Using technology to manage your financial affairs

Planning

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Friday, June 21, 2013, 8:42 [IST]

Over the years, technology has embraced everything that we do in our day to day lives, which also includes the way we manage our money. Gone are the days when you would have a wait in a long queue to deposit or withdraw cash or wait for your agent to visit you to pay your insurance premium or make a trip to the bank just to check your account balance. Imagine having to do all this with the kind of work schedules that you have to put up with today. Do you actually ever stop and ponder about how convenient life has become with technology, when with a click of the mouse you can transfer money, check balances, make investments, pay premiums, buy and sell shares, the list being endless.

Let us see how you can effectively use technology to manage your finances better. With dearth of time for most urban dwellers today, there is really no escaping it although it may require some amount of initial effort. But most definitely, the advantages far outweigh the initial effort which goes in.

Online Banking

Unless you are a high networth individual who has a banker at your beck and call, you most definitely need to bank the online way. Having an online access to your bank account has several advantages. For one, it would save you a lot of fuel for the umpteen visits to the branch which you would be able to avoid. Checking your account balance, transferring money to your other accounts or third parties, paying your bills, getting account statements, changing personal details, making online purchases, paying your premiums, paying loan instalments, opening deposit accounts are just some of conveniences of using online banking. Most banks offer mobile banking as well where some of the above stated tasks can be done using your mobile.

Investing online

All basic investment products such as shares, mutual funds, bonds and fixed deposits can be bought online today. For purchasing shares you need to have a demat account. Shares can no longer be transferred in physical form. If you register with an online trading portal, you can trade online without having to call your broker every time you need to transact. Just login to your account and place your order. For mutual funds also, the paperwork can be totally eliminated in online purchasing. Almost all mutual funds houses provide online facility; however choosing an online distributor or a portal may be more convenient from the point of view of consolidation.

Purchasing insurance

It has been a couple of years since the online purchasing of insurance was introduced in the Indian market. Almost all kinds of general insurances such as health insurance, vehicle insurance, overseas travel insurance etc. can be bought online. In the life insurance space, term cover can be purchased online.

Softwares for money management

Maintaining paperwork is the most tedious task when it comes to money management. Tracking your bills and investments comes in second. Not any longer though; with softwares for money management available free or with fairly low charges, it has never been simpler to track your finances. There are portfolio managing tools where you can track all your investments, be it shares, mutual funds, ULIPs or fixed income investments. Then there are personal financial management softwares which not only track investments but also your bank accounts and credit cards. These tools track monthly income and expenses, track investments and insurances, flash bill payment reminders and provide different kinds of reports as per your need.

Courtesy: Perfios Money Manager