Vijay Basrur

Passport Verification

We got lucky that we could complete the passport verification for Snehal yesterday. It saved me the trouble of taking half the day off. You pretty much need that half day since you need to make at least 2 to 3 visits before you can complete the task. When I went for the first time, I was asked to furnish copies of some of the documents which I had not carried along. The second time around I was asked to give a copy of Snehal’s old passport (of which there was no mention in the first meeting). So back I went & returned with the copy.

That was the final call and I though’t I’d be done with it. But heck no! There was the customary kharcha paani before I was assured that the task was done.

But I was relieved at the end of it and I am hoping the passports come in soon.

Retail Tactics

Our shopping happens usually only on a few days of the month. One of the places we frequent is a small store called Spinach in Mulund East since its close to my Mom’s place.We also frequent Mulund (E) to buy veggies & fruits since they are much fresher than anywhere close to our place. Spinach is where we buy other groceries since they accept Sodexho.

At Spinach 2 weeks back, I picked up chicken salami (from Prabhat Poultry) as there was an offer going on (6 bucks off on every packet, which is like 15%).

When we stopped by yesterday the offer was still on and I picked 2 packets this time but I casually glanced at the billing screen while the guy was billing the items. Turns out the 6 bucks was not being deducted. When I questioned him, I was told that the offer is not valid. I was like huh? You have a huge signboard which talks about the 6 bucks off. If the offer has expired, you should not have that board! He sheepishly agreed to do so.

What I have realised and I think we need to be more careful these days, especially in large self service stores, that if there is something you buy because of an ongoing offer, you better cross check it during check out. I am sure atleast 50% people don’t bother. Even I don’t bother sometimes. And that’s the margin that the retailer pockets because you fell for the discount trap!

So next time you pick a deal, make sure you check the bill.

Financial Management Woes

I have always been on the opposite end when it came to managing finances. And opposite of the side to prudent financial management. I have always seen my Dad, and then my brother, on that end.

My brother takes on from my Dad in being very meticulous not only about day to day finances (my Dad wrote daily expenses for years) but also about investments (Dad kept records of every FD and every share he purchased. Not only that he used to record dates of dividend payouts as well). My brother has been doing, if not as much as Dad, quite a bit of it himself as well.

I have always been of the opinion that “look at the overall picture” should be fine with the financial planning. I would occasionaly whip up a budget for myself (inflows, outflows etc.), get a rough idea how much I would end up with moolah in the bank and that would be it. I wouldn’t even bother to save the excel file. I did pretty OK.  Infact I still do. The only thing I keep a track of regularly is my equity investments (Thanks to ICICI Direct). I have tried my hand at a few thingies like MS Money, Buxfer, Mint etc. but never got down to being disciplined about it.

So a few weeks back my Mom poked me about how bad I am at keeping records (I am bad at filing bills/receipts etc. too) and lauded my brother (which was expected), I decided to check with my brother on how he manages to do that. Turns out he has a simple excel file that does the trick. Ofcourse this one only tracks daily expenses but gives an overview about your bank balances etc. He has a complicated one to manage his investments. The most amazing thing about tracking one’s expenses is that you can figure where you are spending money uselessly and the ones which are necessary (but you tend to forget).

Since the times are looking grim and I think it will be wise to make every penny count, I am going to give it a shot too. What better day to start than the start of the financial year.

Ironically its April Fools’ day too. Hope I don’t end up making a joke of this. Watch this space for more updates

Cut Copy Paste

Its ironic that I came across 2 blog posts on similar rants. I read Suggestion: Talk To The Source by Fred Wilson in the morning & then I came across CNN-IBN, You Owe me an Errata!! by Gaurav Sabnis.

Both of them had the same problem. They were misquoted by journalists on the Internet and both of them were never contacted to verify the details. This seems to be common amongst the new age journalists who are probably firms believers of “Cut Copy Paste”.

I think the Internet creates information overload. And Google makes it easy to pick the needle from the haystack. I’ve heard students mentioning that they can finish homework faster, all thanks to the Internet. Is this what we really need? A shortcut to information without trying to understand it? I don’t think so.

While i understand the temptation of trying to short circuit I think it is even more important that we have the desire to learn & understand about the way things work or why things happen. Just mearly copying content without reading or understanding it is not going to help. The learning streak is very important. Infact I think, if nothing, all these new age schools to do the least, is to inculacate the desire to learn in children.

The learning streak goes a long way to make you a better person as your grow up.

Random Rants on Terrorism

I think by now everyone knows about the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan. The point is Pakistan continues to sit on its ass and in more random news, some folks are spreading news that India had a hand in the shooting. I mean WTF.

Months after the 26/11 attack on the Taj/Trident, the Indian judicial system is still trying to figure how to book Kasab. This is ofcourse being helped enormously by Pakistan continuing the play the blame game.

If Pakistan continues with this attitude and the judicial systems go the usual way, it will be ages till anyone would be able to track down & eliminate terrorism. Someone has to move quickly and be merciless in this operation.

Of course the US always seems to be on the fence when it comes to Pakistan. Now Obama says that he will wait and watch. And while he is at it he obviously sees no harm in opening the taps of financial aid to Pakistan. Will some one just get the point across to Mr. Change?

Bill for Rs. 0.00

Corazon Group, Peru

No way you’ve heard about the Corazon Group in Peru. Even I hadn’t. But when I looked up their profile on Kiva, I decided to take a step and lend $25 to them. I used the Kiva platform for it and was mighty impressed.

I currently work very closely with a NGO, Punyatma Prabhakar Sharma Seva Mandal, and am fully aware how difficult it can get to generate funds. And in most cases it is the lack of awareness that is the biggest road block. People are willing lend or donate to a cause as long as they know that it is being used for the right purpose in the right way.

Kiva is an excellent platform for rural entrepreneurs to reach out across the world for a loan which they are confident of repaying. Kiva works with various agencies to make this work and suggests that you top the $25 loan with a 10% charge to cover Kiva’s expenses. I am sure everyone chips in for the additional 10%.

GiveIndia also has started a similar effort in India but more focused on donation rather than lending to rural entrepreneurs. We are taking assistance from them to generate funds for our school project at Igatpuri which will accommodate over 100 hearing & mentally challenged students.

I am going to try and be involved with Kiva more over the months. Kiva gives every lender a lender page where you can track all your loans.