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How To Convert PDF Files To Word Docs With A Facebook App?

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8:59 PM Article by Unknown 7 Comments


If you are looking for a free way to convert a PDF to an editable document, my first suggestion would be Google Docs.  But, if you’re an avid Facebook user and you’d prefer something in-house –the PDF Converter (aka PDF to Word) app is worth a look.  It isn’t without its limitations, but the app does what it advertises and only harvests a minimal amount of your Facebook data in the process.
A few things to know before you use an online PDF converter; PDF to Word specifically.
  • There is a 2mb file size limit, you cannot convert larger PDF files.
  • If you use this application it will have access to a small portion of your Facebook personal data.
  • You probably shouldn’t use this service to convert confidential or sensitive PDFs, although the developer states that their cache of your files is cleared every 24 hours – there is no way to be certain of that.

Step 1

Login to Facebook with your favorite web browser and visit http://apps.facebook.com/pdf-converter/.
start converting pdf to word facebook edition

Step 2

PDF Converter (by Canadian based Investintech.com Inc) will request permission to access your Facebook account.  Read over the fine print and then sign your life away Click Allow.
request for permission

Step 3

Now all that is left to do is upload your PDF files.  Click Browse.
PDF to word Facebook browse
Select the PDF file from your computer and upload it!  You can also upload a PDF from the web if you Paste a URL into the File Name box.
upload file pdf to word

Done!

Your PDF file should now be converted, all you have to do is Click the Download button to retrieve your new .doc formatted copy.  You can also copy the download link and send it to a friend, though I’m not sure how long the application stores it on their server (which is hosted by IIS).

download your word document from pdf to word 

 

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All You Wanted To Know About Company Deposits

Monday, April 25, 2011 at 7:53 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments


Company Deposits are simply nothing but fixed deposits in companies that earn a fixed rate of return over a period of time. Company deposits are really down-to-earth products. The influential advantage of the company deposits is its plain simplicity. Company deposit is understood even by the most novices among the investors community.

Have you ever wondered the logic behind why pure vanilla flavored ice cream sells more than any other flavor? Similar logic is just as true when it comes to the company deposits vis-a-vis many other modern investment options.

With the meltdown of NBFCs almost a decade ago, company deposit market had a major slow down, but volumes still remain significant and there are loyal investors who prefer company deposits to other investment products.

Advantages of Company deposits:

v  Assured return.
v  Higher interest when compared to bank deposits.
v  Low risk when compared to stock market investments.
v  Service at your doorstep.
v  Lock in period in most of the cases is 6 months only.
v  If the interest income is less than Rs.5000 in one financial year, then NO TDS.

Risk in Company Deposits:

Company deposits are basically unsecured. That is if the company defaults in repaying the interest or principal, the investor will not be able to recover his capital. As a company deposit holder, you don’t have any lien on any asset of the company, in case it goes into financial difficulties. This makes the company deposits a risky investment option.

Identifying Risky Company Deposits:

One of the important tasks in investment planning in company deposits is to identify the risky company deposits and avoiding them. If you find any of the below symptoms in any of the company deposit scheme, then it is better to avoid such company deposit schemes.

ü  Poor credit ratings like A or lesser ratings.
ü  Companies making losses.
ü  Companies that skip dividends.
ü  Companies that offer higher than 3% to 4% of bank deposit rates.

Checklist for choosing right company deposits:

There are some good investment options in company deposits. Also there are some bad investment options. If you know how to select the right company deposit then company deposits can be really an interesting investment option in your portfolio.

Ø  You need to ignore all the unrated companies and need to choose companies with the rating of AA or higher.
Ø  Choose the company with better reputation within a given rating grade. If you read business papers and magazines periodically, it is not difficult for you to check the credentials of the company.
Ø  Take the help of the qualified financial advisor in choosing the right company deposit. But mind you, there are very few reputed and qualified financial advisors.
Ø  Company deposits need to be spread over a large number of companies in different industries. By this, you can diversify your risk. Irrespective of the rating and reputation of the company, don’t invest all your investments in a single company deposit scheme.
Ø  You need to check on the servicing level and standard of the company. You need to ignore companies that don’t care or care little about issues like sending interest warrants and principal cheques.
Ø  After investing in a company deposit, you need to constantly track the company’s credit rating. The times are uncertain and downgrades are rampant.
Ø  Check the company’s balance sheet for its asset back up, profitability, reserves, existing borrowings and loans.

