How credit cards can make money for you

Credit cards of late have a negative connotation, and are pronounced as complete no-no by many, because of the high interest rates that are charged on late payments/defaults.

Don't let this negativity cloud perception of the product. You would be surprised to know that, if you are judicious in using this product, you stand to benefit monetarily, and of course it eliminates the need for you to carry cash everywhere.

More often than not the problem is that people do not understand the product well and hence are not able to use it to their advantage.

The credit card company offers you a 'free credit period' of around 50-55 days. The misconception most people have is that this free credit period is from the date of purchase. It is actually from the date of billing. E.g. Mr Anand's billing cycle date is December 28 to January 27 and his credit free period is 50 days.

If his purchase was on January 22, he would enjoy credit for 25 days. However if he made the same purchase on say Jan 1, he would enjoy credit free period of 47 days. So if you plan properly, you can enjoy maximum credit every month, which will help you manage your cash flows effectively, and will also help you earn the extra bit of interest on the cash that you have currently not spent on making the purchase.

In addition to the free credit period, every purchase made on your credit card, earns you reward points which when accumulated to a big amount can be exchanged for a range of items such as electrical appliances, flight tickets, home ware etc. These rewards will differ from company to company.

Also credit card companies offer discounts, promotional offers with respect to shopping, entertainment etc. For example, if you buy petrol from a particular brand of petrol pump, you get a small percentage of money credited back to your account after a certain number of days.

For the credit card to make money for you, two key things you need to keep in mind

Cost of default: The interest rate on defaults ranges from anywhere between 2 per cent-3.5 per cent per month. So in effect it is a whopping 24 per cent-42 per cent p.a. Also, the interest starts from the date of purchase and not the billing date i.e. you do not get any interest-free credit period and all future purchases also start attracting the interest charges from the date of purchase.

So use the credit card if and only if you're sure of having the means to pay the bills in time. Also, don't forget that your credit score will get impacted too which will impact your future borrowing.

Credit limit: Keep a tab on your credit limit. Overshooting your credit limit will also have dire consequences for you with respect to the interest charged and your credit score.

How do you ensure that your credit card makes money for you?

Widen the usage of your credit card (small and big purchases): You might as well earn bonus points and interest on the cash that you have not currently used, to make the purchase. You can use the credit card to pay monthly rentals, grocery bills, utility bills, gift expenses, subscription expenses etc.

So the cash that you have not used to make the purchase will earn interest for you or will be used for fulfilling other immediate needs. For example, Maitali purchased an electrical appliance for Rs 28,000 using the credit card she possessed. The purchase was made such that she could enjoy a credit free period of 45 days. The cash that she would have used to purchase this appliance is now lying in her savings account which is earning her an interest of 3.5 per cent p.a.

So if she decides to pay the bill after enjoying 40 days of free credit, she earns an interest of Rs 107 in her savings bank account. Not only that, she has also earned some reward points on the purchase. The other advantage of using the credit card is your payments are recorded which makes it easier for you to keep track of your expenses.

Appropriate use of bonus points: Use the bonus points that have accumulated on buying necessities (house hold appliances, clothes, groceries etc.) rather than using it on things (luxuries) that aren't really important to you. Only if the bonus points are used practically, you are actually saving cash.

Conclusion

Credit cards if used prudently will help you in managing your cash flow better, and at the same time, will provide you monetary benefits. That's because you get interest free money for some period of time and you also earn reward/bonus points on the same.

But if you use it without deliberation, it can prove to be disastrous as interest rates charged on payment delays are very high. Also, your credit rating will take a beating, as banks report these things to the credit rating agencies, which in turn will include it as part of your credit report.

Don't forget that credit score will not only determine whether you will get a loan but will also determine at what interest. Let not easy availability of credit and attractive rewards offered fool you into making impulsive purchases. It will prove to be rather costly.

The simplest diet secret: Eat less to weigh less!

If you control your portions at mealtimes, you're bound to lose weight -- it's a principle that cannot fail. But how much is enough? Illustration: Uttam Ghosh

Most of us attempt to lose weight by forcing a self-imposed blanket ban on incriminating foods. But sooner or later, as our patience wears thin and resolve crumbles, we go for these very foods with a vengeance. The result is that we are back where we started -- or even worse.

