During the last few months of a financial year you see people making last moment impulse decisions to invest in tax saving instruments and in the process they may end up buying products which are not right for them. Tax planning should be done a few months in advance as it gives you ample time to understand and evaluate different options that are specific to your financial situation.

Start your tax planning now for Assessment Year 2010-11.
 
1. Utilize Income Tax exemptions
Section 80C

This is the most popular exemption as you can claim up to Rs. 1 lakh in deductions. The options include Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF)- up to Rs.70,000 per annum, National Savings Certificate (NSC), 5-year bank fixed deposits, Life insurance policies, Equity-Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS), Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs), school fees, and home loan principal repayment. For making investments in this section you will have to decide on the ideal debt vs. equity mix that is right for you based on your age, risk-return profile and goals.

Section 80D

If you have taken a medical insurance plan for yourself, your spouse, dependant parents or children, you can claim deductions up to Rs 15,000 (and additional Rs 15,000 for your parents' medical insurance) under Section 80D for the premiums paid. The limit now has been enhanced to Rs 20,000 for senior citizens on the condition that the premium is paid via cheque.

Section 80DD

Expenses on the medical treatment of a dependent with a disability qualify for tax benefits under Section 80DD. In this case, deductions up to Rs 50,000 or 75.000 can be claimed based on the severity.
2. Interest on your home loan
The interest component of your home loan is allowed as a deduction under the head 'income from house property' under Section 24(b) up to a limit of Rs 1.5 lakhs a year in case of a self-occupied house. The claim can be made even on loans taken for repair, renewal or reconstruction of an existing property.
3. Shuffle and switch strategy
Shuffling is a popular strategy used by ELSS investors which have a mandatory lock-in of 3 years. If you have been investing Rs 50,000 for the past few years and don't have cash to invest this year, you can easily redeem investments made 3 years ago and re-invest that amount this year to claim the benefits.

You will not have to pay any long term capital gains since you will be redeeming after more than a year. Thus you can enjoy tax benefits without making any fresh investments. Only risk is that the NAV can go up or down in the shuffle process and you may end up making a small profit or loss.

Some fund houses allow switch option for tax benefits. Let's say an investor with previous ELSS investments doesn't have money to make further investment in the current financial year 2008.

He could consider switching it to a liquid fund and back into the ELSS fund within a short span of time like 10-15 days to enjoy the tax benefits.
4. Charitable donations are tax smart
While donations should not be made simply for tax purposes but for philanthropic reasons, you can always make a couple more at the end of the year to lower your tax. You get a tax relief if you donate to institutions approved under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

The rate of deduction is either 50 or 100 per cent, depending on the choice of the charity fund. There is no restriction on the amount given to charity. However, donations must be made only to specified trusts and also only donations of up to 10 per cent of your total income qualify for such a deduction.

Remember to get receipts whenever you make any charitable donation. Please remember that tax exemption is only an added advantage of charity and it should not be the primary reason for doing so.
5. Divide your income
Normally, if you invest in your wife's or child's name, the income generated from such investments will be clubbed with your income and taxed accordingly. However, if you transfer money through a deed to a child who is over 18 years of age and invest in his name, then the income generated from such investment will not be clubbed with your income. Instead, that will be clubbed with the income of your child/wife and taxed accordingly.

Cash gifts received from specified relatives are exempt from income tax and there is no upper limit. Similarly, cash gifts of any amount and from anyone received during your child birth, marriage or any other specified event are totally tax-free. However, any cash received from a non-relative where the value is in excess of Rs 50,000 in a particular year will be considered as income in the hands of the recipient.

You should make sure that you have a record & valid receipts for all tax savings investments made in your name. You do not want to be running around at the last minute collecting all the documents required for tax filing.
In a nutshell remember the following:

Combine your tax planning with your financial plan so that the products you invest in match your risk profile and your future goals
A home loan is not necessarily a bad debt. Consider getting a loan while buying a home.
Charity is good- not only for the receiver, but the giver as well; Check on the validity and receipts before you claim that deduction u/s 80G
Take advantage of the tax breaks that the IT sections 80C, 80D and 80DD offer.
Insuring oneself makes sense- as the premium is exempt u/s 80C (upto 1 lakh) and the maturity amount is tax free
By taking medical insurance, you not only insure your family against medical expenses, you also get a tax deduction u/s 80D- so take that cover today!
File your taxes on time!

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“Anger is a very natural reaction of the body, meant to put you into self- productive mood”.
Frequent outbursts of anger harm your personal relationships and quality of life; they also have a bad effect on your health.
Anger can cause insomnia and depression.

Chronic anger can lead to high blood pressure and stress. It increases pulse rate. You can suffer from heart attacks post anger episodes.
Anger can spoil your public image. It reduces efficiency at work and leads to poor concentration. To cope, people turn to tobacco and alcohol.


