Financial Wellness At Workplaces: Why It’s Critical

The role of financial wellness in organisations is undeniably of utmost vitality. Complex organisational structures and modern corporate lifestyles often heighten stress levels among employees. Stress is now ranked as the top lifestyle risk factor, with more serious repercussions than obesity and physical activity. And financial concerns of individual employees are the biggest factor impacting health and wellness.  

A recent survey by PWC concludes that 61% of working adults experience financial stress, 52% of employees feel that financial stress hampers their work productivity and 28% reported distraction from work as a side effect of personal financial problems. Either the employees are highly uneducated to plan their investments and savings or the employees face dissatisfaction with their financial status and financial difficulties.

A Tower Watson report suggests that 72% Indian employers expect greater focus on Health and Productivity (H&P) in the future, and believe that an organisation’s health and productivity effectiveness is directly related to its financial success.

Financial status and financial planning, once overlooked by most organisations, is gaining momentum and being recognised as a major factor that directly impacts employees’ morale and stress level. Today a large chunk of Indian firms recognise human resource as the most dynamic yet essential element that could yield them revenues and success. A financially stable and sound employee is considered as a hallmark of productivity, engagement and sheer focus.

Improving financial wellness of the employees can be fruitful in several ways – like healthier employees, lower turnover rates while raising employee satisfaction, reduced absenteeism and improving the employer’s brand. The approach can be holistic and inclusive by guiding every employee towards action through financial wellness program.

These financial programs seek some basic objectives, such as:

  1. Educating the workforce on personal financial management.
  2. Setting long term plans regarding future financial goals.
  3. Reducing the overall stress levels for better productivity and satisfaction.

‘Globally, companies with most effective H&P programs have 34% higher revenue per employee.’ ~ Towers Watson report

The Towers Watson report further states that focus on H&P in India is growing and is the highest in the Asia Pacific region. 96% of the employers feel H&P plays a moderate to essential role in an organisation’s health strategy. Already, 48% of the Indian companies already have a health and wellbeing strategy in place, while 44% more have such plans in the pipeline. The primary goal should be on tangible improvement in employee well being by initiating and implementing a robust health strategy rather than copying the existing popular ones.

How financial wellness programmes can bring greater productivity

A number of programmes – such as biometric screening for health risk assessments, onsite health programs, cash as an incentive to encourage program participation, gifts and flex spending credits, sponsoring individual or team competitions – take care of encouraging employee participation and increasing employee interaction. Employers across India also indulge in offering some form of financial guidance and education concerning estate planning, budgeting, debt management, wealth creation, risk management and tax assistance.

Financial wellness is a well thought out and structured program, or set of programs, designed to assess employees’ current financial health and improve their financial behavior while also impacting business outcomes.

The recent financial depression across the globe and fluctuating economic conditions call for such programs as sine qua non to retain employee attention and interaction. There are several advantages of such programmes:

  1. Improved physical and mental health of the employees, with employees being less prone to financial stress.
  2. Increased employee retention and engagement due to lower absenteeism. The Towers Watson report suggests that a company having a wellness programme for its employees has 1 less leave taken per employee each year.
  3. Productivity is enhanced since employees no longer face financial hassles. They’re better able to manage their private and professional life.
  4. An overall positive effect and benefit for employers and organisations is exhibited in long term reduction in health care costs, with a healthier workforce granting greater productivity.
  5. For the senior employees, these programmes create more affordable retirement opportunities.
  6. Opening up career advancement opportunities for younger workforce.

With a clear understanding of the nature of business, work environment and public relations, organisations can shape their financial infrastructures and salary structures to frame fruitful employee financial wellness programmes, that ensures corporate commitment, employee presenteeism and loyalty for the organisation.

Month-end cash crunch? Forget the blues with EarlySalary

Millennials’ lives are not contained by their basic salaries. As a result, a cash crunch at the end of the month isn’t uncommon. Borrowing from parents could be an option, but that is usually the last resort. Borrowing from friends is an option too, but they’re likely to be in a similar economic condition. Infact, it’s not just millennials – almost every salaried person finds themself at the cusp of an economic crisis at the end of every month. The reasons can be varied. For some, the salary might be a week or two late, there may be a medical emergency in some cases. Even festival months can leave one high, but dry in the pockets.