Every investment has its distinct features and benefits. Likewise each investor has specific risk taking ability and personal needs. Professional investment planning needs matching of the product benefits and features with the financial objectives of the investors. So one need to weigh the various alternative investment options like bank deposits, debt funds vis-a-vis company deposits before making a choice.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.


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Top 8 Most Expensive Cell Phones In The World!

Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 8:31 PM Article by Unknown 3 Comments


The reason cell phones are so expensive is not only purely because of the technology that the cell phones offer, but also because of the accessories that are manufactured to accompany these most expensive cell phones. In contrast to this, many exclusive offers deals on contract mobile phones make even the most expensive mobilecell phone affordable to the average consumer. So, let’s take a look at the Top 8 most expensive cell phones ever made in the world.

8. Nokia 8800 Arte with pink diamonds

Designed by Peter Aloisson, this solid 18k white gold mobile phones have more than 680 phone features in pink and white brilliant colour with diamonds cut totaling over 21.5 carats. Some features of this cell mobile phone is 3.15 MP camera with autofocus and video, music player, Bluetooth and voice memo.

Price:

about $134,000

7. Peter Aloisson’s iPhone Princess Plus

The Princess Plus gets its name from the Princess cut diamonds used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. 180 other diamonds of the phone are brilliant cut. In total, 17.75 carats diamond phone is set in 18k white gold around the lips. IPhone Princess Plus is worth $ 176,400, while the cheaper “Brilliants only” version sold $ 66,150.

Price:

about $176,400

6. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond

The price of this phone comes from the actual state of the art technology and not just because of polished group of stone-but, but that does not mean it does not have the visual appeal. Polycarbonate OLED technology under the skin that covers the entire face give 4 megapixel phone with the screen display limits. A Mirror gives the phone a sleek, futuristic look.

Price:

about $300,000


5. Vertu Signature Cobra


This striking phone so exclusive that only eight ever be made. Jewelry designed by the FrenchBoucheron, the Signature Cobra is made with two diamonds, two emeralds and 439 rubies. For buyers who not that rich, twenty six of the less flashy (read: no rubies) signature Python phones will be available also for only $ 115,000. Both phones have snake on them as a symbol of exclusivity. Awesome.

Price:

about $310,000

4. The Diamond Crypto Smartphone


Created by luxury accessories producer Peter Aloisson based from Moscow JSC Ancort. This luxurious smartphone platinum price comes from the body cover that adorned with 50 diamonds, including eight of the rare blue diamonds. In addition, Ancort logo and navigation buttons are made of 18k rose gold. Built on Windows CE, this expensive cell phone also features a high resolution color TFT display and 256-bit cryptographic algorithm. This expensive mobile phone features SMS, MMS, E-mail and Internet capability, WAP, JAVA support and even media player.

Price:

about $1.3 million


3. GoldVish ‘Le Million’ Piece Unique


The GoldVish “Le Million”, the solid gold, diamond-studded “Piece Unique” is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as both “The world’s most expensive cellular phone” and “The world’s most exclusive cellular phone” at one million Euros (approx. US$1.3 million) per phone and a guaranteed limited production of three pieces. Produced by GoldVish Luxury Communications, The Geneva-based luxury communication company, this expensive phone was designed by Emmanuel Gueit in addition to the Illusion Collection. The phone is made from 18k white gold and set with 20 carats of VVS1 (only microscopic defects) diamond. The phone also features Bluetooth, 2 GB of storage, FM radio, digital cameras and MP3 playback. This expensive mobile phone is available only by special order.

Price:

about $1.3 million

2. Peter Aloisson’s Kings Button iPhone


The Kings Button iPhone is, an amazing jewel decorated iPhone. This time Aloisson has iPhone 3G to play with and apparently a little larger budget. One hundred and thirty eight brilliant cut diamonds line in the side of the phone, but the real prize is the home button from the rare 6.6 carats white diamond.

Price:

about $2.4 million

1. Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme


Stuart Hughes of Goldstriker International is famous for giving expensive devices such as mobile phones and video game console a luxutious touch by covered them with gold and diamonds, and for this iPhone is no exception. The iPhone has a great feature 3GS casing is made of 271 grams of solid 22k gold and scenes decorated with fifty three 1 carat diamond. The navigation button on the Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme is a rare 7.1 carat diamond. It took 10 months to make this incredible mobile phone, and it was packaged in a 7 kg granite box lined in nubuck leather.

