Ant and the Grasshopper!!

Ant and Grosshopper - Indian Version of story - too good and fact

Original Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and
laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool
and laughs dances plays the summer away. Come winter, the Ant is warm and
well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the
cold.

Indian Version:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and
laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool
and laughs dances plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands
to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others
are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper
next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with
food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor
Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that
Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .

Mayawati states this as 'injustice' done on Minorities.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for
not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
Grasshopper (many promising Heaven & Everlasting Peace for prompt support
as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in
West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in
the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and
Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway
Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the 'Prevention of Terrorism Against
Grasshoppers Act'[POTAGA] , with effect from the beginning of the winter..

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation' for Grasshoppers in Educational
Institutions in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left
to pay his retroactive taxes, it's home is confiscated by the Government
and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV, BBC, CNN.

Arundhati Roy calls it 'A Triumph of Justice'.

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'.

CPM calls it the 'Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden'

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar
company in Silicon Valley ,

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere
in India ,

....AND

As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the
grasshoppers, India is still a developing country...!!

N.B.: I have no idea whose creative mind this has come out from, but this piece is awesome

Courtesy: Sathish Pathak. FB

Women are hard to please!!

A store that sells “New Husbands” has opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: 

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increases as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help with Housework.

'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!' Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor number 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please!!!
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. 

PLEASE NOTE:

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a “New Wives Store”
just across the street.

The 1st Floor has wives that listen to men.

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th,5th and 6th floor have never been visited by men.

- Courtesy: FB

Know your restaurant bill

It's a Friday evening and you're in a restaurant. You just had a nice, full course dinner. You even checked the prices prior to ordering. However, you are taken aback by looking at the bill. The numbers do not match with those in your head till you came across a few terms called service tax and service charge which inflated the bill by about 15 to 20 per cent. What really happened?

Since you are no mood to ruin your evening by taking time off for due diligence, you just pay it off. Many of us often feel that the added amount is high but don't question it.

Simple thing made complicated.

We have an uncanny ability to deconstruct simple things and make them complex. Taxes and charges on seemingly simple things like food and drinks are areas where customers are taken for granted. Understanding a few of these terms is important.

Here's all you wanted to know about various charges/taxes associated with restaurant bills:

1. Service charge

This is charged by the restaurant for rendering its services to you. This money goes to the restaurant. The establishments are free to charge any amount as service charges as there are no guidelines provided by the tax authority on this. The charge varies from 5 to 10 per cent. Few restaurants don't charge it. This is equivalent to the tips people usually give to waiters. If you are charged service charge in the bill, you need not pay tips as this charge is supposed to be shared among the staff.

Most of us don't bother even when we feel the charges levied are higher. One common reason for this is we don't think anything can be done about it. Secondly, you don't want to spoil an evening arguing with a manager.

However, the ground rule is that if the menu mentions service charges, you have to pay. If it doesn't, you can question it.

2. Service tax

Many people confuse service tax with service charges. Service tax is tax levied by the government on the services rendered by restaurants. Also, same service tax is applicable in all states. It is 12.36 per cent on 40 per cent of the bill, which includes your food, drink and the service charge. A restaurant must be air-conditioned for service tax.

The problem here is that most of the customers are taxed at the full bill and not on 40 per cent of the bill as directed.

To make things simple, service tax should be 4.94 per cent (12.36 per cent of 40 per cent) on your total bill. Hence, whenever you see service tax on the total bill clearly exceeding 5 per cent, you can question it.

3. Value Added Tax

Commonly known as VAT - that is state-specific. These rates can be as low as 5 per cent and as high as 20 per cent depending upon the state you are dining in. Moreover, VAT on food items is different from that on drinks. Many restaurants often club food items with drinks, and charge a flat rate on the total bill. In such cases, it is good to ask for separate bills for food and drinks. This should clearly show the different VAT for both the items.

Now, let's look at an example to understand all these more clearly:

Suppose you have dined in an AC restaurant and the price of food items is about Rs. 900. You will be asked to pay service charges, which goes to the restaurant, VAT and service tax, which goes to government.

