How to avoid paying more for bank services fees/charges

The country’s top banks could end up paying thousands of crores in tax for the free services provided to customers over the past five years. If the Income tax department’s demand is upheld, customers may be charged for many services in future.                                                                                                                    

Steps you can take to avoid paying more to your bank.                               1. Use the ATM wisely

Why: Several banks allow only five free transactions, even at their own ATMs. If you can’t do without cash, withdraw larger amounts at a time to avoid paying more.
You save: Rs 10-20 per withdrawal, Rs 5-8.50 for non-financial transactions.

2. Junk the cheques, switch to Netbanking
Why: Every additional chequebook attracts charges. Transfer funds through Netbanking for free.
You save: Rs 20-150 per chequebook, depending on the number of leaves.

3. Clear credit card bills on time
Why: The outstanding amount will continue to attract hefty interest rates.
You save: 39-42% per annum in interest. Delay of three days could attract charges of up to Rs 750.

4. Take the auto-debit route for card billsWhy: Set up an auto-debit mandate instructing your bank to deduct a minimum 5% of credit card bill on the due date to avoid steep penalty.
You save: 39-42% per annum that would have been levied on the unpaid amount.

5. Sign up for Bill Pay services
Why: Utility companies levy late payment fee on delayed bill payments. Bill pay services or standing instructions to your bank ensure your bills are cleared on time.
You save: Penalties ranging between from Rs 40 and Rs 100, depending on the utility company.

6. Opt for duplicate statements on email
Why: Banks charge a fee for issuing duplicate physical statements or passbooks.
You save: Rs 100

7. Avoid cash transactions at branches
Why: Banks allow 3-4 free cash transactions at branches in a month.
You save: Rs 50-150 per transaction.

8. Maintain minimum balance at all times
Why: Not maintaining the required balance attracts non-maintenance charges.
You save: Rs 10-600 per month.

9. Do not issue cheques when the balance is inadequate
Why: Not only can dishonoring cheques attract charges, it is also a criminal offense under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
You save: Rs 500-750 per cheque.

10. Issue stop payment instructions online
Why: Some banks charge a fee for countermanding cheques through the physical route.
You save: Rs 100-200.

11. Never withdraw money with your credit card
Why: Issuers levy a transaction fee, in addition to interest payable.
You save: 2.5% of the amount withdrawn or a minimum of Rs 300-500.

12. Don’t exceed your credit limit
Why: If your card usage exceeds the credit card limit granted to you, your card issuer will levy a fee for extending this facility.
You save: 2.5% of the over the limit amount or Rs 500.                                           This article is extracted from different bloggers. In case if you want to know more please kindly leave a comment. Thank you for reading our blog

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Top 10 Teenage Entrepreneur Stories To Inspire You

In days gone by, teenagers, who were looking to earn a little bit of cash, didn’t have many options. A local newspaper delivery round, selling homemade lemonade or organizing a garage sale were a few possibilities that offered the chance of some extra dollars. Nowadays though, with the advent of computer technology and especially the internet, the sky’s the limit. Every teenager knows how to check email, chat online, search the web for information for their latest class assignment and look up their favorite websites. Some, however, have gone beyond these basic functions and used the internet and their computing know-how to become teenage millionaires. Past list of the top 10 teenage entrepreneur millionaires would have been full of teenagers with wealthy parents or the latest child prodigies to star in Hollywood movies. These days though, there exists the phenomenon of self-made teenage millionaires. Success for this group of teenagers depends not so much on fortunate circumstances, acting talent or good looks, as seeing a niche in the market and having technological ability to capitalize on it. Any alert teenage can see what sort of application or website would be attractive and useful to those around, but only a few have had the business acumen to find a way to make it a reality. Beyond this, as in any spare of business, marketing is an important aspect. Once again this can be achieved with the help of a good understanding of the internet.

It’s not easy to come up with a definitive list of the top teenage entrepreneur millionaires, a net worth is a subjective and ever changing value, but here’s a list of the top 10 teenage millionaires, who certainly deserve recognition for their achievements.