Another, better, option would be to follow a path of moderation -- where we continue to eat all foods, but in an amount where they are not harmful. Portion control essentially involves knowing how to select servings of each food item, so that the overall calories consumed are not in excess. It is about combining different types of foods in controlled portions so that the overall balance is not tipped.

These are a few practical tips on implementing effective portion control:

• Cut it by half: You can cut the calories of your favorite foods by 50 percent without changing anything about them by eating only half the portion. For example, if you usually eat a toasted cheese sandwich, eat only half of it. If you are still hungry, eat some fruit, which -- because it contains fibre and takes longer to eat and digest -- will help you feel satisfied with far fewer calories. Eating at a slower pace will also help you feel full when you've actually eaten much less.
• Avoid upsizing: Resist all offers to supersize an order, however tempting the offer. In fact, steer clear of all 'meal deal' offers altogether. If you must, have a salad accompany your order.
• Buy small: We all occasionally succumb to the temptation of snacks like wafers or chips. But the key is not to overdo it. One way you can do so is by buying only smaller-sized packages. If you buy budget bags, then simply ration out the stock into smaller zip bags and store. This way you'll always know how much you are eating and avoid over-eating.
• Store less: If you store a lot of food within easy reach, you are bound to keep helping yourself to it. Therefore, one way to help yourself eat less is to store only one individual serving of each food at a time where you can easily get at it. If there's more, you can store that separately and keep it strictly out of bounds. Follow this whether you are storing leftovers or fresh supplies.
• Visualise portions: Mentally associate acceptable food portions to everyday objects you are familiar with to help you remember not to exceed your limit. For instance, a slice of cake could be the size of a deck of cards, a serving of cheese, the size of a matchbox and a cup of rice or pasta, the size of a tennis ball.
• Start with salads: Eating salads before lunch or dinner is one way to keep from overeating. The fibre in the veggies will satiate you without adding to your calories and help you eat less of the other dishes.
• Ban seconds: Discourage seconds at the table. Following a system where food is served away from the dining table will help. It takes about 20 minutes to feel satiated so giving yourself a 'breather' will help you realise you are not hungry any longer.
• Indulge occasionally: Treating yourself to 'forbidden' foods once in a while will keep you from feeling deprived, which can induce uncontrolled binging.

These few general rules will help too:

• Set realistic goals to control portions: If you set very high standards you are likely to fail and get dejected. It helps to fix goals you know you can achieve.
• Involve a helpful person: Take a close friend or family member into confidence. The involvement of a third party will keep you from succumbing to temptation and keep you on track.
• Keep a journal: Recording your eating habits in a journal will help you to set and achieve your goals more systematically.
• Celebrate success: Remember to celebrate successful achievement of any weightloss related goals. This will keep you mentally and emotionally ticking.

Drink more "Water"

Whatever the season, keeping oneself hydrated is imperative. However, the chances of getting dehydrated are the most in the summer heat. One tends to lose around 2.5 litres of water simply by sweating, breathing and waste removal.

Along with water, you lose electrolytes and minerals such as sodium, potassium and calcium, which help maintain the balance of fluids in the body. Although one can replenish the lost water and electrolytes through diet, food and liquids. If the amount of water lost exceeds the amount that can be replaced, you get dehydrated.

Why do you need it

1. Detoxification. Water helps wash out the toxins from the body, cleansing the system. This results in healthy functioning of the kidneys and liver along with easy circulation of blood, fluids and other necessary elements inside the body.

2. Not having enough water might lead to the formation of blood clots, especially in the summer as water is lost faster during this time of the year.

3. It regulates bowel movement. Drinking enough water prevents constipation as it helps quick digestion of food.

4. It moisturises skin. Water controls and regulates the skin's natural balance. When water is warm, it has the power to revitalise, detoxify, and oxygenate the skin. Warm water also gets rid of blackheads and makes large pores smaller.

5. Drinking water invigorates the body, replacing the moisture lost due to everyday activities.

6. Water is the best thing to drink, since it has no sugar, sweeteners and preservatives in it.

How to make sure you get enough

1. One should avoid having water along with the meals. Ideally a small amount of water should be had hourly.

2. Drink six to eight glasses of fluid every day. This is the minimum amount required by the body.

3. Increase your fluid intake if you are active. When exercising, drink something every half an hour.

4. Make sure you consume water first thing in the morning. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day because the body has been fasting the whole night. It's the same with water.