Items  Amount

Total bill of food items  900

Service charge (assuming 6 per cent)  54

Sub-total  954

Service charge to be levied on (40 per cent of sub-total)  380.60

Service tax (at the rate of 12.36 per cent)  47.17

VAT @ 12.5 of sub-total  119.25

Total amount to be paid  1120.42 Many a time, restaurants charge the highest rate on the total bill. You can find out about it if you understand these terms.

Conclusion

Most of the times, we cannot do anything about restaurants overcharging. The reason for this is not only our unwillingness but also ignorance of restaurant managers. In many cases, though, you can question these items and get your bill corrected. Please remember that this will not be easy. However, you can always question and explain this to the restaurant manager and get your bill corrected. There have been cases where customers were able to get their bills reduced.

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/your-money/article-3-items-that-may-inflate-your-restaurant-bill-by-20-325586

The GOD of Cricket !!!

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time or perhaps of any time, the most prolific run-maker of all time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses - anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots and can pull them out at will.

There are no apparent weaknesses in his game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself. Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs 30,000 international runs, and 50 Test hundreds.

He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game: at 36 years, he scored the first ever double-century in one-day cricket. In 2011, he achieved a feat which had eluded him for years - The World Cup which was apt in his hands. In 2012, when just one month short of his 39th birthday, he became the first player to score 100 international centuries, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever. Later that year, though, he announced his retirement from ODIs. 

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on his body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world. 

- DC

Courtesy : Cricinfo

Dada - The man who changed the face of Indian cricket

Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain (until the rise of MSD) - forging a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but direction-less  individuals - and nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time. Despite being a batsman who combined grace with surgical precision in his stroke-play  his career had spluttered to a standstill before being resurrected by a scintillating hundred on debut at Lord's in 1996. Later that year, he was promoted to the top of the order in ODIs and, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed one of the most destructive opening pairs in history.

When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing exposes in 2000, he quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. Under his stewardship India started winning Test matches away, and put together a splendid streak that took them all the way to the World Cup final in 2003. Later that year, in Australia, an unexpected and incandescent hundred at Brisbane set the tone for the series where India fought the world's best team to a standstill. Victory in Pakistan turned him into a cult figure but instead of being a springboard for greater things, it was the peak of a slippery slope.

The beginning of the end came in 2004 at Nagpur - when his last-minute withdrawal played a part in Australia clinching the series - and things went pear shaped when his loss of personal form coincided with India's insipid ODI performances. Breaking point was reached when his differences with Greg Chappell leaked into public domain and his career was in jeopardy when India began their remarkable revival under Rahul Dravid.

His gritty 30s at Karachi, when India succumbed to a humiliating defeat in early 2006, weren't enough for him to retain his spot and some felt he would never get another chance. Others, as always, thought otherwise and they were proved right when he was included in the Test squad for the away series in South Africa in 2006-2007. And he did what he does best - come back from no where. He ended as the highest Indian run-scorer in that series and capped his fairytale comeback with four half-centuries on his return to ODIs. He continued his fine run in England, where he finished as the second highest scorer in Tests, and went on to slam back-to-back hundreds against Pakistan at home, the second of which was a glorious 239 in Bangalore. Ganguly was surprisingly omitted from India's ODI squad for the CB Series in Australia and had been out of contention in the one-day squad since. After a poor Test series in Sri Lanka, there were reports of him considering retirement but he was given a lifeline in the Tests against Australia at home. Two days before the first Test, he said the series would be his last.

- DC

Courtesy : Cricinfo

11 easy steps to get out and stay out of debt

In spite of steady, regular income there are so many individuals who live paycheck to pay-check  carry their credit card outstanding, and fail to save anything for life after retirement. If you are one of them, now is the right time to take action to come out and stay out of debt.

It is not only possible but also very much achievable.

