Talented? 21 money tips for you

• 1. Never lose control over your assets as long as you live. Think thrice before you give a power of attorney, or write property away even to your nearest and dearest. Relationships can change over time, so its wiser to will it instead.

• 2. Write a will anyway. It's not unlucky. Most people postpone writing one or never do so

• 3. It's mostly men who handle money matters in Indian homes. Change that. Share all financial information with your spouse and encourage her to take charge.

• 4. Not all banks are ‘as safe as a bank'. Your money is safest in the public sector banks. Each year you hear of a cooperative bank or two going down.

• 5. Keep track of your credit card statements and bank accounts. Don't go by bank statements alone: verify each transaction yourself against bills and your own books or computer entries.

• 6. If you buy gold ask to be shown the Bereau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmark. One survey in Mumbai showed that 87% of customers who buy gold that's not hallmarked were short-changed on purity.

• 7. You no longer have to buy gold to invest in gold. Buy into a gold exchange traded fund (ETF) instead. This way you can't be robbed of the gold, you don't have to worry about storing it, and there's no wealth tax or long term capital gains tax.

• 8. Don't fall for very high interest rates when you take a fixed deposit. If someone offers you incredibly high rates, it's only because others don't trust them enough to lend them money. The higher the interest rate, the greater will be your chance of losing all your money. Post Office term deposits are absolutely safe.

• 9. You can now save upto 2.5% commission if you bought mutual funds directly from the fund's office instead of buying through an agent.

• 10. Buying shares online is usually cheaper and faster than buying from a broker. And you get to have more control.

• 11. Initial public offering shares (IPOs) aren't always good or cheap. More than half of all the shares of companies sold in IPOs last year sold well below their offer prices by January 2008. Patience is the key - the stock market may offer you a much lower price.

• 12. You may voluntarily contribute an amount from your salary to your company EPF every month. This way you can away much more tax free money when you retire.

• 13. As far possible don't draw money from your EPF. Keep as your retirement nest egg. Transfer the balance to your new employer.

• 14. Read up about tax deductions. Many, like expenses on treatment of disabled parents, special tax concessions for senior citizens, or donations to certain charities, are often overlooked

• 15. Debit cards that don't require a PIN for shopping are not as secure as those that require a PIN. Anyone who finds it may use it at a shop.

• 16. If your credit card, that is lost or stolen, gets used fraudulently, refuse to pay up for somebody else and contest such charges. The merchant who sold the goods should have checked the signature as per his agreement with the card issuer. In most countries abroad, cards with the same logos as in India offer ‘zero liability' in case of fraud, even if you could not report the loss of a card. Most card companies are not offering this to Indian customers only because you are not questioning such discrimination.

• 17. A zero interest loan is never what it claims. You get no discounts, you pay things like processing fees, delivery charges and service tax. One customer study found that you'll in fact pay as much as 22% more as ‘hidden interest'.

• 18. Make a note of whether your credit card offers accident and disability insurance. Reports say that there are fewer claims on such insurance, because many cardholders are not aware of it.

• 19. Shares can be stolen from your demat account. Check your account frequently. You can have it frozen against any debit, if you don't plan to sell soon.

• 20. If you own shares that pay dividends, a good growth strategy is to reinvest all dividends back into shares. If it's mutual funds, choose a dividend reinvestment plan.

• 21. Systematic investment plan in equities work on ‘rupee cost averaging'. But they don't always give you gains as claimed. However, it makes you invest regularly - a good habit

PS: The above tips have been obtained from reputable sources but their implementation is solely on one's own risk. I sincerely hope you profit from these.