For those finding themselves out of money at the end of the month, EarlySalary comes as the ideal respite during such tough times. EarlySalary’s cash advance offers loans of 5,000 INR to about 2 lakh instantly. The motivation behind such a model of borrowing was to provide an alternative for banks – which are often extremely selective in their lending, leaving many without realistic cash assistance. Considering banks do not give short term loans, EarlySalary is the ideal solution to tight monthly budgets. With 1 million downloads already on the Play Store, the successful of the venture is already obvious.

The new-age online platform
Earlysalary is a new age online platform, here to revolutionise the loan system in India. It uses a social credit system for evaluating the requests of it borrowers.

While signing up for the app, the user has to link his social media accounts – like Facebook, Linkedin etc – allowing the portal to get an authentic look at their profiles. It is recommended that the profiles be regularly updated as it will help generate a better social score – in turn easing the process to obtain a loan.

Additionally, if your credit score is good and repayments are on time, Earlysalary allows as many loans as you need in a year, with only a 5 day gap between two loans.
The application process is also simple as it seems – anyone can apply for a loan from within the comfortable confines of their home. After the first loan, all subsequent applications for borrowing are usually processed within minutes.

Akshay Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, adds, “coupled with a fast and secure application process, lightning speed decision making capabilities and precise data analytics, EarlySalary aims to ensure that the loan you apply for, is available as soon as possible.”

When are you getting started?
Earlysalary.com has a range of solutions – from direct cash to your bank, to school fees to be paid in EMIs, and even transfers to ecommerce wallets such as Amazon’s. Earlysalary credit can also used to pay for shopping on Big Bazaar and other portals. It honestly can’t get easier than this if you’re looking for that extra salary at the end of your month. Get your salary advance now!

How to Improve Your Credit Score In 5 Easy Steps?

Credit scores, commonly called CIBIL scores, [Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited] are a crucial parameter that lenders evaluate before approving personal loans and credit cards. As per the RBI’s mandate, all banks should check the CIBIL score of every loan/credit card applicant at the time of evaluation. A poor CIBIL score reflects poor credit management skills, and makes you an undesirable borrower.

Fibe understands that you should be in complete command of your finances. To help you with this goal, we have listed 5 simple steps to improve credit score:

  1. Timely credit payments: Slacking off on bill payments can lower your credit score. Missing deadlines may cause a significant drop as it indicates that you are not a responsible borrower. There is no quick fix to this, because credit scores reflect credit history, so a late payment could affect your report for years.
    Pay bills, including but not limited to, credit card payments, rent, utilities and other bills on time for a hassle-free future lending experience. Another way is by limiting your card spending to 50% of the limit or conversely increasing your card spending limit. Spending more than 50% of your card limit signifies that you might not have enough to repay your debt obligations in future.
  2. Lower balances: Remember that you should spend only as much as you can repay within the billing date. Pay off your debts as soon as you can and keep card spending on the lower side. Another way to lower balances is by keeping the credit utilisation ratio up to 30% or less.
    Lower balances – which include unpaid dues on loans and low or zero balances on credit cards can positively reflect on your credit score. This can also help you manage your finances better.
  3. Retain your old credit card account: You may have to switch to newer cards for various reasons. However, changing accounts isn’t the best of ideas. If you have a credit card account that is well managed, it is better to retain it for long as longevity of such an account can increase credit score. Good repayment history reflects your credibility as a lender.
  4. Report and resolve inaccuracies: If you discover any discrepancy in credit report, appeal for clarification if you have a valid proof to support your point. Disagreements and errors like typographical data entry errors or software errors can occur, so you’ll want to get them rectified at the earliest to avoid future trouble. The appeal for rectification must be addressed within a timeframe of one month (30 days) by the lender or financial agency/institution. Ideally, you should not apply for a fresh credit until old credit score disputes are resolved.
  5. Use a secured card: Credit score can increase by using a secured credit card which is offered by many Indian banks such as ICICI Bank, Citibank, SBI, Axis Bank etc. These cards are issued against a fixed deposit of a nominal amount. Timely balance payments can increase credit score. So if due to some circumstances you default on payments, your bank will immediately liquidate the FD against which you have received the card and the debt will be repaid. This option is ideal for those with low credit scores or those with no credit history. It can improve your credit story and gradually, increase your credit score.