Adam Hildreth

Adam Hildreth – From the North of England, Adam Hildreth joined together with some school friends to set up, at the age of just 14, the company "Dubit", which launched in 1999 offering entertainment products for kids. Since then it has grown to develop other digital technology for young people, as well as to offer marketing services for those who want to sell kids’ products. By 2004, his net worth was estimated at £2 million. He has since developed other companies in the online field and his wealth has continued to increase.

Ashley Qualls

Ashley Qualls – Another teenage millionaire that started out at the age of 14, she is from Detroit, Michigan. In 2004, she began learning HTML and started a website called "whateverlife.com" to promote her Myspace layouts and HTML tutorials. Gradually, her website became popular and she took advantage of this by joining google adsense to make money from advertising. By 2007, she had 7 million users a month and was able to sell direct advertising spots on her site.

Chris Phillips

Chris Phillips – As a 17 year old from the South of England, he realized in 2002 that the internet was going to get bigger and bigger, so he set up "dot5hosting", a company that offered domain space on the internet. Just a year later, he sold a 90% stake of his business to an American company. It has since grown to offer many services that help people develop an online presence.

Cameron Johnso

Cameron Johnson – From America, he began his business career early. As a child he went around selling vegetables and then moved on to selling greeting cards. With the money he earned, he was able to invest in starting "My EZ Mail", an email forwarding service, followed by an internet advertising company. He has since gone on to develop many other internet businesses.

Fraser Doherty

Fraser Doherty – This time from Scotland, he is an example of a teenage millionaire, who used a more traditional way to make his money. At the age of 14, he learned how to make jam from his grandmother. He began producing and selling jam locally. By tweaking and improving the recipes, he was able to have increasing success with his “Super Jam” brand. In 2007, he struck a deal to sell his jam via a large supermarket chain in Great Britain.

Juliette Brindak

Juliette Brindak – She is another American success story. At the age of 10 she began creating “Miss O and friends characters”. Helped by her graphic designer mother and businessman father, she was able to create a number of characters, which were aimed at being positive role models for girls. Her characters became popular and by 2005, she was able to set up a website based on them. More than 100,000 books using the characters have also been sold.

Nick D’Aloisio

Nick D’Aloisio – Returning to England, we bow meet a self-taught computer programming millionaire. By the age of 12, he had learned programming well enough to be able to launch his own app. In 2011, at only 15 years old, he developed an app called “Trimit”, which condensed long articles into short summaries. A rich investor saw the potential and invested $ 300, 000 in venture capital. This enabled Nick to completely rework his app to produce “Summly”, an app for which Yahoo! eventually paid $ 30 million.

Abbey M Fleck

Abbey M Fleck – From st Paul, Minnesota, she is an example of self-made teenage millionaire, who began before the internet age was up and running. In 1993, at the age of 8, she invented “Makin’ Bacon”, microwavable bacon cooking plate. Together with her father, she founded a company to manufacture the product and by 1996 had obtained patent on the device. It proved a big seller, especially after a successful promotional tour that even included appearances on popular television shows, such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman”.

Jon Koon

Jonathan Koon – A Chinese American from New York, who opened in 1998, at the age of just 15, “Extreme Performance Motorsports”, a company that imported and sold car tuning parts. He bought the parts from Asian suppliers and together with a mechanic upgraded cars. By the age of 16, he had already made a million dollars. His success was partly helped by MTV using business as the main supply for their “Pimp My Ride” show.

Farrah Gray – Once again from America, after a few early business ventures, such as selling body lotion, his success began with “Farr-out Food”. This company sold specialist food products to young people, one of the first being a Strawberry-Vanilla Syrup. The company was started at the age of 13 and within a year had already received order of more than 1.5 million.

