Great news people, I have been thinking a lot about the improvements I want to implement on this site.

In the following weeks you can expect the following:

1. A new look for the site.
This could be a new theme, a new logo or just an enhanced layout for the existing theme.

2. Exciting new and original articles.
I have drafted up some interesting topics on personal finance but they are not yet complete and ready to be posted. So lots of work required here.

3. Round ups.
I have decided to do periodic round ups of the best articles that I read on the blogosphere.

4. Memberships to blogging networks.

I will join some good blog networks in order to get some visibility and spread some link love.

5. A Secret..!
Yes you bet, I have a secret armor under my belt but this one requires quite some time and strategic move to be effective. So till then it remains a secret.

I have been tied up with the upcoming CFA examination and have temporarily stopped working on posts. I will start posting again from the second week of June.

Chase is a good bank and they have decent checking account if you direct deposit your pay checks but I for sum reason have not manged to get the best deals with them and my experience over time has worsened.

Chase Bad experience 1:

There was a promotion $125 floating around  for new checking account customers when I joined but I did not have the coupon with me, I walked in to the bank with one of my friends referrals to make use of it, the banker told me that unless the coupon was mailed to me specifically I cannot use.  I took the banker for his word and only to find at a later day that the banker lied and if I had persisted I could have got that coupon to be used for me. The problem was I need a checking account as I did not have any and wanted to add one in my company for my direct deposit.

Money lost : $125

Chase Bad experience 2:

The banker fooled me in to registering for a new credit card in the name of over draft protection. A credit card application is worth at least a $100 bonus or equivalent for me.

Money lost : $100

Chase Bad experience 3:

I received 2  Bonus tickets to US Opens for moving X amount of money to my savings account with them…! Now before you think how can that be bad, The tickets were priced at $40 each and were reported as  interest on my I 1099. Now I should have been aware of this but the banker did not disclose it.

Money lost : $20

Chase Bad experience 4:

When I moved some money to my chase account the banker upgraded me to a Premium customer which had some benefits but did not disclose any minimum balance requirement. Later when I moved the money the balance fell below the limit and I was fined $25 each time

for two months when I caught this in the bank statement I was furious. I asked them to reverse the fee whihc the rep did not do on the phone, so I had to Visit my bank, the banker only reversed one fee.

Money lost : $25

Chase Bad experience 5:

I before I was given the additional Credit Card by the banker, I already had a CC from Chase, but the terms were not so favorable, so I hardly used it.  I got a male from chase promoting a 0% APR balance transfer for 6 months. I did read the fine print but probably not carefully enough. The fine print was worded as follows. “No balance transfer fee“  (in bold) many other terms and then “Transaction fee may apply as specified in your card member agreement”.  For some reason I did not understand the full extent of that clause and ended up using the balance transfer with the intention of making some interest on my credit line. In the next month report I saw a $75 fee as transaction fee…! On top of it, there was a 13% interest on the transaction fee (which would not be much, but still) and any money I pay would first apply to my lower APR balance. This was the first time I understood the traps Credit cards issuers put in a Card memeber agreement.

Money lost : ~$80

So my Chase experience has cost me $350 till date. No wonder banks make so much money in fees. How much has your bank cost you lately.

PS: I have moved all my balance from Chase and am in the process of closing my accounts with them.

There are many resources like book, websites, courses, newsletters, etc on personal finance that teach you the methods of success in personal finance. These methods may be good and also practical but they may not necessarily be the best for you. You will always have to tweak them to suit your personal situation. No wonder it is called ‘Personal’ Finance and not ‘Generic’ Finance.

Principles are few; Methods are many.

The art is to master the principles and then apply them to your own situation and make your own methods. An opportunity lasts only for a while before it is public knowledge. Once it is known by all, it will quickly vanish; this makes it even more essential that you are always trained in principles not methods.
Here are the simple principles of personal finance:

1.Spend less than what you earn or earn more than what you spend
2.Make your money work hard for you.
3.Prepare for the unexpected
4.Take control of your money, career and destiny.

In some following articles I will walk through how you can apply these simple principles of successful personal finance to your methods.

I have been thinking about this for quite some time and have not come to a conclusion but I would like to share the though process.

Why Disclose:

I can gain the trust of my readers by showing them what I preach is what I follow.

This is very important to me. I want my readers to know what I will talk about is practical and can be followed and in fact I am doing it.

I can get valuable comments from readers which are more tailored to my current financial standings.
Everyone of you have something to contribute about personal finance, the source of knowledge may stem from your personal experiences , ideas or education and we can engage in a constructive discussion which will be mutually beneficial

In the examples I use, I can use my personal finance profile.
I will be more focused ‘on doing it right’ to hold face in front of my readers.

Why not disclose:

Everyone will know how much money I have..!

There is certain amount of comfort that goes with people not knowing exactly how much one you have. It is purely psychological but it exists.

I may have to discuss it with my friends.
Previously I had always dreaded a discussion on how much money one has and I may get a lot of questions and surprises.

My family members may not be cool about it.

Simple, from where I come, you do not carry a badge with how much your net worth is printed on it. This will make my family members uncomfortable.

It is very complex.
Being an immigrant, my personal finance is very complicated, my assets and liabilities are spread across two countries, two currencies.
People may evaluate my decisions purely against the money I have.
I may lose some negotiation power.

With people who know my personal finance standing and may have their own assumptions of what I can afford and I cannot afford.
Well the thought process is still going on, and I will update when I do make up my mind. Let me know what you think in the comments.