Here are three common ways in which we tend to show our anger:

• Suppression
• Outbursts
• Displacement
1) Suppression :

When something – a situation, event or person – makes you angry, but you do not express that annoyance, instead you are suppressing that emotion is called suppression. Suppression of anger leads to a distortion of your relationship with the person.

Communication is the key to successful relationship with the person, whether at the office, and with family or friends. Lack of communication ruins the relationship. If a person you are angry with speaks to you, you respond rudely or express your emotional displeasure in some other way. You likely to suppress your anger because you don’t know how to express yourself or how to express you anger. People tend to suppress anger, if they are in a position of subjugation (if the person they are angry with is a figure of authority, such as a boss or a family elder) or they don’t want to be perceived as nasty.

2) Outbursts:

It’s normal to explode once in a while, but repeated episodes of uncontrolled rage are unhealthy. When you explode with rage, you do not see where you are? With whom you are talking? What you are doing?? But you express your anger in a most unpleasant way. Frequent outbursts of rage usually occur among people who have low tolerance levels. They get irritated, disturbed & angry because of any trivial disturbance in life.

Usually such people are very ambitious, aim for perfection and have high expectations from themselves & others.

3) Displacement :

When you are angry with person A, but take out the emotion on person B or C, its called displacement. Most often, people who displace their anger not even aware of it. This isn’t similar to suppression because when you suppress or give in to anger, you know who the anger is directed at. Usually, such people only realize that they are displacing anger when someone close points it out. There is no particular personality trait or circumstance associated with anger displacement.

Simple tips / Guideline to manage your anger:

• Utilize the energy in positive way.
• Do ten minutes of breathing exercises daily. Inhale & exhale deeply. This has been scientifically proven to calm the nervous system down.
• Write down your problems on a piece of paper. Feel free to abuse the person or situation that caused you this anger then burn the sheet or tear it up.
• Self-realization is the first best step to correcting an anger problem.
• Coach yourself to express your anger the correct way.
• Try & see humor in situations & avoid reacting immediately.
• A lot of anger is about expectations. So try & lower them.
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Providing a good life to your child needs long-term financial planning.

Be it education or marriage, you need a steady source of income over years to be able to meet with the ever changing needs of your child as s/he grows into an adult.

In this competitive world, everyone dreams of providing the best to their children in terms of education, career choices and freedom to pursue a vocation of his/her preference.

However, routine savings are only enough to meet day-to-day expenses and needs and not fulfill dreams.

Thus, there is a need to plan well in advance for your child's future.

Changing face of savings and investments

The dynamics of planning for your child's future have changed radically over the years. Conventionally tools like fixed deposits, National Saving Certificates, term insurance plans and post office savings have been used to safeguard future financial needs. In the present scenario, these tools stand inadequate due to the following reasons:

Increasing cost of living in the country
Lower interest rates on traditional saving instruments
Higher cost of education due to FDI in the sector and greater competition among schools and colleges
Rise in the aspirations and ambitions of parents for their children
Greater options of education in western countries
By taking medical insurance, you not only insure your family against medical expenses, you also get a tax deduction u/s 80D- so take that cover today!
File your taxes on time!

Among the various investment options available today, life insurance plays an important role in an individual's financial planning exercise. Insurance broadly means financially securing your family/ children when you are not around to take care of their needs. Advanced planning and investments give you the freedom to enjoy life with your children and help them have a better life.

Nowadays there are a variety of insurance plans available to meet various needs. Likewise, a Children's plan works best to secure your child's future financial needs when need arises at a certain age (marriage, education expenses). Unlike regular insurance plans, where money is spent or used up, child plans are built to create a special corpus for the child which gets used for his/her dreams and aspirations alone and provides complete security.

Women taking control of financial planning

Women have evolved overtime and are a great contributor to the family income especially in the middle-income groups.

Today working women and even homemakers play an integral part in decision-making and financial planning in the family. Women earn and share responsibilities with their spouses to ensure a higher standard of living for their family.

Thus, it is imperative that women be aware of the different ways to secure their children's future.

A rising rate of divorces and separations also contributes to this cause. Proper knowledge and understanding will help women make the future of their children safe and enriching.

Start planning today

While most parents know that they need to start setting aside money for their children's future needs, very few know or understand the ideal way to go about it.

Financial planning for children is something that takes up a lot of 'worrying' time of parents today. Most parents do not have the requisite knowledge and are confused about where and how to invest.

A few steps as highlighted below will equip them to make better decisions.

