15 easy vastu tips for your home

When it comes to our new home, we do everything to make sure it is absolutely perfect. A part of that process involves making sure our house is Vastu Shastra compliant.

Even if you didn’t take Vastu into account when you were shifting into a new home, but it’s never too late.After all, it is not feasible to rebuild your home to correct all the “Vastu Dosh”, and for that reason, we have put together these 15 easy Vastu tips for you .

1. Master bedroom

Master bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the entire house as it belongs to the head of the family.The headboard of the bed should always be placed on the eastern or southwestern side. This would help give the family a long and healthy life.

2. Living room

Another area that most of us make mistakes with is our living room. The sofas in the room should be places in the south and west corners. You can use the entire “L” shaped corner to place as many sofas as you can fit.

3. Cooking position

Cooking is a daily chore for most of us, but did you know that there is a particular side that you should be facing while doing it every day. Eastern side is considered the most auspicious in Vastu Shastra and facing it while cooking can help turn your household energy into positive.

4. Painting and sculptures

One of the easiest Vastu tips that we can give you is to add some paintings or sculptures in your homes. These decoration items should showcase lively things like sunrise, flowers or even animals. This will introduce positive vibes into your homes.

5. Curtains

Curtains are something that all of us have at our homes. But the thing that most of us don’t know is that we are supposed to use only light color fabrics for our curtains. Pastel colors like baby pink, blue or yellow can help make us feel calmer.

6. Mirrors

Another easy tip to introduce positive energy or vibes in our home is by adding mirrors wherever we can. This helps reflect pure energy into every corner of the house making us feel even more comfortable.

7. Potted plants

Adding potted plants in our house is also a good way to correct some of the Vastu dosh. This gives you a great landscape and also helps cover up some of the negative impacts that the already present Vastu problems are causing.

8. Lighting

It is said in Vastu Shastra that having dim lights throughout the house can affect the vibe of the place. To have a more energetic feel in your house, lighting up every room properly is essential.

9. Jewel cabinets

Jewelry or valuables are considered a gift of goddess Lakshmi in Hindu culture. For this reason placing the cabinet or cupboard holding your valuables in the right position is a must. Such lockers should always be on the southwest side avoiding the corners.

10. Dining area

The dining area is one such room that affects the entire family as it is a place where everyone eats together. The correct place to set up your dining table is the northwest side of the room or kitchen.

11. Study table

Families that have kids or are working from home always have a study table. The best place to keep your table is either the east or the north side. This will help your kids built their concentration.

12. Aquariums

Another trick to overcome some of the Vastu problems that your house might have is by adding an aquarium. Live aquatic animals cut down the negative energy that your house might be reflecting.

13. Electric appliances

Electrical appliances that give out energies of their own should always be kept in the right direction. For heating appliances like gas or ovens, they should be places in the southeast direction. While for cooling appliances like AC or fridge they should always be on the northwest side.

14. Wall color

The wall color of your room has a great effect on your mood and for this very reason having lighter color walls is recommended. Colors like dark red, black or brown should be avoided.

15. Pooja room

Every Indian home always has a separate pooja room, which is considered a sacred place. The flooring of the room should always be of marble as the stone is considered auspicious for temples.

Also read: What is the better investment option: Apartments or plots

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Source: homify.in

What is the better investment option: Apartments or plots

When it comes to investing in a property, most buyers think of putting their money in an apartment. We look at whether it may be financially more prudent to invest in a plot, rather than an apartment

Purchasing a house is an important financial decision, particularly for first-time buyers. Home buyers have to be careful as they invest their hard-earned money for a secure future. Nevertheless, a good investment can earn handsome returns. As explained in the words of Russell Sage, “Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”

One has to bear in mind that any erroneous or hasty decision while making a big-ticket purchase, for example, during the course of purchasing a property, might yield results that one could regret. Moreover, investors may also be faced with the dilemma of having to decide whether one wants to invest in a plot of land or opt for an apartment, to reap better returns on investment.

Buying an apartment is not the same as purchasing a plot of land. Although both the asset classes are highly lucrative in nature, there are several pros and cons dividing the two types of purchase. Here are some key merits of investing in a plot of land, which could help a buyer to arrive at a final decision.

Customisation

Purchasing a plot of land gives one the freedom to mould, shape and build a structure according to one’s own preference and unique requirements. An apartment, on the other hand, is a pre-designed construction, to suit a particular set of people’s needs. There is limited scope for customisation as per each buyer’s needs.

