) = 6% if the rate of inflation had not changed. This can drastically eat into your fixed deposit income.

2. Lower Interest Rates : While the money invested in stock markets can give you a return of 20% the fixed deposits will give only about 10%. So, the money grows slowly in the case of fixed deposits.

3. FD maturity amount is applicable to Taxes: The interest earned on FD is fully taxable and is added to the annual income of the individual. Gains from stocks are considered capital gains while dividends are tax free.

What is PPF ?

PPF is public provident fund account, which can be opened with any of the Nationalized banks. e.g SBI bank gives facility to open PPF account.

Must know details about PPF account -

1. Minimum Rs. 500 yearly are enough to keep your PPF account active. Hence it should be opened at the early age. PPF accounts can be opened by individuals with salary or self-employed, with a minimum initial deposit of just Rs. 100. Individuals can also open the PPF account for their minor child.

Accounts can be opened at any branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) or branches of its associated banks.

Other nationalized banks which offer this service are -
Bank of India
Central Bank of India and
Bank of Baroda.

2. The maximum amount that can be deposited is Rs. 1,00,000 in a financial year. Deposits can be done on flexible basis. Yearly 12 installments are allowed.

3. The interest rate in your PPF account is calculated on the lowest balance between the fifth and the last day of the month. In order to maximize your earnings, try making deposits between the 1st and the 5th of every month. Interest is compounded annually and credited on 31st March of every year.

4. The complete amount in your account can be withdrawn only on maturity. Partial withdrawals are permitted subject to certain limits. You can withdraw once a year, from the 7th year onward.

5. The amount deposited in a PPF account is eligible for a tax deduction under section 80C. The complete maturity amount including the interest is non-taxable. The interest earned is tax free.

6. You can take a loan on your PPF account, subject to certain terms and conditions. Loans can be taken from the third year on wards till the sixth year. Up to a maximum of 25 per cent of the balance at the end of the 2nd year immediately preceding year would be allowed as loan. Such withdrawals are to be repaid within 24 months. Rate of interest charged on the loan would be 2 per cent more than the PPF interest rate prevailing then.

7. You can extend the PPF account after the 15 year tenure with or without further subscription, for any period in a block of five years. If you do not remove the invested amount for 15 years, due to compounding interest, you will earn almost double of your investment. The balance in the account will continue to earn interest at normal rate till the account is closed. In case the account is extended without contribution, any amount can be withdrawn without restrictions.

Only one withdrawal is allowed per year. If you continue the account after 15 years, with continued deposit, withdrawal up to 60 per cent of the balance at the beginning of each extended period (block of five years) is permitted.

8. Consider PPF account as your retirement income, 5% of your total earnings should be considered for PPF account.

To get the PPF calculation file click here.

How to use the file ?
Enter the amount to invest monthly in the yellow box. This will give you the output with -1. Amount Invested Monthly2. Amount Invested in 15 years3. Total Interest Earned in 15 years4. Total maturity amount on 15th year
It also gives you the year on year view of the amount balance deposited in your account along with the effect of compounding interest.

Done.....

What is Commodity in Trading ?

Commodity is a agricultural product or raw material that can be bought and sold. e.g., gold or sugar.

There are 2 types of commodities that are traded in the market -

1. Soft commodities : Soft commodities are agricultural products. e.g. Sugar, 

Coffee, Wheat.

2. Hard commodities : Hard commodities are mined products. e.g. Silver, 

Gold, Oil and Rubber.

The price of the commodity depends on the supply and demand in the market.

Commodities can be traded on the commodity exchanges i.e. you would need a Demat account to trade in commodities.

E.g. for trading in Gold, instead of buying a physical gold, you buy a gold (ETF) exchange traded fund with almost the same market value, that of gold.

Below are few benefits listed from the commodity trading -

1. It diversifies your portfolio : 
For example, gold prices have shown very low correlation with most of the other assets prices and hence commodities offer an excellent means for portfolio diversification.

2. Commodities give more liquidity :
In commodity trading it is equally easy to both buy and sell futures and an investor can easily liquidate his trades whenever required.

3. Holding Actual Physical Gold :
Physical Gold is a product by which investors can take investment traded in de-materialized physical gold using the futures market. In this condition, an investor can hold physical gold, in a safe deposit vault approved by the exchange, which is reflected in the demat account.

The main features of this are:
Liquidity
Assurance of purity
Safety


Below is the list of commodities which are traded on the commodity exchange -

Foodstuff
Coffee
Sugar
Cocoa
Rice
Soybean
Wheat
Sunflower Oil
Orange Juice

Metals
Copper
Lead
Zinc
Tin
Aluminium
Nickel

Precious
Gold
Platinum
Palladium
Silver

Energy
Crude Oil
Natural Gas

What is SIP ?

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP).

Systematic investing has a compounding effect on your investments. In the long term, an investment as low as Rs 1000/- per month swells up into a huge corpus. Systematic Investing in a Mutual Fund is the answer to preventing the pitfalls of equity investment and still enjoying the high returns. 

We know that the power of compounding can create magic for your investments, starting your investments early also has its own advantages. Starting early means that the power of compounding starts acting on your money earlier thereby generating higher returns.

An individual who starts planning for his retirement at 25 yrs of age by investing a modest Rs. 1000 / month collects up to Rs. 40 Lakhs on retirement whereas his investment over the period is just Rs. 4.2 Lakhs.

On the other hand if the same individual delays his retirement planning by 5 yrs, his wealth upon retirement reduces significantly (approximately Rs. 15 Lakhs.)

Check out SIP calculator on below link, from Birla Sun life for more SIP calculation details.

SIP Calculator

Why SIP ?

For long-term wealth creation through equity market you need discipline and long term time horizon which are inherent features of SIP. The following features of SIP makes it fit for equity market.

1.     Simple and disciplined approach towards investment
2.     Investment possible with small sum of money invested regularly to accumulate wealth
3.     Based on concept of Rupee Cost Averaging
4.     Flexibility in terms of  Amount or Quantity based SIP
5.     Flexible intervals like Daily/ Weekly/ Fortnightly/ Monthly basis

What are the Benefits of SIP ?

As common investor doesn't have enough time and resources, SIP proves to be a efficient option for them. Below are the important benefits of SIP.

1.     Reduces Risk because of Rupee Cost Averaging
2.     SIP can be started with very small amount of money
3.     Timing the market is not necessary
4.     Long term financial goal can be aligned with SIP
5.     Disciplined approach towards Investment helps in controlling the emotions


How to Select Companies to Invest ?

The thumb rule is to go for the companies you want to own if given a chance.

Some stocks are great for the SIP mode of investing. These are stocks we should accumulate, in small steps as they represent long term value. They are companies which have proven track record. These companies have a solid, stable and ethical management and operate in profitable area with long term growth prospects.

The best strategy is to opt for blue chips like SBI, Reliance, ICICI Bank, Infosys etc. If you do not want to go for equity SIP you can also choose Mutual Fund SIP’s where you are relieved of the individual company research.