Women, do some smart money management ::Business Line

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Setting SIPs through mutual funds, sifting through Web sites of insurance companies before deciding on a policy, and making bill payments online are ways to manage finances wisely.

A typical day in Sheila's life. Wake up, make breakfast for family, pack lunch, rush to office, meet deadlines and reach home tired. But it may surprise you that Sheila, despite her gruelling schedule, has found time to manage not only her finances, but that of her husband's as well.

The truth is managing money doesn't take much time.

DON'T SLEEP WITH SURPLUS

What do you do with the money that's left in your savings bank account after your regular monthly expenses? If it is just lying idle, it is time you wake up to the magic of online money management.

You can open a fixed deposit (FD) account online by transferring the money from your savings bank account.

That way, you will earn a higher interest on your hard-earned money. All that you would need here is an internet banking account. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and HSBC Bank are some banks that offer provision to open an FD account online.

Banks also take standing orders from their customers and manage their deposits for them. Wondering how? Enable the ‘auto sweep' facility for your savings account. Money that is excess of a threshold you specify will be automatically transferred to a fixed deposit account and earn higher interest for you. Also, when balance in the savings account is not enough to honour a cheque you have issued, for example, there will be an automatic reverse sweep.

RIDING THE EQUITY TIDE

You can also invest in the stock markets at the click of the mouse, both from home and office.

Start by zeroing-in on a stockbroker and opening a trading and demat account. You would also be required to open an online account with one of the preferred banks of that broker. The benefit of moving online is that you can transfer money into your trading account just minutes before you want to place an order.

Most brokers provide ‘portfolio tracker' features that show sector classification and return on each stock. While you stand to make a substantial savings, if your calls prove right that is, you can rest assure that you will definitely save on time!

Not up for a tryst with direct equity trading? Well online accounts also allow investment in mutual funds using the same interface. If your stockbroker doesn't offer the provision to buy units of a specific fund, know that you can buy the units online from that particular MF's website.

An alternate option would be to invest through online mutual fund distributors such as fundsupermart.com or fundsindia.com. By opening an account at fundsindia.com and linking your bank account to it, you can buy units across 36 mutual fund companies. There is no charge for the services of this Web site currently.

GO THE SIP WAY

Setting SIP (systematic investment plan) through mutual funds is a good way to grow your money. Rather than investing a lump sum amount in the stock market at one go, you can do an SIP or periodic instalment. This lets you average the volatility in the market thus improving your returns. All that you need to do to start an SIP is make a request to the mutual fund and then give a standing instruction to your banker to debit the specific amount every month (or in the gap of period you desire).

And, if your need to rebalance your equity-debt allocation, try the STP option. Using systematic transfer plans you can move your funds from equity plan to a debt plan or even vice versa as market conditions change.

INSURING FOR FUTURE

Don't just buy an insurance policy because the sales agent was convincing. You can compare the features of insurance policies online using Web sites such as policybazaar, apnapaisa, bankbazar. These Web sites also help compare bank deposits, home loans and credit cards for the features they offer.

You can also buy insurance policies online. Not just term policies, but also motor insurance, travel insurance and health policies can be bought online now. Online policies are cheaper as the insurer doesn't pay an agent's commission and therefore passes on that difference to you. For example, a term policy of Rs 10 lakh bought online for a woman of age 30 years will cost around Rs 1,600-2,000 a year. However the same policy bought offline would have an annual premium of around Rs 2,700-3,000.

OPEN UP YOUR E-HANDBAG

For the likes of Sheila, it is the benefits of internet banking that help save time. Make sure your internet banking facility is enabled. Once you do this, payment of credit card dues, mobile bills, electric bills and insurance premium can be done instantaneously at the time convenient to you. To pay bills, you can either use the payment gateway of your credit card or insurance company or even your mobile phone service provider. Alternately, you can also register the specific phone number/credit card/insurance policy in your internet banking account and make online transfers.