Appreciation in value

In the long run, land appreciates better than apartments. The primary cause for this, is that the availability of land is limited and its supply cannot be increased as per the needs and requirements of the market. As the plot of land ages, it does not depreciate in value, instead the value of plots increase with time. Whereas, in the case of apartments, it is quite the opposite. As apartments become old, they require heavy maintenance and constant repairing, which, in turn, depreciates their value over time. Appreciation, to an extent, also depends on the locality, availability of amenities, security, infrastructure, connectivity and other extraneous factors.

Delivery and transfer of possession

Transfer of ownership of an apartment may take months or even years to go through. In case of plots, they are usually always ready for possession. Therefore, a buyer who is looking to invest in a plot of land will get its possession considerably earlier than that of a flat.

Compromise in quality

There may also be delays in the construction of apartments, due to various reasons. This delay, in turn, may force the builder to complete their projects in a hurry. Often, in this haste, the quality of the product is significantly compromised by the builders, who are trying to cut down the cost while keeping up with timelines. Their inability to meet deadlines, due to time-crunch and cost-cutting, negatively affects the quality of the structures.

Standard of living

Owning a plot of land is a symbol of luxury. A piece of land has no spatial constraints and any construction on it can be built to accommodate a large number of people, depending on the size of the family and its requirements. Hence, having an independent house, can also be said to improve one’s standard of living.

Also read: Vastu Shastra to cultivate leadership skills and drive business growth

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Can you fix it? Why DIY car maintenance is still possible – despite what young people might think

Thirty years ago, if you were feeling a bit cash-strapped, you didn’t need to pay a garage to service your car. Instead you could invest the money you would have spent on a Haynes manual and a socket set.

A few hours and a bit of cursing later and you’d have done the job yourself.

How things appear to have changed. It’s a frequently repeated mantra that cars are now so mechanically complicated it’s impossible for all but a qualified technician to work on them.

With hard-up owners increasingly reluctant to spend money on servicing, car care is falling by the wayside to the point that the AA says half of the 3.4 million call-outs it attends annually are caused by poor maintenance.

But drivers who can’t afford regular servicing at a garage, or even want to attempt it themselves as a hobby, shouldn’t be put off, according to the AA’s patrolman of the year, Keith Miller: “The fundamentals of looking after an internal combustion engine haven’t changed over the years, so it’s actually a bit of a myth that you can’t service a modern car yourself,” he says.

“I think it’s a generational thing. Younger people are used to having obsolescence built into things.

They use something until it breaks and then throw it away and buy a newer, better version. Servicing something is alien to them.”

Haynes manuals have been the bible of the car DIYer for the past half century. Matthew Minter, the company’s motor trade editorial director, says: “Peak sales for us are when a car is between four and seven years old.” Haynes is very cagey about sales figures for its motor manuals and has diversified into handbooks covering areas as diverse as sexual health and the saxophone, which implies the DIY market isn’t what it once was.

But Haynes still does manuals for cars, even those released recently, and servicing them isn’t that difficult. Miller adds: “Cars are actually more fixable at the roadside now. A lot of the time they go wrong because of sensor problems. All you have to do is find out which sensor it is and reset the car so it’ll drive with a redundant sensor. But we have a computer with a fault code reader so we can tell what’s going wrong quite quickly.”

The word “computer” is the crucial one here. Back in the early Eighties, a sea change in our driving life was happening. The letter “i” started to appear on the badges of increasing numbers of cars, indicating that the friendly old carburettor’s days were numbered. It had been replaced by fuel injection, a far more efficient way of getting fuel and air to mix prior to combustion.

Most Eighties engines used a hybrid of digital and analogue control for fuel injection. But even then it meant the days when how an engine ran could be adjusted mechanically were history. Only people with the right software could control fuel injection systems.

AA technical specialist Vanessa Guyll agrees. “It’s reasonable to say that fuel injection was when home maintenance started to become increasingly difficult,” she says. “But since then carmakers have started putting covers over the engine and undertrays beneath it. When you open the bonnet and you’re faced with a cover, it can be quite intimidating, even though under that cover there’s everything the internal combustion engine has always had.

“And having to remove an undertray is a significant barrier to changing the oil, even though actually changing the oil is no different to any other car. Then there’s the space. Modern cars have an increasing amount of equipment on them and much of it is under the bonnet, so there’s barely any room to get tools in. Compare that with a Morris Minor, which had acres of space in the engine bay, and you can see why people are reluctant to do things themselves.”

Assuming you can fight your way through all that, there’s another obstacle: the service light. From the mid-Nineties, an increasing number of new cars came fitted with this device that illuminates as a reminder that the car is approaching the mileage limit for its regular maintenance. Once the service has been performed, that light needs to be reset.

On some cars, such as current Citroëns and older Volkswagen Group models, you can find out how to reset the service light in the handbook or the manufacturer’s serving literature. But, cautions Vanessa Guyll, “Some of the latest vehicles can only be reset with special tools.”