Fibe Credit Score Analyser helps you to compare your credit score against Fibe’s best borrowers and understand where you stand. You can get to know the impact of your credit behaviour easily and tips on actions that can help you boost your score.

Head to the Fibe App today and begin your journey for better credit health!

FAQs on improving credit score

How can I raise my credit score in 30 days?

It takes at least 6 months to increase your credit score in general. While most lenders report repayment behaviour and other facts about your credit history to credit agencies every month, boosting your credit score can take longer.

What is the fastest way to improve credit?

The fastest ways to improve your credit score is by:

  • Increasing the credit limit on your credit card and using up only 30% of it
  • Correcting errors in your credit report
  • Clearing existing debt

How can I boost my own credit score?

You can increase your credit score by paying your dues on time, decreasing your credit utilisation ratio, paying off existing loans in full, not applying for too many loans simultaneously and keeping your older credit card accounts active to increase the length of your credit history.  

What are 3 things that will raise your credit score?

The 3 most important things to increase your credit score are making timely payments of EMIs and credit card bills, using less credit from available limits and showcasing experience with a mix of credit instruments.

Is there a way to update your credit score faster?

While there is no way to update credit score quickly, you can boost it by paying off any existing debt in one shot if your finances allow it. You can also get your credit card limit increased by talking to the issuer. This helps to decrease your credit utilisation ratio.

How to reset your credit score?

There is no way to reset your credit score as it is based on your credit history. However, you can increase it with tips like being diligent with repayment and paying credit card bills on time.

How can I get a 700 credit score in a month?

Improving your credit score in a month is usually impossible, but you can dispute inaccuracies in your credit report and clear your loans to boost it quickly. You can also pay off any existing credit card balance to increase your score quickly or get your limit extended.

Emotional Intelligence for Workplace Leaders

By: Sudhir Dhar, Director – Group CHRO, Motilal Oswal

Emotional Intelligence is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own intelligence related to emotions and also respect other people’s emotions and use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.

Importance of EI in organizations
All matured organizations today are embarking or have already been on a journey to make themselves more emotionally intelligent as it has been seen that an organization’s collective EI has an impact on the bottom-line. One of the strongest arguments for the economic advantage of EI in organizations is given by Jac Fitz-Enz, who is known for his extensive work on “the human asset concept” and “human capital ROI”. He has analysed a data of about 600 organizations, including quite a few in India, selected for profitability and other proxies of performance. He identified similar/common key practices in managing people. These are similar with the emotional competencies that symbolize top-performing professionals and thus concluded that EI is a significant factor contributing to their performance.

Building EI in organizations
EI can definitely be developed. However, the L&D practices at most organizations are not prepared for it. It requires an engagement of our emotional habits. Changing habits such as learning to approach people positively instead of avoiding them, to listen better, or to give feedback skillfully, is a more challenging task than just adding information.

Motivational factors also make it more difficult and complex than cognitive learning. It often involves ways of thinking and acting that are more central to an individual’s identity. The prospect of needing to develop greater emotional competence is not easy for us to take. Thus, it is more likely to generate resistance to change.

A systematic and committed approach is necessary to build emotionally competent organizations. A strategic cycle of assessment – learning – practice – feedback over time will enable organizational members to build competencies that can help develop high performing leaders for the organization.

According to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist who helped popularize EI, there are five main elements of emotional intelligence:

Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills

The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence goes.

1. Self-awareness
If you’re self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you’re in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, and it means behaving with humility.