The above top 10 teenage entrepreneur millionaires list is just a sample of the many candidates for such a list. Hopefully it gives you a flavor for what can be achieved, even by those of us who are young in years. Remember that life is not just about the money, but that it’s worth living and exploring the plethora of opportunities that are open even to the young in this technological age. In the past, success was often limited to those who had resources and platforms for promotion. Modern technology, especially the internet, is a game change though, as it offers even the simple, underprivileged and unappreciated among us, access to the tools necessary to put into practice our ideas and bring our dreams to reality. Don’t waste your life, but rather invest it in something that matters. Starting today, who knows what you could achieve by tomorrow.

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Monthly average balance (MAB) of an SBI savings bank account is the average of daily balances in the account in a month.

    State Bank of India charges a penalty up to Rs. 100 (excluding service tax) on its savings bank account holders for not maintaining the Minimum Required Balance under its monthly average balance or MAB rules. The fine for not meeting the minimum average balance in savings bank accounts each month is levied on the basis of branch location. This was said by India's largest bank SBI on microblogging site Twitter. That means customers holding savings bank accounts in metro, urban, semi-urban and rural branches of SBI need to pay different penalty amounts for non-compliance. The amount also varies on the percentage of shortfall each month, according to SBI's website. SBI has specified various ranges of shortfall for its savings bank customers according to the four categories of branches.

    For example, if you hold a savings bank account in a metro branch of SBI, you need to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000. Also, if the average maintained during a month comes out to be between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000, which means a shortfall of less than 50 per cent, a charge of Rs. 50 plus service tax will be levied, SBI has said.

    Also, those with a shortfall of between 50 and 75 per cent (MAB from Rs. 1,250 to Rs. 2,500), a fee of Rs. 75 plus service tax will be charged, and Rs. 100 plus service tax for those keeping an average less than Rs. 749 (more than 75 per cent shortfall).

How to avoid fine under SBI's minimum balance rules

    "A regular review of your account will help you to ensure the average monthly balance is maintained and avoid the minimal charges," State Bank of India (SBI) has said on microblogging site Twitter.

How much fine do I need to pay?

For metro customers:

SBI requires its savings bank account customers in metros to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000.

    In case the monthly average balance of an SBI savings bank account holder comes out to be between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000 - a shortfall of less than 50 per cent, a charge of Rs. 50 plus service tax will be levied, SBI said. For those with a shortfall of between 50 and 75 per cent (MAB from Rs. 1,250 to Rs. 2,500), a fee of Rs. 75 plus service tax will be charged, and Rs. 100 plus service tax for those keeping an average less than Rs. 749 (more than 75 per cent shortfall).

Shortfall	SBI charges plus service tax
Over 75%	Rs. 100
50-75%	Rs. 75
Till 50%	Rs. 50

For urban customers:

Shortfall	SBI charges plus service tax
Over 75%	Rs. 80
50-75%	Rs. 60
Till 50%	Rs. 40

For semi-urban customers:

Shortfall	SBI charges plus service tax
Over 75%	Rs. 75
50-75%	Rs. 50
Till 50%	Rs. 25

For rural customers:

Shortfall	SBI charges plus service tax
Over 75%	Rs. 50
50-75%	Rs. 30
Till 50%	Rs. 20

    The charges have been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India and are being levied by banks across the industry "and help us in providing better services to the customers", SBI added.

    After its merger with five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank, SBI has entered the league of top 50 global banks with a balance sheet size of Rs. 41 lakh crore, 2.77 lakh employees, 50 crore customers, over 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs.

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Demerits of using facebook

Facebook is one of the steadfast growing social network nationwide. This is a platform where every user can make registration and create an account for free. Once the account is created, the user can fill different information about him or herself and share content (pictures, text, music, video etc)    with others either public, friends or friend of friends. Facebook is now a social media globally known and it covers about 90% daily activities which users are using more of their time to socialize with other people amidst the distance and lack of time.

Obviously, a trade off is happening between advantages and disadvantages of Facebook. Though, it increases the connection and communication between friends, meet different people across the continent; online community. It also aggrandizes the risk of procrastination and makes it easier for others to stalk a user. The worst part is that, some are actually punished for what they put on their profile and would claim that it was put there only for fun.