So yes, it might be trickier these days to access those basic parts, but not much has changed when you do find them. Get out there with a spanner and enjoy tinkering while you can; in a few years it could be nigh-on impossible.

Also Read : Buying a Car in Thane? Check the cars which will be discontinued soon

Source: msn.com

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Vastu Shastra to cultivate leadership skills and drive business growth

We look at some Vastu Shastra tips that one can follow at home and in the office, to boost one’s leadership skills and professional growth.

As an effective business leader/ CEO/ entrepreneur, one always has a dual responsibility of safeguarding and promoting the larger vision of the organisation, while also taking care of the individual growth of the team/ organisational family members. The leader has to take them on the path of progress and stability, irrespective of their varied individual ideologies, their strengths and weaknesses and their own aspirations. As a leader and head of the organisational family, one has to also ensure unity in diversity, to achieve the goal of progress, prosperity and peace. An entrepreneur’s final aim is growth + stability and ultimately thought leadership in his sector, among peers.

While most people who aspire to become dynamic leaders take up various external training sessions to achieve their goals, more often than not, they are faced with challenges beyond their control. What is perhaps not that well-known is the fact that for an overall success and consistent growth, the ancient Indian science of Vastu Shastra, can help aide and enhance the chances of success.

According to the hierarchy of your organisation:

The head of the organisation (CMD/CEO/founder/MD) should occupy the south-west direction.

The number two or the finance head and/or technical expert, should be seated in the south direction.

Sales and marketing or the operational team, should take the west direction.

Vastu Shastra for effective leaders

As an entrepreneur, the stability, growth and success of business, heavily lies on the shoulders of the CEO/ MD/ proprietor and his leadership skills are vital in creating a stable and profitable business. The seat of a leader, when considered through Vastu Shastra, becomes vitally important when seeking to enhance positive energies for business.

The south-west direction is considered a prominent seat and plays a major role in bringing stability and growth in both, personal and professional life. The main cabin or seating of the business head/ organisational head at office and the direction of the master bedroom, for the head of the family unit, should ideally be in the south-west direction of the office or house, respectively, to ensure stability in both, personal as well as professional life.

According to the basic principles and guidelines of Vastu Shastra, south-west is a zone of the earth element, which means it should always be occupied by one who is in-charge or is the decision maker or leader of the family at the residence and by the owner or chief of business at the workplace. If not occupied by the head, it should be the heaviest part of that premise. The presence of the business leader in the south-west, would also help in forging lasting relationships with clients, vendors and colleagues, while enhancing vigilance, all of which are important factors to consider for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Vastu Shastra for personal and professional stability

All positive energies enter your Vastu (residence or place of work or a structure) from the north-east region. This energy travels and circulates across the south-east and north-west simultaneously and gets accumulated in the south-west. As a result, the presence of a host or leader in the south-west master bedroom and workplace, for at least six to eight hours each day, will lead to enhanced performance personally and professionally.

Vastu Shastra to enhance performance

Like work, rest is equally important and plays a vital role in the overall physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of a person. As per Vastu Shastra there is an effective direction for sleep and rest. Aligning with the electromagnetic waves of earth (north-south direction), with the head towards the south or west, is considered a high energy accumulation zone, making it ideal for sleep.

Vastu Shastra for overall business growth

Apart from effective leadership skills and performance, key decision making processes and issues related to finance, can also be impacted by Vastu Shastra. Sitting in a high energy sphere of the south-west direction, facing towards north-east, helps improve sharpness of mind, alertness and wisdom, which are needed to tackle challenges in business and profession. Displaying your objectives and targets behind you, in the south-west direction, can further help accelerate achievements and bring stability. Finance is at the heart and soul of every business and while the financial circulation of small businesses depends primarily on regular and timely payments, receipts and cash flow, big businesses have their own sources to maintain financial stability. It is, therefore, imperative to set up an office according to the guidelines of Vastu Shastra.

Also read: Vastu Shastra tips for the main door/entrance

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Too many bank accounts can harm your money

Gurugram-based Shrinidhi Shetty, 35, has six bank accounts registered in his name. He opened these accounts over a course of time for various reasons. “One account was for my demat account,two for home loans, three were salary accounts which I had to open each time I changed jobs and the sixth one was to facilitate the processing of my Aadhaar," said Shrinidhi, a petroleum engineer.

All six bank accounts have been serving some purpose but Shrinidhi has been planning to close at least three of them for a while now. “One of the accounts I want to close offers a higher interest rates on fixed deposits while the other offers a better banking experience in terms of technology and ease. The third account (salary account) which also has very low activity was for one of my previous jobs," said Shrinidhi. He has about ₹25,000-30,000 parked in these accounts in order to maintain the minimum balance requirement. Could he have made better use of this money?