Price:

about $3.2 million



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All you wanted to know about Mediclaim Policy

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:29 PM Article by Unknown 1 Comment



Health care costs are sky rocketing day by day. Therefore the need for having a mediclaim policy for you and your dependents has grown. Suppose you have to undergo some medical treatment or need to be hospitalized for certain reason, then a mediclaim policy will be of immense help to you in covering your health care expenses. The reason is Mediclaim offers protection in case of unexpected medical and health care emergencies.

Hospitalization expenses in case of illness, disease or accident will impose a heavy financial burden on individuals and families. This is where the mediclaim policy comes in handy. The mediclaim policy can reimburse the hospitalization expenses or can pay the hospital directly on behalf of you.

A mediclaim policy provides a health cover of certain amount of money. This amount depends on the amount that the insured person was insured for.

The mediclaim policy can be taken for an individual or for an entire family. Some insurance companies allow a discount on the premium if the policy is taken for a family.

Insurance companies have fixed some age limit for medical test. If the individual is below that age, then he or she need not undergo medical test for taking mediclaim policy. If the individual is above that age limit then he needs to go for medical test.

If any pre-existing disease has been found out in the medical test, then those diseases will not be covered under the mediclaim policy for a waiting period of a first few years.

If you have a mediclaim policy from your employer, that may not be sufficient. Employer may cover the employee and not necessarily his entire family members. And moreover these policies are not portable and cannot be individualized if you leave the job. Employer provided policies cannot be transferred to another employer in case you switch your job. Also employer provided policies will give you coverage as long as you are employed. Once you retire you may not be having coverage.

It is really unfortunate that only after your retirement you need health insurance at the most. If you plan to take a fresh policy after retirement, insurance company will not cover the pre-existing diseases at that point in time. Though your employer provides a health insurance policy it is better for you to take a separate health insurance policy at least with a small amount of coverage.

The coverage amount of the health insurance policy need to be decided based on your health consciousness, your family health history, and the class of hospital you choose for treatments.

If you are not health conscious or you don’t do regular exercises or you don’t follow proper diet or you frequently take outside food or don’t go for annual health check-ups then it is advisable to go for more sum insured coverage in your mediclaim policy.

If your family has got any adverse health history like heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, any form of paralysis, or any hereditary disorder then you need to choose higher coverage amount in your health insurance.

If you will be choosing high class hospitals for your treatment then you need to go for higher sum assured. If you will be choosing medium level or low level hospitals then you can choose the coverage amount accordingly.

Also you need to revise your health insurance coverage amount based on the changes in the above factors and the changes in the medical cost. Also the increase in the age needs to be considered for deciding the coverage amount.

The icing on the cake is you get tax benefit under section 80D for the mediclaim premium paid. For senior citizen the limit under this section is Rs.20000 and for others it is 15000.

Most people don’t think about health insurance very often.  But it comes to mind first when a loved one is sick. Mediclaim policy is one of those things everyone knows he or she should take but usually puts off until a more opportune time. Living without a mediclaim policy is like going out on a rainy day without an umbrella or a raincoat.

If you have not covered adequately yourself and your dependents with mediclaim policy so far, then now is the right time to take action. The fact that you are reading this article shows you have decided to stop procrastinating, delaying and have answered the ancient question, “If not now, when?” with “NOW!”.



The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.



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Real Estate Investments Made Simple

Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 9:04 PM Article by Unknown 1 Comment


Gold and Real estate are very traditional investment avenues. Gold has evolved from its traditional investing and found its place in the modern sophisticated investment world via Gold ETFs. Similarly Real estate is also emerging as an investor friendly avenue with less hassle via PMS route or private equity route. Have you ever thought of investing in real estate will one day be as simple as investing in mutual funds? If no please read on….

Real Estate as an Investment:
Buying a dream house or flat to reside ourselves is basically not a real estate investment. Buying real estate with a view to generate income and capital appreciation is considered as Real Estate investments. Real Estate investments can be further classified into residential, farm house, commercial, retail, leisure. Leisure is a relaxation place where one can spend their free time or vacation.
Depends upon his/her risk tolerance and time horizon one can invest in real estate at different risk levels. It can be at the time of converting a rural land to urban land, or at the time of building development stage or in already developed city area.

Real Estate and Risk:
Most often investors assume real estate prices will not fall down and they only go up year after year. It is not so. During the mid 2009 some of the real estate investments were quoting below 30% to 40% from their 2007 prices. Real Estate investments are also prone for price fluctuations.