Discussed below are a few easy steps you can use to get out of debt:

1. Make a list of all your debts

You need to take a good look at all your loans. It could be credit card dues, personal loan, car loan, housing loan, education loan, loan from FD, loan from insurance policies, loan from your employer, hand loan, and so on. For each and every loan you need to note down basic details like how much you owe, the current interest rate, EMI amount, number of months (tenure) etc.

2. Negotiate for lower interest rates

If you could negotiate the interest rate and bring it down, you can come out of debt faster. Most of the credit card companies come forward for negotiation if you show interest in repaying. They need not run after you to collect the debt. They will be happy to negotiate as this will, in fact, reduce their expenses. Balance transfer offers from credit cards are also a good way to reduce your interest rate.

3. Refinancing and consolidation

Replacing a loan with another is known as refinancing. Getting a refinance should reduce your interest rate and bring down the time you are in debt. But people more often go for a refinancing option  that provides them with lower EMIs, increasing, however, the time they stay in debt.

4. Categorise your debt

A house loan can increase your net worth over a period of time. This kind of loan gives you tax benefit also. For a businessman, car loan provides some tax benefit. Each one of your debts needs to be categorised based on such factors. This will help us in comparing different loans.

5. Prioritise your debts

After sorting out various loans, you can comfortably prioritise them. This will be based on the interest rates and tax benefits. At times paying off a small loan first can give you a lot of motivation to get out of your overall debt.

6. Creating and executing a debt payoff plan

You need to create a debt payoff plan with different scenarios, so that you can find out how some more savings or a different repayment order will help you to get out of debt faster. When creating a plan, you need to choose one which is comfortable to your attitude. Otherwise, you may not be able to execute it properly.

7. Keep yourself from taking fresh loans

You need to make a vow that you will not be adding any fresh loans until you come out of all your debts completely. Think, for a moment, how you will feel when you become debt free as this will give you a lot of positive energy to come out and stay out of debt.

8. Postpone buying major assets

Buying property or any other major asset needs to be postponed until you get rid of your debt. With your new ownership comes the new - probably large - and unpredictable expense. This can make you deviate from your debt payoff plan and, at times, make you bear unpleasant and uncontrollable consequences.

9. Stop using your credit card

When it comes to using credit cards, there are broadly two kinds of people: 1) who use credit cards responsibly; and 2) who don't. Poeple of the responsible kind repay their credit card dues in full on receiving the bill. The other kind, however, would pay the minimum due amount and carry forward the remaining sum.

If you belong to the second group, you need to stop using credit cards - at least - temporarily. Take out and put your credit cards in a locker. You can start using them again once your financial situation and buying habits improve.

10. Change your spending habits

Being in debt obviously means that you have been living beyond your means. The solution is very simple: spend less and you will get out of all your debt soon. You need to change your spending habits. If you buy things you don't need, you soon end up selling things that you do need. Don't save what is left after spending; instead, spend what is left after saving.

11. Involve your family members

You need to inform all your family members and dependents about your debt status. This way, you will be able to take decisions with much more clarity. Moreover, if your family members know about your debt, they will also change their spending habits and support you in getting out of debt faster.

Consider the example of a postage stamp. The usefulness of a postage stamp lies in the fact that it sticks to one thing till it reaches its destination. Similarly, you need to stick to your debt pay off plan till you get out of it.

Courtesy: K. Ramalingam is a certified financial planner of Holistic Investment Planners

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/your-money/article-11-easy-steps-to-get-out-and-stay-out-of-debt-325166?pfrom=home-business

One habit you should avoid to get richer

Mental accounting is a common money mistake which even smart people commit. Understanding this mistake and avoiding this could prove to be very beneficial.

Behavioural finance experts say that mental accounting works this way: Let us say you have bought a Rs.200 ticket to a movie, but when you show up at the entrance of the theatre you realize that your ticket is lost, do you buy another ticket?

If you are like most people, you would probably think twice. You may still drop down the money, but you will now feel that you paid Rs.400 for Rs.200 movie.