On Facebook, harassment is one of the major challenges that devalue or knock off some users. It is a form of discrimination that absorbs any superfluous verbal or physical behavior that would make a person feel humiliated, intimidated or feel offended. On the same note, derogatory comments may be directed to an individual or a group in a chat room which can be referred to as online harassment. This is a result of overcrowded.

Humiliation on Facebook is consort with public failure and a loss of dignity. Humiliation, in another way, is not amusing but deep and atrocious. Humiliation is most damaging as it is brought on by others' bad behavior.

Facebook seems disgusting mostly as people misinterpret comments and many started abusing or criticizing one's post. At times many people may abuse through one's post and feel embarrassed. However, as Facebook is known globally as a source of getting news updates, a situation of the economy, social updates, political updates, business update and much more. Upon all these, most of the news is fake and false just to call the attention of people. Recently, some photos posted on Facebook to claim evidence of some injured government worker in the US which when later investigated further was proved ingenuity. Prior to discovering the photos are fake, it's a discredit to Facebook. Also, Internet fraud uses Facebook as a powerful tool to carry out their unlawful activities. This gives discredit to Facebook.

Facebook - with over 2 billion users has no rules and guidelines on how or what can post on the site. Hence, global debate about the role and ethics of the social media giant needs to be revealed. The research has never seen internal training manuals, materials or flowchart that gives exceptional insight into the blueprints Facebook has used to moderate issues such as violence, hate speech, terrorism, pornography, and self-harm.

Facebook as a community comprises of many different groups which have historically faced discrimination in society. Among is a representative from the Muslim, the Jewish and other communities which engage themselves in religious dialogue and battle through this giant Facebook platform and resulted in threatening and disrespecting.

Different anxiety attack cases have recorded on Facebook as a result of blind dating, online businesses transaction and much more. The anxiety attack usually occurs suddenly and without warning which leads to anxiety disorders.

Conclusively, Facebook is a social platform which user can not deter from intimidation.

There are many risks attached to facebook site which is one of the larger risks. Over one million children were intimidated, threatened and subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during the past year.

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Uses of Cape Gooseberry

   The Cape gooseberry is congenital to Brazil but in the long run became neutralized in the Highlands of Peru and Chile which became identified with the region. In 1770, it was grown in England and was cultivated before 1807 early settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. Hastily, the plant was carried to Australia where it was quickly spread into the wild. Before 1825, seeds were taken to Hawaii and the plants were neutralized on all the islands at medium and little higher altitudes not quite long has the fruit accepted any diligence in the continental US.

   Cape gooseberry is very similar to orange cherry tomato in terms of look and taste like a sweet version of cherry tomato. Outside of Cape gooseberries are paper-like Cape that should be removed before eating.

   Cape gooseberries are a small orange berry as said earlier. It is full of good nutrition and has many health benefits. They are known by various names throughout nationwide e.g Aztec berry, Peruvians, Africa ground cherry, physalis, Peruvian cherry, Inca berry, golden berry or amour en cage. Cape gooseberries are now grown countries like US, UK, Europe, Central America, Egypt, Caribbean, India, South America, Hawaii, Asia, China with Columbia being the major producer. 

   In India, cape gooseberries are growing only in southern states while in north-eastern states this valuable fruit is found in forest.

Ripe

The following are the uses of Cape gooseberry

Lots of Vitamin C - Cape gooseberries contain twice the vitamin lemons. Thus, this brings wonderful antioxidants that help to avoid cardiovascular disease, cancer, and strokes.

Antibacterial - Cape gooseberries extracted in studies kill lots of gram negative and positive bacteria such as Bacillus bacteria, Pseudomonas, and Bordetella bacteria.

Pectin - Cape gooseberries contain Pectin which is a soluble fiber that helps to truth the Gig tract and prevent constipation.

Taste - Cape gooseberries taste something like a tomato with astringency at the end like cranberries.

Contains - Cape gooseberries contain Phosphorus and calcium for strong bones, irons for anemia, zinc for a strong immune system, magnesium for enzyme production, and potassium for water regulation and heart health.