So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

Keep a journal – Journals help you improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.
Slow down – When you experience anger or other strong emotions, slow down to examine why. Remember, no matter what the situation, you can always choose how you react to it. (Our article on Managing Your Emotions at Work will help you understand what your emotions are telling you)

2. Self-regulation
Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.

This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also covers a leader’s flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.

So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

Know your values
Hold yourself accountable
Practice being calm

3. Motivation
Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.

How can you improve your motivation?

Re-examine why you’re doing your job
Know where you stand – Determine how motivated you are to lead.
Be hopeful and find something good – Motivated leaders are usually optimistic, no matter what problems they face. Adopting this mindset might take practice, but it’s well worth the effort.

4. Empathy
For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else’s situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.

How can you improve your empathy?

Put yourself in someone else’s position
Pay attention to body language
Respond to feelings – You ask your assistant to work late – again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you’re just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social skills
Leaders who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They’re just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they’re expert at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They’re rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they don’t sit back and make everyone else do the work: They set an example with their own behavior.

So, how can you build social skills?

Learn conflict resolution – Leaders must know how to resolve conflicts between their team members, customers and vendors. Learning conflict resolution skills is vital if you want to succeed.
Improve your communication skills – How well do you communicate
Learn how to praise others – As a leader, you can inspire the loyalty of your team simply by giving praise when it’s earned. Learning how to praise others is a fine art, but it pays.

To be effective, leaders must have a solid understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. The better a leader relates to and works with others, the more successful he or she will be. Take the time to work on self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Working on these areas will help you excel in the future!

Want to reduce your taxable income to Rs 5 lakh? Here’s a list of all deductions you can claim

The Interim Budget 2019 introduced some goodies for those earning below INR 5 Lakh per year. So, if your annual gross income ranges between INR 6 to 11 lakhs, you can now try and claim certain tax deductions in order to reduce your taxable income. With the low and middle income group in mind, the Interim Budget 2019 put forth a proposal under Section 87A on full income tax liability for those earning up to 5 lakh taxable income for FY 2019-20.

Before we begin, a quick primer on income tax – which is calculated as follows:
* The sum of all sources is added up to calculate gross total income
* Addition of deductions and other exempted allowances are subtracted
* The net result is termed as the taxable income

It is the above resulting figure that decides the 100% tax rebate as per the 2019 Budget proposals. Now, let’s move to the deductions available (to most individuals) under the Income Tax Act:

1. Income Tax Deductions of Investment under Section 80C
A popular Income Tax Deduction method lies under Section 80C, that allows investments in specified instruments.
These can include:
PPF accounts
Tax Saving Mutual funds
Tax Saving Fixed Deposits
National Savings Certificate
Repayment of Principal on Housing Loan
Premium on Life insurance policy
Equity Oriented Mutual funds
Contribution to Employee provident fund

2. Income Tax Deductions for contribution to pension funds under Section 80CCC and 80CCD
These are income tax deductions which allow payments (of any amount), helping in the initiation of annuity plans of any insurance company receiving pensions. The person is allowed a deduction for the same amount paid under Section 80CCC.
If the person makes the contribution to a notified pension scheme of the Central Government like the National Pension Scheme (NPS), they too are allowed a deduction under Section 80CCD.

3. Income Tax Deduction for Interests on Savings Account under Section 80TTA
A deduction of Rs. 10,000 under Section 80TTA (Chapter VI-A) can be claimed from the interest earned on your Savings Bank Account. This interest income is added under ‘Income from Other Sources’ and then a deduction is provided.

4. Income Tax Deduction for Interests on House Loans under Section 24
Under Section 24, a person with any home loan is allowed to claim deductions for the interest levied on it. It is vital to understand that the deduction is for the levied interest amounts, and not for the paid ones.
Furthermore, under Section 80C, the principal amount of Home Loan repaid is also allowed a deduction.