Real estate Vs Stock market:
Real Estate is a complex and complicated investment when compared to stock market.
Non-transparent: There is no transparency in the price. It is not easy for a buyer or seller of real estate to identify the last transacted price in the same locality. There is no price discovery mechanism.
Illiquid Asset: Selling a real estate is a time consuming process. It is not liquidable easily. There is no organized market for the buyers and sellers to meet.
Impact Cost: Stamp duty and registration charges are really very heavy when compared to the other investment products.
No Regulator: There is no regulator for the real estate participants and intermediaries. Anyone can become a builder. Technical qualification is not mandatory. Also anyone can become a real estate intermediary or advisor. There is no certification or training to be completed before practicing. As there is no qualification requirement for participants as well as the intermediaries, it is very difficult to see best business practices.


Real Estate hassles:
The other hassles with reference to real estate investment are documentation, maintaining the asset without any encumbrances, and genuineness of the title deed.
There are some practical problems with diversification. Normally an investor invests in a real estate in his own locality. It is very rare to find someone in Chennai investing in the real estate properties located at Mumbai, Delhi or Kolkata. Affordability also limits diversification. An investor may not be able to diversify his investments across various cities with Rs.25 lacs or 50 lacs.
It may not be possible for an individual investor to buy a land and develop a viable project in that land and sell it in the market. Managing the project development need some kind of expertise. Even if an individual is able to do it, he will be doing it in his limited ways and means.
Is there a solution for this? Of late yes.

There are some collective investment vehicles. These investment vehicles will be promoted by an investment management company. The investment management companies collect money from investors. Being professionals, they will identify good projects and do joint venture with the project developers. They will be able to diversify across various cities as well as various types of real estate investments such as housing, commercial, hospitality and the like. These investment management companies charge a reasonable management fees.

At times they collect money via PMS route and at times via private equity route. The minimum investment ranges from 10 lacs to 25 lacs. This amount needs to be invested over a period of 3 years. That is they will collect money from investors in 4 or 5 installments. After 3rd year whenever they exit from a project they will repay the principal employed in the project as well as the profit generated out of that project. End of 6th year or 7th year, the investment management company will exit from all the projects.

The advantages of this collective investment vehicle are
• One can invest into real estate without any hassles. All the hassles will be managed by the professional investment management companies.
• One can invest in various real estate projects at a time.
• One can geographically diversify his investments across India.
• One will be able to apportion his total investment into small sums in large projects like township development, Technology Park, industrial estate, health city…
• Cost advantage because of economies of large scale operation

This is really an investor friendly investment vehicle. Apart from the regular stocks, mutual funds and fixed deposit investments investors can consider investing in these real estate products also. This will give better diversification to your overall portfolio. Also Investors need to be careful in choosing such investment options. Background of the investment management company and their transparency levels are more important. Investors can seek the advice of the professional financial planners before investing.
This investment vehicle is in its primitive form only. It still needs to go a long way. As of now there are only a very few companies in India which specializes in promoting collective real estate investment products. But in a few years time these kinds of products will be available from various investment management companies and in different varieties like our present mutual fund schemes.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.


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How To Download YouTube Videos

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 10:36 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments



YouTube has been a popular video sharing site since 2005. We can upload, share and view videos when we are connected to the internet. What do we do to view your favorite videos when we are not connected to the internet? YouTube does not provide a direct option to download the videos. But there are many other applications or browser plug-ins we could use to download the videos and it view it offline. Mostly when we download the videos it will as a .flv file. Its nothing but a Flash Video. So you might need a Flash Player to play the videos or you may need to convert it into other formats.
  1. RealPlayer
    2. This is one of the most popular applications to download videos and save it as an .flv file. Then you can trim the videos, burn it and also to transfer it to your mobile device by converting the videos into compatible formats and share it with your friends. So its more or less a social player. You can find it here
  2. aTube Catcher
    3. Using aTubeCatcher we can catch all our favorite videos. We can save the videos, convert it other formats, and transfer it the mobile devices and also create custom DVDs. It also has a screen recorder. Its one of the most preferred option.
  3. Free YouTube Download
    4. This has most of the features like downloading the videos, transferring it to your mobile devices and convert your videos to other formats. You can download it here
  4. YouTube Downloader
    5. It is used to download the videos, transfer to mobile devices and convert to other formats just like the above mentioned application. You can find the details here.
  5. Ant Video Downloader
    6. This is a tool to download videos and it has browser specific downloaders for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Click here to access it.
  6. 1-Click YouTube Downloader
    7. This is another simple downloader. Once you have installed the application, you could search for videos and download it in FLV format. View the page for more information.
  7. Orbit Downloader
    8. Its a great application for downloading videos. Its a fast download manager and very reliable. Click here to access the site .
  8. VideoSlurp
    9. Its a great application for windows operating system with a built in web browser where you can search for the YouTube videos and download it in one click. The Mac and Linux users can access the VideoSlurp Online downloader where you don’t have to install the application but directly download the videos by providing the link. Click here to download VideoSlurp.
  9. Downloader9
    10. This is a website where you can enter the URL of the video you want to download and Downloader9 downloads it for you in the FLV Format. So there is are no hazzle of downloading the app or installing it. Go to Downloader9.
  10. Videodownloadx
    11. This is also a website like Downloader9, where you can download the YouTube videos by providing the URL for the video. Access it here.

