The Secret of becoming Rich

'The only barrier between you and anything you desire is one simple fact: Your life today is the way it is because of how you think’- this is a conventional wisdom much spelled in the West. In the last write-up, we have shown you some very significant day-to-day savings tips. Now, here, we will show you how best you can maximize your returns over a period of time without taking any risk or compromising with your style of living.

Which bank do you bank with? It may sound insignificant at this stage but if we ask whether you are loosing any interest rate, that may be an important issue. Fixed Deposit interest rates are secured returns in your life and we suggest you to put your FDs intelligently; do not get steered only by the additional new-generation promises by the banks like phone banking facility or a ‘DD at your door-step’. Because, the FD rates vary greatly from bank to bank. Take a look at the following table of FD rates of 3 national banks and 3 new generation private banks.

Bank Name	15 days- 29 days Interest (% p.a.)	181 days-1 yr. Interest (% p.a.)	2 yrs.- 3 yrs. Interest (% p.a.)	More than 5 yrs. Interest (% p.a.)
HDFC Bank	5.00	9.00	9.25	9.25
State Bank of India	5.25	7.00	9.00	9.50
Punjab National Bank	5.00	7.00	9.00	10.00
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur	5.00	7.50/8.00	9.25	10.25
Global Trust Bank	5.50	9.50	10.25	10.50
UTI Bank	5.00	10.00	11.00	11.00

Now, the frequency of compounding also varies from bank to bank. For example, frequency of compounding for HDFC bank and Global Trust bank is quarterly (4-times a year) whereas for some other banks, it may be bi-monthly (6-times a year) or annually (once a year).

Consider this case: With an FD of Rs 50,000, for a period of 10 years, you can earn Rs 16,000 more if you prefer Global Trust bank to HDFC bank. In other way, you are loosing your interest if your FD is with HDFC bank. How? With the given condition, the maturity value in HDFC bank is Rs 12,4772.21 and the maturity value in Global Trust bank is Rs 14,0960.29 and there is a clean gain of Rs 16,188.08.

Therefore, we suggest you to choose your banking partner intelligently and increase your secured returns. This is clearly understood, when the FD amount is high, the scope for your free earning is also high if, and only if you are ready for intelligent banking.

Are you a credit card holder? If so, you are loosing at least Rs 300 (ICICI True Blue- almost lowest annual fee ) in a year as an annual fee for keeping the card with you. Additionally, you are carrying a big risk of over-spending unintentionally and may not be able to pay your debt on time. What could be the result? A hefty credit burden of at least 30 percent interest rate in a year.

Consider this case: You have taken a credit card, which gives you high mobility and convenient way of spending (you are also proud to be a dignified credit card holder). You made a purchase of only Rs 2000 using this card and you plan to clear the debt in three installments in a span of three months as Rs 500, Rs 1000 and Rs 500. In this case, you need to pay Rs 51 (approximately) as an interest. And thus, your cost of keeping the credit card is minimum Rs 351 in a year.

Remember, the actual figures are too high in average as people look for benefit oriented cards where annual charges range between Rs 700 - Rs 1200 and they normally plunge into a spending spree well beyond their means - caught into a debt-trap.

Consider this case: With a present investment of Rs 500 (you can open a PPF account with as low as Rs 100), if you wisely spend your Rs 351 annually, you will earn Rs 13,700 in 15 years. Thus, in one way, you spend Rs 4212 in 15 years and get nothing. In another way, you spend Rs 4212 in 15 years and get Rs 13,700. And there is a clean gain of Rs 9,488.

Therefore, we suggest you to prefer a debit card over credit card. Debit card is as convenient as credit card to pay your purchase bills without carrying loads of cash in your wallet. In one way, it is your ATM card on the move and it also helps you to become disciplined and controlled in your spending.

Let us understand some basic lessons at the end; number one - there is no easy way to becoming rich and number two - whenever you would feel impatient in the course of becoming rich … breath the first lesson. Don’t you think, the above lessons of making Rs 25,000 is actually a free lunch for you. That is right, becoming rich is an art rather than a matter of fate!