Vitamins - Cape gooseberries also contain Vitamin A antioxidant which is important for good eyesight, immune function, and heal DNA damage and Vitamin B for good mood and vitality.

Powerful Antioxidant - Cape gooseberries have more antioxidants than going berries, apples, pomegranates, and broccoli

Lung Disease - Cape gooseberries have galore of anti-inflammatories which are great asthma. Also, dried berries can be made into a fine and dandy tea that can be taken 3 times a day for long problems.

Diabetes - Cape gooseberries made into tea can also help lower blood sugar. Thus, they contain lots of soluble fiber.

Anti-Inflammatory - Cape gooseberries are very rich in anthocyanins which help with the inflammation - swelling, pain, and redness.

Antileishmanial and Anaplasmosis - Special steroids are present in Cape gooseberries which in studies inhibit the growth of intracellular microbes such as leishmaniasis and anaplasmosis.

Skin Tumors - The roots of Cape gooseberry contains solanoside glycosides and other agents which are powerful agents of malignant skin tumors and carcinomas.  Also, the stems and lead extract also work for treating squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Weight Loss - Cape gooseberries are very low in fat and calories that help in losing weight. 50 calories equate 11 grams of Cape gooseberries.

Cholesterol - As a result of soluble pectin fiber present in cape gooseberries, it lowers cholesterol.

Food - Cape gooseberries can be invented into jellies, jams, cheese, and can be added to salads for a wonderful flavor, also can make into sauces for pasta. Thus, cape gooseberries can be dried and used in just about any dish.

Must Be Ripe - Only eat ripe berries as unripe cape gooseberries are poisonous.

Grows Like a Weed - Cape gooseberries grow well in mud and lots of moisture places, sprawl and extend all over. It can grow 3 feet tall.

Colds, Flues, and Laryngitis - Cape gooseberries can be made into a tea, taking a small quantity of dried or fresh berries and put in hot water, taking this tea 3 times a day can help with colds, flues, and Laryngitis.

Important of Cape gooseberry 

   Cape gooseberry, the berries of Physalius Pubescent L., is a commercial fruit of accurate activity to the world's upscale food industry. This plant cape gooseberry could provide significant health benefits because of their high antioxidant, vitamin minerals, and fiber contents. Also, it is a source of commercial marketing strategies, by this, Cape gooseberries can be taken to other parts of the continent where seems not available. This will be a source of generating money, increase in communication and connection to other communities. Moreover, Cape gooseberry provides health fitness; it lowers cholesterol, very low in fat and calories that help to lose weight.

Thank you for reading my blog...

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How to sell photography and drawings

     Everyone likes to take snaps or draw something and upload it on social media platform without hesitates, don’t you?  If we bought a camera, most of us usually started taking photos like a professional photographer. Even those of us who aren't very good at photography, love to have a go at capturing a few special moments with our cameras and phones. Sincerely, when we observe carefully capturing of Scenes, Landscapes, Portrait, Places, etc. is just a waste of time unless we know the tricks of how to sell our photos.  Yes indeed some photographers are earning real money by selling frames and mementos, but I should disclosed this, since they don’t know how to sell their photography for long-term income, they spent or invest huge amount of money to buy raw materials for making a single frame. As a result, of this market price is higher than the quality of the product.

Anyway, today let me tell you how to earn money from selling your photos for lifetime income. If you have a camera you can start right now, in case if you don’t have let me show you the way so that you can prepare for your next profession. But remember, you should not expect that with this business you will buy a house in one week.

Why don’t you sell your photos online?” Did you capture or drawn those photos just to store in your hard drive? “LOL” I don’t think that you got your camera freely.

     Yes there are several ways you can sell your photos online, but I’ll show you the most legitimate ways without big investment. Some people make money by building up a popular online portfolio of photographs and selling advertising space next to them. Another method is to sell your photos for use on merchandise such as t-shirts, cups and calendars. Moreover, some photographers build up a gallery and sell photographs directly to private clients - or make money from doing photo shoots once their name becomes well known.

