Tip of the Day

Mutual fund is a not a place where returns are guaranteed. Their NAVs also fall with a falling market. Many times 70% of funds falls faster than the market.

Would You ?

If there's darkness

In the world,

All round you,

Would you be that Little light,

In everybody's view?

If there's a child,

In some sort of danger,

Would you run along,

Just to save her?

If there's a Poor Lady,

who lived across the street,

Would u help her

to meet atleast one need?

If there's an old man,

Who's just fallen down,

Would you go over ,

To help him up?

If there's a tree,

Thats just been cut off,

Would you plant another,

to save mother nature?

If there's a friend,

Who's done some wrong,

Would you point fingers,

Or forgive and resolve?

If you have loved someone,

And have been deceived,

Would you just sit and cry,

Or carry on with ur life ?

If you r in despair,

And left with no care,

Would you take time to think,

Of Someone up there?

Someone who has watched you,

All these years,

And taken you thru.

Shudn't u take ,

A little of ur time,

Just to thank Him?

Exploits in Water

Its been a day of triumph for me as I finally learnt to swim today. Its been years that i've desired to learn swimming. I had made an attempt a few months back to learn swimming with a few friends(with the help of their tips) in our apmt pool and no Coach. Initially I found it hard to stay afloat by just kicking. I thought it was impossible. I used to return after great exploits in water with body aches. So much aches that i had to take a crocin an hour before i got into the pool. Then there used to be blunders as we(me and another friend of mine who too was learning) used to close our eyes and struggle to swim across. On opening our eyes we would find that we had swam diagonally and not straight. I had to travel to my native in betwn and these water exploits got abandoned.
I got a chance again, a week back, to learn, coz a friend was going to the Pool daily for a swim. I took this opportunity to learn swimming again. I get some free time now since my yunger child has started school this year.Though the past few days i've only been splashing water in our apmt pool, I never thought that I would be successful since there's only been some directions from a few good friends on how to learn and some tips on breathing ,floating and basics. Not being trained by a professional didn't stand as a barrier to me as learning to swim was what I wanted to do somehow. My hardwork and Perseverance paid . And Of course, Somebody up there helped me too!
Now I need not feel J(jealous), when I watch the swimmers in the coming OLympics!

Tribute to a Virtuous Woman

Few Beautiful verses from the Bible that I like .....

Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 -31

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a

vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and

let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

A Typical Study Time

The coming 2 weeks are exam time for my elder girl and I am having a hard time breaking my jaw. The excuses to sit in one place and study are numerous. It takes time for her to take the right book to write. When I give a pencil ,it has to be sharpened. When i give it sharpened ,she wants an eraser. By the time we find an eraser(there are around 20 erasers scattered all over the house), her book falls down. She picks it up slowly and then starts to write. Suddenly she feels thirsty and asks me if she can have some water. I try to advice her to write some more and then take a break, but she's adamant. I don't want to spend time arguing with her( as we do it all the time),so I tell her to go have it.

In between she goes to chk on her yunger sister if she got anything special from dad while she was sitting to study. If she has got something new then its time to fight for her rights. SHe comes back and writes again, then we find the eraser has gone missing again. It would have fallen down. Again all of us have to search for it. Dad would be watching TV. She would want to hear that song which is being played and so she needs to go to the toilet so that she can have a peep at the TV . Again I have to excuse her. She comes back again and to her annoyance, she sees her yunger sister sitting on her study table. Thats it! A fight happens..then its all weeping, screaming or shouting from ebody and then it takes time to settle and some soaping to make them stop crying. If there is a gap in between all these, another one of her excuses would be that she is hungry.
By then the day would almost be over. All these, requires me to use my mouth and voice and most of the time it aches. My nap in the afternoon and the Energy drink I have everyday to teach her is all used to its optimum.

Investment in Equity

If you believe in the growth story of India, you should seriously look at stocks. It’s a business with least bureaucracy. No red tape, babus and tax treatment is absolutely simple (at least for now). Through equities you can do any business. IF you believe in the future of airlines, invest in the Vijay Mallya’s company UB Holdings which owns King Fisher. And later if you think high inflations will hurt the industry and oil might be a good idea, join business with Mukesh Ambani. All you have to do is sell your UB and buy Reliance. You’ve changed your entire business with a few mouse clicks. Its so simple !!!! Is’nt it? ;-). Next I’ll tell you why tax treatment in equities is an icing in the cake.

Probably My Imagination!