5. If you know you are going to be out in the sun the entire day, carry a bottle of water with you.

6. Drink before you feel thirsty. If you're thirsty, it means that you are already dehydrated.

Fact Box

Everything in your body contains water.

·         The muscles are 75 per cent water

·         The human brain is 76 per cent water

·         The blood has 82 per cent water

·         The lungs have 90 per cent water

Plants can't help cool earth if CO2 is in excess: Study

Contrary to the belief that plants could help cool land, scientists have found that plants will directly warm the land surface when there is excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.


A recent global scale model study points to an emerging consensus that the physiological effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 on plants on land will increase global warming beyond that caused by the 'radiative' effects of CO2, Prof Govindasamy Bala, one of the authors of the study from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore said.

Carbon dioxide warms the earth because it is a greenhouse gas. However, elevated CO2 in the atmosphere causes plants to transpire less and provide less 'evaporative cooling', he said.

"For scientists trying to predict global climate change in the coming century, the study underscores the importance of including plant biology in their climate models," Bala, jointly with Long Cao and Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University, said.

Explaining the plant physiology, Bala said, "The CO2-physiological effect arises from a change in plant transpiration rate under elevated atmospheric CO2".

"On a hot day, we sweat more, release more water through pores in our skin and cool ourselves. Similarly, while doing photosynthesis (food production process in plants using photons from sun), plants cool the environment by releasing water through the pores called stomata on the surface of leaves," Bala said.

"But stomata opens less widely and the canopy sweats less when CO2 is increased which causes a decline in planttranspiration and thus warming of the land surface," he said.

"Plants do photosynthesise and remove CO2 from the atmosphere and thus could help to cool down the warming planet," Bala said.

Plants have a very complex and diverse influence on the climate system, Prof Ken Caldeira from Stanford said, adding "plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere, but they also have other effects, such as changing the amount of evaporation from land surface. It's impossible to make good climate predictions without taking all of these factors into account."

An increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration influences climate both directly through its radiative effect (trapping longwave radiation) and indirectly through its physiological effect (reducing transpiration of land plants), he said.

"We compare the climate response to radiative and physiological effects of increased CO2 using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) coupled Community Land and Community Atmosphere Model," he said.

The paper is published in the latest edition of May 3-7 online edition of Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.

"The scale is important when we deal with global climate change. For average land, plants transpire about 25 cm of water each year. With doubling of CO2, this amount goes down to 20 cm. This change of 5 cm is about the same magnitude as decrease of evaporation from deforestation or annual global water extraction by humans for irrigation and other consumptive use," the scientists said.

Tamil Nadu class 12 results on SMS

Tamil Nadu 12 students can register themselves to receive their result via SMS.

*   For this, send an SMS, TNHSC Roll No, to 57333 and you will receive the result on your mobile phone once it is published.

* மொபைல் மூலமாகவும் Reg.No ஐ பதிவு செய்யலாம்.

உதாரணம்: என்று எழுதி 562636300 என்ற எண்ணுக்கு அனுப்பவும்

Reg no - Registration Number

DIST - District Name

* http://www.dinamalar.com/register.asp

HP announces online design competition

Hewlett-Packard has announced the HP Skyline 2020 online design contest in India. The contest invites students and professionals to creatively express their vision of an Indian city skyline in the year 2020.

HP Skyline 2020, calls for designs and concepts for an iconic structure — building, tower or institution — that can change the perception of the urban skyline. The interested and eligible students The final award ceremony will take place in August wherein 1 national winner and 4 zonal winners will be announced.

The entries submitted online will be judged on creativity including originality, presentation, inspiration and execution, and community vision covering environmental sustainability, local relevance and future city planning vision. One national winner will be given an HP Workstation and an HP Designjet Large Format Printer. Also four zonal winners will be presented with an HP Designjet Large Format Printer each in August.

The contest is open to 4th & final year college/ university level students and practicing architects, urban designers & planners across India.

Competition Schedule:

* Entry Submission by 15th July 2010

* Regional Jury 20th July 2010

* National Jury 25th July 2010

The entries are to be submitted online at www.aecworldxp.com.