1. Identify specific goals for such as marriage, normal educational degree, advanced courses etc.
2. Now consider inflated costs of the above which would include inflation and rising cost of education and living. This is the targeted amount one would need for the desired goal.
3. Choose the term period which would be the period when the child would be in a position to require the money.
4. Thereafter, check with a financial consultant to work out the amount to be invested and the level of protection required.
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A step to conserve water is the step to secure the future. The most essential among all the natural resources on earth is water. A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold for the thirsty man. If each one of us makes efforts to save water today, it will save us later. Water conservation is the most effective and environmentally sound method to fight global warming. Water conservation is what that can reduce the scarcity of water. It aims to improve the efficiency of use of water, and reduce losses and waste.

Tips to save water:

Avoid leakage of water from the taps.
Turn the tap off when not in use especially when you brush your teeth or wash clothes.
Rainwater harvesting is another method to conserve water.
The water supply should be limited in those areas which enjoys the unlimited water supplies.
Check the leakage of water in the toilets. Also get check the hidden water leaks.
Educate the mind of the people in the rural areas to save the water.
Promote the conservation of water through media and wall posters.
Never throw the water unnecessary on roads which can be used for gardening and cleaning.
Avoid unnecessary flushing the toilets. Dispose off the tissues, cigarettes and other waste into the bin instead of toilets.
Use minimum amount of water to bath.

Tips to save water:
Improvement in the water distribution system.
Water your lawn only when it is needed.
Use a broom instead of hose to clean the sidewalks or to wash the car.
Capture the water that is leaking and repair it as soon as possible.
You can use washing machine to wash clothes that does not consume much water.
Do not leave the tap running while washing the dishes in the kitchen.
Install small shower heads to reduce the flow of water.

Benefits to conserve water:
If you save water it can save your money bills.
Reduction in interior water use cuts waste water flows, especially overflowing of gutters which contaminates the environment.
Environment benefits include eco system and habitat protection.
Water conservation helps in improving the quality of your drinking water.

Technical methods to conserve water:

Rainwater Harvesting:

Rainwater harvesting is the gathering and collection of water from the rooftop. The traditional method of rain water harvesting is the most effective and simple way to conserve the water. It means utilization of rain water for the domestic as well as agricultural purposes. There are three technical methods of rain water harvesting such as Catchment’s, Conveyance and storage.

Historical Water Bodies:

There are many traditional water bodies which have been in disuse for the longer time. These bodies can be reused as the recharging points.

Ponds:

Steps should be taken to avoid dumping of sewage into the village ponds. Efforts need to be made to deepen these ponds with the dragline machines. Garbage and other waste should not be dumped into the ponds.
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Did you know that you should avoid consuming dairy products along with citrus foods? Or that starving your actually makes the body retain fat?

These simple dietary tips can make a big difference to your wellness, so sit up and take notice.

» Try to eat your breakfast within one hour of waking up, as it will help speed up your metabolism. Metabolism slows down during the night and breakfast helps kick-start it up again. If you wait longer, your body begins to go into starvation mode and your metabolism begins to slow down even more.

» Eat bread along with the crust, as the crust contains 6 times more antioxidants than the light-colored innards of the bread.

» Drink lemon juice and honey in warm water early in the mornings; it reduces water retention and helps in digestion.

» Avoid drinking cold water or cold beverages after a meal, as it leads to indigestion: Drinking cold water after the meal solidifies the oily food that you have just consumed. This slows down the digestion. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

» Eat water-filled foods like cantaloupe (kharbooja), watermelon, pineapple, spinach and cabbage as they are low in calories and will make you feel fuller.

» Eat fruits and vegetables with the skins, as there are many nutrients just under the skin. Skins also add fiber and texture to your food. Also, it's healthier to have a fruit instead of its juice -- the juice gives you no fiber.

» Add 1 teaspoon of wheat bran (chokker) per roti in wheat flour to increase insoluble fiber in your diet. Most people think of fruits and vegetables when they think of fiber, but actually it is the fiber in wheat bran that weight loss specialists talk about when they suggest fiber intake. The fiber in fruits and vegetables, though quite useful, is in much lesser quantity.

» Wash vegetables before cutting or chopping to minimize nutrient loss.

» Eat slowly, as it prevents overeating. To slow down, put down your cutlery after every two bites. And chewing well helps to digest food better than just swallowing it -- it helps you avoid overeating.

» Try an occasional fast, as it gives the digestive system a rest and refreshes the senses, mind, and consciousness. According to the Ayurveda, fasting strengthens both will power and bodily health.

» When a breaking fast, avoid eating lots of heavy foods as they can cause water retention, blood pressure fluctuations and toxin accumulation.

Do not combine iron-rich foods with dairy products

» Eat moderately, as the stomach needs working space -- fill it half with food, a fourth with liquids and leave the rest for air.

