The importance of planning your savings and understanding tax components that you can utilise to maximize your income cannot be stressed upon enough. One of the best ways to plan your taxes is to start well in advance on this exercise; right in the beginning of the financial year and not wait till the end of the financial year, when there are bound to be constraints on the cash flow and a confusion over what investment route to choose.

It is critical to know all the possible ways one can save tax, to help plan your budget properly. The IT Act of 1961 is loaded with big dollops of taxpaying/tax saving information. Ways to save tax have always been an interesting consideration for tax payers all across the world, as tax saved is money saved. While some of the tax-saving avenues are well-treaded by the tax payers in the nation, there are some roads to tax saving which are lesser known. Two of them are explained below.

Save tax for your contributions to political parties/charitable

A lot has been said about diversification, where you spread your investments across various avenues. The plus point is that you don't have all your eggs in one basket, and that if one of your investments falters, another will balance it out.

Diversification in stocks means you buy many stocks, in many sectors. While that exposes you to a stock market crash, a fall in one sector doesn't usually hurt another. However you must be careful that these sectors don't impact each other; for instance, buying a steel maker and then a car manufacturer is not really diversification — a fall in car demand will hurt both sectors. Diversification is also employed by those that either have no time or skill to handle investing decisions themselves; often, it's known as a tool for the ignorant.

You could buy multiple asset-classes. Like Gold, real —estate, stocks, bonds, commodities and rare stamps. These asset classes, while providing a layer of diversification, often have varying liquidity problems.

You can't buy stocks on merit anymore. You can do the most beautiful analysis about a company that owns a toll bridge, and how many cars pass through it every day, and how they can increase the toll fees every year by 10%. And how there is this airport proposal which, when cleared, will dramatically increase toll fee collections. Finally that the contract with the government guarantees a 20% return on investment.

And all of this analysis tells you that the stock should be worth five times the current value in a few years. Yet, it all amounts to nothing when suddenly, the government decides not to allow any toll fee increases because of the bad political mileage they are getting for not keeping onion prices in check. And then the government runs out of money because of profligate spending on random other causes, and investment flows into the country stop because no one in power can take a decision anymore, and the powers decide to tax everyone they earlier hadn't taxed. To gather more

When an insurance advisor approaches to sell a policy or plan, his persuasive tone might drown your doubts that are critical to wise investment. Only features that provide a feel good factor are disclosed to the customer and the aspects that may discourage the customer are conveniently hidden by the agent. A careful inspection of the fine print in the policy document will reveal many such loop holes that may actually prevent you from getting all the promised benefits of the policy. It is a good idea to get all your doubts clarified right from the beginning to avoid unpleasant surprises later. One may also approach the branch manager or the training manager of the insurance company in order to get all the details simplified whenever there is any confusion regarding the terms and conditions or the features of the plan.

Hidden Charges

Depending on the insurance variant and nature of the plan the fee and charges will vary. If you are opting for an insurance plan that combines investment

Gold is one of the most commodities in an an average Indian's life, especially when it comes to festivals or weddings. So naturally, the escalating prices are a cause for great concern for many Indian families. Gold prices have surged to such astronomical levels buying gold has become next to impossible for families with modest income.

Perceiving this difficulty and owing to the drop in sales, various jewelers have come up with indigenous schemes to lure buyers.

Schemes like buying gold in investments where you have to pay only just 11 out of 12 installments, the last installment will be footed by the jeweler itself. You'll own the gold jewelry after the completion of the tenure.

Example

Mrs. Sunita from Delhi decided to buy 20 grams gold as an investment, but realised she lacked sufficient funds. A jeweler offered a scheme under which she could buy gold jewelry after one year at the prevailing market rate after paying 12 monthly installments. The jeweler also offered to pay the 12^th

The current economic turmoil in US and European nations have led to a sharp fall in property prices there making them extremely lucrative for non-resident Indians as well as resident Indians to invest in. More and more Indians are opting for offshore properties as a second home in exotic locations. However the process of purchasing a property in foreign countries has its own share of complexities, which need to be addressed before committing the money. Properties owned by banks as a result of fore closure or as non performing assets are the most sought after while there are a few places, which advertise their real estate as means of secure investments for foreigners.

Where to Look for?

Indians are increasingly acquiring properties across the globe but the leading destinations for offshore properties remain London, New York, Singapore and Dubai. Exotic holiday destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Southern France, Florida and Mauritius are also gaining rapid popularity among those

Petrol prices were raised again recently, by Rs. 7.5 and the hike leaves the country seething, except those that drive diesel cars. And to make the diesel owners wince a little, the government will decide the fate of that fuel too, in a meeting soon. While there is outrage about this "unprecedented" price hike, let me play devil's advocate and temper down some of the most vehement arguments against this increase.

Petrol Prices

With a tax of Rs. 26 per litre, can they not reduce taxes? Goa, for instance, has cut state taxes to zero; this gives the Goan petrol pump the ability to sell petrol at Rs. 61, a good Rs. 12 less than the Delhi price of Rs. 73. How, though did the brand new Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Parrikar do it?

He replaced the lost revenue on petrol by increasing taxes and fees everywhere else. After the monsoon session, you will have pay a toll tax just to enter Goa. Alcohol will be more expensive. A power of attorney that used to cost Rs. 25 will now cost Rs. 500. A 10% luxury tax now

Buying a home is the most important decision for a majority of people. It is an exhaustive process involving loan application, site inspection, property inspection, myriad regulations, and search for the right locality. It is imperative that people spend so much time in acquiring a roof over their head as this is their biggest expense.

One factor that is often overlooked in the frenzy of sleek marketing and flashy advertisements is the option of choosing a ready to move in property. The reason is that there is hardly any advertisement for such properties. However, a little research will go a long way in providing home buyers this choice.

Ready to move in property!

Ready to move in property has become the most opted for choice in recent times out of necessity rather than desire! However, with property prices stagnating, builders delaying the projects and bankers unwilling to give loans to builders, ready to move in properties have become more popular. Let's look at the pros and cons of