Now let us construct the scenario differently. Let us say you had not bought the ticket yet, and you show up at the entrance to buy your ticket. Then you realize that you have lost Rs. 200 cash since you walked from the parking place, but fortunately, you still have enough in your wallet to cover the cost of the ticket. Do you buy the ticket now? Again, if you are like most people, you may feel upset about the lost money, but it probably would not affect your decision to buy the ticket. Why?

Behavioural finance experts conducted similar experiments. They found that 46 per cent of those who lost the ticket were willing to buy a replacement ticket. On the other hand, 88 per cent of those who lost an equivalent amount of cash were willing to buy a ticket.

Both scenarios are a loss of Rs. 200. However, in the second scenario you separate the loss of the Rs. 200 from the purchasing of the ticket. In the first you consider the cost of the movie as a total of Rs.400 and suffer at the high cost.

This happens because of the psychological phenomenon known as mental accounting.

One of the fundamental concepts in economics says that wealth in general and money in particular, should be fungible.

Fungibility, in a nutshell, means that Rs. 100 in lottery winning, Rs. 100 in salary and Rs.100 tax refund should have the same significance and value to you since each Rs.100 has the same purchasing power at the market. But do you treat them in a similar way?

Mental accounting has enormous consequences in your daily life. It affects how you spend money and how you save. It influences how you deal with losses and windfall gains.

1. How does mental accounting affect you?

The source of the money affects how it is spent.

You tend to dine lavishly with the "gift meal vouchers" given by your company. But you will be dining consciously if you are paying out of your salary.

You are most likely to spend more with credit cards than with cash.

You may consider tax refund as "free money". In actual terms it is your own money. You will not spend tax refunds, birthday gift money or lottery winnings on essential things like utility bills, school fees, paying off your credit card debt. But you will be more than happy to spend the same money on discretionary items such as vacations or a trendy mobile phone.

2. Do not be a victim of 'relative cost'

Assume you are going to a super market to buy a laptop whose price is Rs.40,000. But then you get to know that there is another branch of the supermarket, on ten minutes walking distance in which the same laptop is sold for Rs.39950. Will you walk down to the other branch?

Let us say, instead of buying a laptop you have planned to buy a memory card. The price at the supermarket is Rs.100 and at the other branch is Rs.50. Where will you buy the card?

Most of us will make a trip to the other branch for the memory card but not for the laptop. Because we think that the Rs.50 saved on a Rs.100 item is better than the same amount saved on a Rs.40000 item.

But both situations are the same, as you save Rs.50 by walking ten minutes

Remember that money is money, Rs.50 saved on Rs.40000 laptop is not less money than Rs. 50 saved on Rs.100 memory card.

3. How to face mental accounting and spend consciously?

You can use mental accounting to your advantage by spending money out of your salary. Immediately invest the "free money" like tax refunds, gifted money or any other windfall gains.

Imagine that all income is earned income.

Use the free meal vouchers and other gift vouchers to buy essential items.

Pretend you don't have a credit card. I am not telling you not to use credit cards. I am saying you should stop and think: would I buy this if I was using cash?

4. A successful practical strategy:

You can have two bank accounts, one for the purpose of savings and the other one for spending. Every month you need to set aside some amount for expenses as per your budget or previous experience, and transfer it to your spending account. The balance amount should be kept in savings account.

You need to meet all your expenses including your credit card payment from the spending account. You should not spend from your savings account.

In between, if you receive any cash gifts or windfall gains, deposit them in your savings account. If you receive gift vouchers, then transfer the money equivalent of that voucher from your spending account to your saving account. That is your spending limit will not go up by just receiving the gift voucher. So, you will not use it lavishly and use it only on pre-planned things.

When it comes to money your mind unconsciously plays this trick of mental accounting. You have understood that today. So hereafter, you can avoid this mistake and manage money in a better way.

Courtesy: K. Ramalingam is the chief financial planner at Holistic Investment Planners

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/your-money/article-one-habit-you-should-avoid-to-get-richer-325179?pfrom=home-business