» When you feel the urge to snack on something, have a sugar-free chewing gum -- it can help to control the appetite, decrease cravings for snacks and reduce calorie intake, while helping to maintain alertness and energy levels through the afternoon.

» Avoid eating fatty foods before a workout, as they are slow to digest and remain in the stomach for a long time. Fat content in the food will pull blood into the stomach because that aids in fat digestion. This can cause cramping and discomfort while working out.

» Avoid eating too many types of food in a single meal, as conflicting foods like dairy products and citrus fruit may upset the digestion.

» Vegetables should be lightly saluted (a method of cooking using small amount of fat in a shallow pan over high heat) to preserve nutrition.

» Honey should not be cooked, as it slows digestion that way. The molecules become non-homogenized glue that adheres to mucous membranes and clogs subtle channels, producing toxins. Adding honey to a cup of hot tea (not boiling) or salad dressing is acceptable.

» Do not combine iron-rich foods with dairy products like paneer as that leads to nutrient loss. To increase your iron levels, have a lot of citrus fruit -- Vitamin C adds to the iron absorption.

» Consuming too much red meat can lead to hypertension and heart problems hence should be had sparingly.

» Non-vegetarians should avoid dairy products like cheese and paneer along with meat intake. Non-veg food is high in cholesterol; hence it's important to avoid other foods which can have an additive effect on one's cholesterol, like dairy products.

» Choose brown rice instead of normal rice, it helps in weight loss.

» Avoid starvation at all costs, as this signals your body to get into famine mode and it retains fat more effectively.

Don't have tea immediately after a meal

» Instant acidity remedy:

» Try eating chilled banana, chilled sabudana (sago) pudding or chilled curd. If these foods are unavailable to you then drink lots of water and eventually the acidity will subside.

» High blood pressure home remedy :

» Eat a clove of garlic each day.

» If you are on a diet and feel like having a snack, eat an apple. If you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple, you aren't hungry enough for a snack.

» Don't have fruit immediately after a meal. It will bloat your stomach with air. It is advisable to have fruits at least one hour before a meal.

» Don't bathe immediately after a meal. Blood flow to your hands and legs increases, reducing the circulation around stomach and slowing down digestion.

» Don't have tea immediately after a meal. Tea after a meal makes protein digestion difficult.

» Do not substitute water with other fluids like coffee, soda, tea and juice. All these contain caffeine which is a known diuretic and will cause fluid loss. Also, the best time to drink water is 1.5 hours before and 1.5 hours after meals. Adjusting water intake to meal-times prevents the blood from becoming concentrated. Concentrated blood draws water from the cells around it.

» Uncooked cabbage restricts the conversion of sugar and carbohydrates into fat and hence helps in weight reduction.

» To decrease the craving for sweets, pop a small piece of jaggery in your mouth after meals.

Skipping meals is bad if you are in your 20s and worse if you are in your 30s

» Saunf (aniseed), methi (fenugreek) powder and laung (cloves) help to balance the blood sugar and control hunger. These spices are also a good source of bioflavonoid that are antioxidants and protect the liver from getting damaged.

» Skipping meals is bad if you are in your 20s and worse if you are in your 30s or beyond. During the 20s, skipping meals doesn't affect your body as your metabolic rate is high and you tend to lose weight faster. But do keep in mind that you will lose out on essential nutrients and your hemoglobin levels will drop. After the age of 30, skipping meals to lose weight has a reverse effect, as your metabolism slows down.

» It's not advisable to check your weight morning and evening everyday, as you will tend to get obsessed about it and start bingeing because food is constantly on your mind. Fix a time every few days or once a week, and monitor your weight. Make it a point to weigh you at exactly that time each time.

» For people who are anemic, cook food in iron pots to increase iron content. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, broccoli and strawberries increases iron absorption, so incorporate these into your diet. Tea or coffee inhibits iron absorption; so avoid having them with meals.

» Drink a lot of Water. Contrary to popular belief, excess water does not lead to water retention.

» Choose wine, whisky, vodka and rum over beer. Team them with water or soda, not aerated drinks and juices.

» Frequent small meals are better than large meals at long intervals. Having frequent small meals will help you decrease your food cravings and also decrease acidity. Long gaps in meals aggravate acidity and thus you tend to put on weight.

» Avoid tinned foods to keep your weight in check. Processed and tinned foods have high fat content and contain larger amounts of salt and various chemicals added for longer preservation. All of these lead to obesity.

» Avoid excess salt at night, it is harmful for hypertension and even aggravates water retention.

» Pick roasted food over fried food.

» Munching while watching television is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Not only do you eat wrong, you also end up eating much more than required. If you tend to munch, then opt for healthier alternatives like fruit.
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