Watermelon and the heat

• Watermelon is not only great on a hot summer day; this delectable thirst-quencher is also beneficial for those suffering from conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis.

• Sweet, juicy watermelon is actually packed with some of the most important antioxidants in nature. Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A, notably through its concentration of betacarotene.

 

• Watermelon is also a very concentrated source of lycopene. Also found in olive oil, lycopene is also an antioxidant that helps ease inflammations that cause colds, joint pain and helps prevent cholesterol build up.

 

• For a great summer thirst-quencher, blend chunks of watermelon with a few ice cubes and a splash of lime juice. Serve with a fresh mint leaf.

 

• Because watermelon has higher water content and lower calorie content than other fruits (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories), it delivers more nutrients per calorie which is an outstanding health benefit.

Investing Strategies from Warren Buffett

An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes. “Warren Buffett .Buffett believes that successful investing is about having common sense, patience and independent research. Look into Buffett’s simple, yet intelligent mantras for investing and minting millions.

1. A frugal billionaire Buffett believes in simplicity. He advises investors to take easy decisions. Never buy when you are doubtful. Invest only if you understand the businesses well.

2. Focus on not losing money rather than making it. Don’t own any stock for 10 minutes that you wouldn’t own for 10 years.

3. A proponent of value investing, he believes that one must take decisions on his own. He doesn’t believe in listening to analysts or brokers. The best investing decisions come from one self.

4. Buffett advises to invest in ‘old economy’ businesses, companies, which have been around for fifty years and will continue to have a long innings.

5. We have often heard of people suffering heart attacks when markets crash. Well, Buffett advocates a sound temperament for stock market success.

6. You don’t need to be a genius to succeed in the stock markets. People who can stay cool will succeed in the long run. Always keep in mind the hidden costs, from commissions on active stock trading to high mutual fund fees.

7. Buffett always looks at businesses he can understand; look at the profits in the past, long-term potential of the company, good top level management of the company and companies that have a good value proposition. The strategy is to think about the business in the long term.

8. Invest in businesses with great management. Always keep a track of the management of the company. The top decision makers have a lot to do with the company’s performance.

9. One of Buffet’s biggest strengths is independent thinking. Many people go by what the experts says or what others do but belief in one’s own judgment is the key to stock market success.

10. Patience pays, says Buffet. He says one must not worry too much about the price of the stocks. What’s more important is the nature of business of the company, earnings capability and its future potential.

11. Don’t target just stocks, look at businesses. How a company performs is key to its stock market performance. You must know the track record of a company before you invest in it.

12. Prices keep changing. Don’t get worried by the ups and downs. Investing is all about creating wealth. It’s important to understand the value of a stock than its price.

13. Avoid hi-tech, complex businesses. Look for businesses that are set to diversify and grow.

14. Never be disappointed when markets fall. Take it as a buying opportunity. Buffet says one must have lesser number of investments with more money in each lot.

15. He advises to avoid diversification. Invest in companies with sound business models. Choose a few good ones and stay invested, it will give you the benefits.

16. Doing nothing pays at times! One must not jump at price fluctuations and take impulsive decisions.

17. Don’t get carried away by market forecasts. Ignore market swings and remain an investor with a good business sense.

18. Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Buy when people are selling and sell when people are buying.

19. Make a list of companies, sectors that you find safe to invest in and try to stick to the list.

20. A sound business, strong management, good fundamental and low stock price should be a must-buy.

21. Try to ignore stock charts, says Buffett. They may not give the right indicators. A stock which may have done well earlier may not do so in future.

22. Buffet spends a lot of time on reading and more importantly thinking. Reading helps investors, so spend a lot of time reading about the stocks, companies and markets. A good investor must have a good knowledge base.

23. A good investor also needs to be efficient. Investors may have great capabilities but many do not make use of it. One needs to hone skills to meet the targets.

24. Good investors never rush to make money. They give time, thought and work on investment decisions. The mistakes that others make should be a lesson for you.

How to calculate your inflation

Rising prices take a heavy toll on the finances of families.  So, it is important to get an idea of how inflation has impacted you in reality. Of course, sitting with pen and paper to do this exercise yourself may not give you an exact figure, but it will definitely help to pin down items that have increased drastically and are hurting your budget. 

Regular Expenses

Start with a list of the regular monthly expenses. These would include vegetables, fruits, milk, food items and other items, which make the consumption part of the household budget. Then, there are regular expenses such as, newspapers, electricity, telephone bills, daily conveyance and salaries of maids and drivers. Also, for a family with small children, there will be additional expenses on stationery, books, toys and other material that have to be bought at regular intervals.  There are other expenditures on eating out and entertainment activities. All these numbers, taken together, represent your monthly expenses.

Once you have a fix on these numbers, keep on monitoring them every month, or at least, quarterly. Accordingly, you will get an idea of the expenses you should cut down, if required. 

Annual expenses

Every year, there would be certain expenses that would be a part of your regular outflow. In many cases, people forget to include these items in their calculations, but it’s important to remember that they constitute a very important part of budgeting.

For instance, the tuition fees paid to the school or college or private teachers might be paid once or twice a year. However, if the cost of education is rising constantly, it also becomes a part of your inflation.

Then, there are various festivals, where there would be purchases such as clothes and gold. Yes, it is a bit difficult to budget for them completely, but depending on your previous year’s experiences, you will be able to put some numbers to them.

A point to note is that you will need to break the yearly expenses to expenses per month. Only then you will arrive at the actual expenditure per month. Now with these two sets of numbers, you can start doing the calculations.   

Actual calculation

Now that there is an expense list, you can create a made-for-you index. While the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) gives weights to all the different kinds of items to come to a consolidated figure, you need to simply track the month-wise rise in prices.

However, though it’s the simplest way, there could be some anomaly in it because in some months there is a tendency that prices might shoot up for some time. For instance, during the months of April and May, you might see the electricity bill shooting up because of an extra levy in force. This might give the impression that the charges have increased. But in June, when this figure falls, it balances out the sudden rise.

A better way would be to compare year-on-year, so that the seasonal imbalances are wiped out. The change in the expense, overall, will give the real rate of inflation that is impacting your household.