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No Time For Personal Finance?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 7:16 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments

Is lack of time making you go crazy in your attempt to plan your finance?

Does your busy professional schedule offer you time to monitor your personal finance?


Balaji is working for an MNC. Today he has got a deadline for a particular assignment. His day is fully packed. First thing in the morning, he receives a mail from his HR Dept stating that today is the last date for producing proofs for tax saving investments; otherwise a huge amount will be deducted from his salary as tax. He wanted to do some tax saving investments urgently and submit the proof on or before end of the day.

Mahesh is an NRI, working for a software company in US. He has got a couple of crores in his overseas fixed deposits giving a return of 1.50% p.a. Returns are taxable. At times, he thinks that the return what he getting is very low.  He wanted to check up with a professional financial planner in India. He thinks he will contact as soon as his present project gets completed. Like this he has not contacted any financial consultant for the last 3years because of some reason or the other.

Most of the investment decisions are either taken because of some compulsion or urgency or postponed because of compulsion or urgency in some other area of life. This is because we want to complete the urgent thing first not the most important thing. Many important things that contribute to our overall financial objectives and give richness don’t tend to give any pressure on us. Though they may not be urgent, they are the things that we must give importance and carry out immediately.

We act upon things like pressing problems, deadline-driven projects, and official meetings. We don’t give importance to

·       1.  prepare for a meeting with a financial planner;  appraising a financial planner before making investments
·       2.  planning activities like budgeting, children’s future planning, retirement planning;
·       3.  protective activities like taking a term insurance, house holder policy, health insurance;
·       4.  empowering ourselves by upgrading our knowledge with reference to investments

Why we are not able spend time on important things and spend most of our time on urgent things?  Because, we are following a way that focuses on how fast or efficiently we are getting things done. We are not following a way that focuses on why we are doing things.

Take the case of Mr.Balaji. Why didn’t he do his tax planning during the beginning of the financial year itself? Why is he chasing at the last minute? Balaji is much worried about his deadline for assignment than tax planning. As he is making investment urgently, it is difficult for him to choose the right financial advisor and also difficult to judge which one would be the best tax saving option for him. He will be investing with an advisor who can get the investment proof on the same day.

Is this the basis on which we select an investment advisor? Will the relationship of Mahesh and this advisor be a long term one? Will this investment is going to be of any help to Balaji in meeting the higher education expenses of his son after 15 years?

Coming to the case of Mr. Mahesh, he had couple of crores at 1.5% pre-tax return. He could have tripled his returns by investing in an Indian liquid fund which is very safe.  There are far better investment options available for him to choose. But he has settled for 1.5%.

If he could have spent a day or two in carefully choosing the right financial advisor and investment product he could have earned more. The earning opportunity which he missed with his investments might equal to his 6 months or 1 year salary.

He could have generated that passive income equivalent to 6 month or 1 year salary without any pressure from the top management; without meeting any deadlines by just spending a day or two.
We are all working hard for money. Is our hard earned money is working for us or lying in our SB a/c or really growing?

We find a ladder and see there are so many people trying to reach the top of the ladder faster.  Then we also follow the group, deadlines to be met in each and every step; focusing more on reaching the top and finally reached the top. Only after reaching the top, we realize that we have come to a very wrong place or a place which is not worth missing so many things and opportunities in life. This is how the today’s world is.

Nothing wrong in working harder or focusing more on completing the assignment or spending more time on finishing the project  on deadline. These are all good thing to do. But always remember, there are better and best things to do. We keep too many good things ahead of a few best things.

Setting up financial goals; working out a plan for achieving those goals; and implementing those plans are all best things to do in life. You know in advance where you want to reach exactly, by doing this exercise. As we progress, we enjoy the journey. As we reach the place, we really feel happy and we have not missed any important thing on the way.

Procrastination and not giving priority to financial goals and investment plans are costliest mistake one can take. So let us stop procrastinating and give priority to our financial goal setting and investment planning. Then life will be really so beautiful.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

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