Shrinidhi is not alone. Many people end up opening multiple bank accounts either when they change jobs or for saving for specific goals like buying a house, child’s education and so on. According to the World Bank’s 2017 Global Findex report, almost half of the account holders in India had an account that remained inactive in 2016. This is the highest in the world and about twice the average of 25% for developing economies. Read on to know how much is too much when it comes to bank accounts.

What happens

It’s important to understand that the more bank accounts you hold, the more money you keep locked in those accounts. Most banks demand a minimum balance requirement from an account holder and non-maintenance could attract penalty.

The minimum balance requirement could range anywhere between ₹5,000- ₹10,000. This means if you have, say, five savings accounts, then you would have to put aside about ₹25,000- 50,000.

“The minimum balance would give you returns at a rate of 3-4% per annum. Instead, if you put this money in a fixed deposit, you would be drawing nearly twice as much interest. Savings accounts also come with other expenses in the form of debit card charges that have to be paid regardless of the usage," said Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar, an online financial services marketplace. Note that if your zero balance savings account or salary account is not credited with salary for three consecutive months, then your bank could turn such a zero balance savings account into a normal savings account, forcing you to maintain the minimum average balance.

If an account has been inactive for two or more years, the bank considers it dormant. In such a case, you would not be able to perform any transactions from that account via debit card, cheques, online or mobile banking. You will be required to reactivate the account by submitting a written application. If it’s a joint account, all the holders will have to give their consent.

“Apart from losing returns on idle funds (minimum balance requirements for each account to be maintained), ensuring analysis of each account for tax returns could get cumbersome. Remembering and changing passwords frequently for online access and recalling them could be other issues," said Lovaii Navlakhi, managing director and CEO, International Money Matters, a financial planning firm.

What to do

Navlakhi said, the lesser the better when it comes to bank accounts. Shetty said one should restrict the number of savings accounts to two. “The first would be your salary account, the other should be a joint account with your parents or spouse where you can park your emergency funds. A joint account would ensure that your family can access the money in case of an emergency where you are not available immediately," said Shetty.

You could also go up to three accounts with one permanent account, one joint account with your spouse or partner and one salary account. “The salary account could change each time you change your job and hence maintaining one permanent account where your investments such as mutual funds or employees’ provident fund are linked helps. Remember the more accounts you maintain, the more minimum balances and cards you will need to keep. It’s advisable to close the older accounts," said Shweta Jain, chief executive officer and founder, Investography, a financial planning firm.

Furthermore, you may not even realise how much or what you are paying in charges because almost all services offered by banks come with a fee. “You might swipe one card thinking it is another. In fact, this has happened with me too. You may not be able to track expenses as they are all over the place," said Jain.

With the universal account number (UAN) now taken as your EPF ID, no new EPF accounts need to be opened each time you change your job but you may have to update your bank account with the EPFO. Having a permanent account helps in this case. “People find it difficult to change the bank details in the long run when they try to withdraw the money from their EPF account.

Similarly, if you link your other long-term investments such as mutual funds or public provident fund with multiple bank accounts, it could lead to a lot of confusion," said Basavaraj Tonagatti, a certified financial planner and Sebi- registered investment adviser. A simple solution would be to use your permanent bank account as your main operating account. Set up an electronic transfer to the main account each time you change jobs, and then close the older bank accounts.

Your bank account, PAN and Aadhaar are the three vital identities for your financial life. From tax payments and investments to paying your utility bills, all of these require your bank account, PAN and Aadhaar to be linked for know your customer (KYC) purpose. It is best to use one permanent bank account and make sure it is linked with all your financial dealings such as income tax payments, EPF, PPF, mutual funds, demat account and for your monthly bill payments," said Tonagatti.

Understand that closing all unwanted bank accounts means less chance of misuse as having fewer accounts makes it easier to track transactions regularly. Shetty said, fewer accounts also means easy tax filing with fewer receipts and interest earnings to put in record.

Mint take

Once you’ve realised that you’ve not been using a particular bank account for three to four months and there are no transactions or standing instructions linked with that account, it’s best to close it

If you have changed jobs and have to open a new salary account with the new company, you could close the old salary account over the next two months. “Typically, three months after one has quit the job, salary accounts tend to have a minimum balance requirement. This is a good reminder to close it and move on," said Jain.

However, before closing the account, make sure that there are no dues left and all the National Automated Clearing House (NACH) mandates are de-linked or moved to another account. Having up to two bank accounts is ideal, or at best three. But beyond this, it does no good to your money life.

Also Read : Financial Planning in your 30s : Here's How to Do it

Source: www.livemint.com

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