It was a year after the 9/11 Blasts in the US and that was the main coz of my worry throut this following situation . WE would hear of terrorists here,terrorists there etc and then this event happened once.
We were returning from the US and on the way to BOmbay,our transit was in Paris Airport. We had to spend a few hours in Paris. When we reached there, the time was after Midnight. There were only a few people waiting for the nxt flight, otherwise the place was almost deserted. My hubby had gone to the restroom to freshen up and I was waiting there with my elder girl (who was One year old then).
One fellow who was sitting nearby was getting friendly with my elder girl. He was in his early thirties not knowing fluent English. My girl and that stranger were having fun making faces at each other. After some time ,this fellow asks me if I know Arabic...I said that I didn't. We then shifted to another place as I felt something fishy bout him .Also I had a feeling that he was following us. I was still waiting for My husband who was taking longer than Usual. Again this fellow comes and tries to be friendly. He had a shoulder bag in his hand. He suddenly says something and then leaves his bag right next to me and hurries off. I was dumbstruck.
I didn't know what to do...there were a zillion things running thru my MInd but the greatest worry was "WAS IT A BOMB?" the next thing on my mind was to flee the place....the problem was that I had to gather 3 carry bags and a child ....i somehow grabbed all the bags and my girl and rushed towards the my Husbands restroom...i thot my heart which was beating hard would come out of my mouth and burst ....luckily my husband had just came out and I explained ething to him . He told me to calm down as he thought I was imagining stuff.
We went walking back eying the bag at the same time. A few seconds later that fellow came running, took his bag and left. O MY! what a releif. I can't think of going thru a similiar situation again.

Cartoons

Kids love watching Cartoons. They have even more fun when their loved ones watch it with them. 2 weeks back we watched Mr. Bean's Holiday on HBO with our kids. It was a goofy movie, with all his well known routine comedy scenes . They had extra fun watching it together with their mom and dad. This movie didn't have much dialogues,it was more of comedy(sometimes Dull) action. Kids have some attraction towards MR.Bean I guess, even thot he's not all that goodlooking( a big pointed nose ,big eyes,flaring nostrils and not to forget,his characteristic mole). I make sure to know all cartoons they watch and ask them about the characters just to let them know that I am interested in their interests. They get excited just explaining about the characters and what they did etc .

So next time take time and watch a cartoon with ur kid and show them that u too r interested.

Tip for the Day

Start your investments early in life.
As a youngster, you have more cash at your disposal. Start your investments early. Planning a house as soon as you are settled in your first job is a good idea. Anytime is good for investing in a house to live in. Think twice in these days of inflation/high interest rates etc when you look for a second house. Investing in a plot in the city where you plan to retire might be a good idea. Invest in other asset classes like stocks/gold/silver even if it is in a small way. Avoid Fixed deposit as far as possible, as it gives pathetic returns and also the returns are taxed heavily. If you haven’t done so start looking at stocks where the tax treatment is very amicable. Even if you make loads of profit from stocks you can get exemption from paying tax , through legal means. We’ll discuss this in coming days.

Tip for the Day

First and foremost, live within ones means.
Ask the question like “Do I really need it ?”, “Is there an alternate option ?”, “Can I afford it ?”, before every purchase, especially for big ticket purchases like a home or a car. Banks might be lining up for providing loans. But should you really go for that huge three bed room apartment or that luxury sedan? Ask questions to yourself on affordability, maintenance etc. For eg: one may have to shell out more on property tax, registration, wood work (and higher charge even for the maid who cleans the house !) when it comes to a bigger residential unit. And in the case of a Sedan think of the insurance , fuel efficiency etc. Don’t just go for such purchases just to show off. Do your math!!

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Monster Mom

Being a full time or working mom isn't easy. People may say that Mothers are born to be mothers. But kids who grow up seeing their mothers work, would want to follow the same example. I feel a mother becomes a mother by trial and Error method. Atleast thats the way for me. Every new day keeps me on my toes. WE have to learn from our mistakes on child rearing and managing a household.

A mom has to keep juggling plenty of things at a time. A typical day for a Mom starts with preparing food for the whole family early mornings, waking up her kids,packing their food and bags. If the kids are small she need to follow their timetable, sending them to school. Doing laundery. Ironing clothes,making the bed,keeping the house spic and span (altho maids do it these days)...whatever happens in her house has to be under her supervision. She has to do the provision shopping for her home and the lists she has to make for everybody is endless. Ensuring that the kids teeth r brushed, potty traning,teaching and inculcating in them good habits all come under a mothers resposibility.

Whats moms miss themselves most is their personal space. For me, after the the birth of my 1st kid, what i missed the most, was my sleep. I used to sleep a lot and would feel disppointed that my sleep cycle was not regular after my delivery. After they grew a little, the next thing i missed was, some time for myself. I would finish all my work, with the thought that being in the restroom atleast would give me some time for myself. But the moment i entered it , my girl would come asking: "Mama where r u? what r u doing inside ?" That really used to spoil my mood. Initially I would keep quiet(to control myself), but then they would keep repeating so much to my annoyance, that I would end up shouting at them.

Again I used to think that once they grow, that I would be more free. But then its back to square one, our studies begin with them entering school. We have to learn first to teach them. Teaching them to write and ensuring that they keep their books clean. FEw kids are born with such good habits but for kids like mine i have to keep repeating stuff. Sometimes my mouth aches with repeating things( I basically was a quiet person). Bringing discipline to my kids would take a lifetime I feel. By then I think i would become a Monster Mom. And then I wonder what I would do once my kids leave me. Its a saddening thought.

Finding time for onself is a skill that we moms have to develop over time. To sum it all up "Having kids and raising them up is the most challenging work on this earth". :)