 Who will buy your photos?

     There are tons of people who need to use photos and images everyday on websites, in magazines and brochures, on posters and elsewhere - and they are willing to pay photographers for the right to use them.

 Who can sell?

     Anyone who has a decent camera and a good eye for a photo opportunity, even for student selling photographs online can be a good way to make a bit of extra money without a great deal of effort.

     Well, one of the best ways to get started making money from photographs online is by taking advantage of stock photography websites. Those who already have their own camera you don’t need to spend money anymore, but the only thing you have to do is to 1. Sign-up at stock website 2. Upload your photos and 3. Just wait for the approval with humble patient. But before you start make sure that you have read all the terms and conditions of the website so that your photos will not be rejected.

     For your best startup and according to my experiences I’ve selected few most popular stock website. You can register freely.

1.    Fotolia

2.    Shutterstock

3.    Dreamstime

4.     Envato                     

5.    iStockphoto

     Each stock photography website has slightly different rules and guidelines about what photographs they are looking for and what they will be willing to accept. For example, there are strict rules about ownership and copyright issues on any photographs you submit. If there are any recognizable people in your photographs then you will have to ask them to sign a Model Release allowing you to use them in the image for commercial purposes. Similarly, there are rules which will prohibit you from using photographs which contain certain building, logos and brands.

     Also, all of the different stock photography websites have their own commission rates and payment structures, so it's worth taking some time to read the small print to see which stock photography websites would most suit your style of photography - and which will make you the most money.

     But from the above lists of stock websites I would recommend Fotolia for beginners, at the very first target you may not understand the structures of each website properly so try fotolia as your first trial, according to my experience this website is the easiest and most uploads get approved when comparing to other websites.

TIPS

     Here are a few tips and tricks of the trade to help put you head and shoulders above some of the other contributors to stock photography websites:

• Use good keywords to tag your photos and make sure they get found in searches
• Check what your images look like at 100% before submitting them
• Learn from failed submissions. Most websites give reasons why a particular photo was not accepted to their database. Take note and work on improving future photos.
• Touch up your photos with editing software - but not too much!
• Use any blogs or communities on the sites to interact and promote your photos
• Read the onsite blogs of photographers who are selling well on a particular site
• Don't submit dozens of substantially similar photographs
• Use Photoshop or similar software to remove backgrounds from some images
• Join the stock photography website forums and make useful contributions
• Go exclusive if you are happy to work with just one stock photography site
• Add a few photos for free download just to get buyers into your portfolio
• Reinvest your earnings in a better camera to increase your acceptance rate

How you will get paid?

  Usually you will have to reach a minimum threshold/earning of minimum $100 dollars before you can request the money from them. But some website accepts $20, $50 etc. Most of the sites will pay you out by a variety of methods such as Paypal, bank transfer or cheque.

Best selling photos?

     You'll probably have to learn to deal with a bit of rejection at the start of your stock photography career. Many of your photographs could well get rejected, but it may not be because your photography just isn't up to scratch.

     All of the stock photography websites have a very good idea which types of images their customers are looking for - so they won't just accept all of your photos if they don't think many people from their typical user base will buy them.

You aren't going to get many photographs of you and your mates down the pub accepted to stock photography websites - that's just not the sort of thing that people tend to be looking to buy from stock photography websites.

     Many people who purchase photos and images from the stock photography websites are looking for photos they can easily republish elsewhere. Lots of the most successful stock photography can involve very simple images on white backgrounds.

For example, lots of people look for very simple photos or images of dogs or cats which they can Photoshop onto a different background. Quite often, the simpler the photograph, the more successful it will be on the stock photography sites.

Over time, you will start to learn which of your images are selling in the highest volume - and for the most money - so you can start to build up your portfolio in a more targeted way.

     So, guys what are you waiting for get started right now. 

Remember, the earlier you act the faster you’ll earn.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you have any question please leave your comment.

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