5. Deduction for Investment made under an Equity Saving Scheme under Section 80CCG
Also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, this income tax deduction is allowed to all who invest in listed shares or listed mutual funds in a given financial year. The deduction claim includes up to 50% of the amount invested. This is also subjected to a maximum of Rs. 25,000 only.
It is also important to note that this deduction is only applicable for first time investors with a lock-in period of 3 years from the date of acquisition.

6. Deduction for payment of Medical Insurance Premium & Health Check-up under Section 80D
If a person makes any payment for a medical insurance premium either for themselves, their spouse, or their children, they are allowed to claim an income tax deduction for it under Section 80D. This deduction is dependent on whether the individual insured is a senior citizen or a non-senior citizen.
Further, if any amount has been paid for preventive health check-up, deductions are allowed for them as well.

7. Income Tax Deduction for Disability under Section 80DD and 80U
Disabled individuals are allowed deductions under Section 80DD. Dependent family members of disabled persons are allowed deductions under Section 80U. These disability deductions are also defined in the Income Tax Act.
Income Tax Deduction for Treatment of Specified Diseases under Section 80DDB

8. Income Tax Deductions are also provided for treatment of specific diseases for individuals with the disease or for those dependent on the diseased. The deduction is allowed for the actual amount paid for the treatment or a minimum amount of Rs. 40,000 or higher.

9. Income Tax Deduction for Interest on Education Loan under Section 80E
A person is allowed to claim an income tax deduction under Section 80E for the Repayment of Interest on Home Loan taken for Higher Education of Self, Spouse or Dependent Children.
However, it is necessary to understand that this deduction can be claimed only for the repayment of interest on education loan and not for the actual principal amount of repayment. An advantage of this deduction is that there is no maximum limit on the amount to be claimed.
This Deduction is allowed for all Education completions in India as well as outside India.

10. Income Tax Deduction for Donations under Section 80G, 80GGA, 80GGB, and 80GGC
A person can claim income tax deduction for any donation made during the given financial year.
Deduction under Section 80G is a general deduction while the deductions under Section 80GGA, 80GGB & 80GGC are specific deductions. Section 80GGA includes Donation for the purpose of Scientific Research or Rural Development whereas Section 80GGB & Section 80GGC include donations towards all registered Political Parties of the government.

11. Income Tax Deduction for Rent under Section 80GG
If salaried employees who pay house rent, and have no deduction claims of rent (like the HRA exemption) under any other Sections (of the Income Tax Act), then they can claim a deduction under Section 80GG.
Deductions are key income saving tools. With the help of such deductions and exemptions offered by the government itself, there exists a substantial chance of reducing your overall tax payments and maintaining your acquired incomes.

Financial Wellness in India and the Technologies Aiding It

There’s no stress like financial stress. Money plays a very important role in our lives and not having enough money could disrupt our health, both physical and mental. Not to forget the impact it would have on the performance at the workplace. In the light of increased workload and pressure, employers are now taking the financial wellness of their employees very seriously.

What is Financial Wellness?
Financial wellness refers to the overall health and stability of an individual in monetary or economic terms. It plays a key role in keeping individuals healthy and happy, and an increasing of companies are making it their top priority today. The average worker today, before even starting his job typically brings with them a huge debt in terms of college loans and personal loans that need to be paid off.

Organisations have now begun taking an active interest in improving the everyday financial situation for their employees. This need not be directly in the form of money. Food vouchers, sponsored trips or even simple spa and movie tickets are given out regularly as morale boosters, and they’re working.

How is Financial Wellness implemented and what are the technologies aiding it?
Ever since the onset of online wallets and digital payments, organisations have found it easier to give out benefits and bonuses. Sodexo meal coupons for example, have been adopted by almost all major corporates and are accepted at almost every eating joint in the country. The result? Flexible meal plans plans, more variety for lunches, and increased consumer spending – often resulting in higher happiness and engagement levels. Sodexo coupons are a win-win situation for both the employers and the employees as it saves them a large amount of money that would have otherwise been deducted as tax. The concept has become extremely popular and Sodexo is now the most widely accepted meal card.

Paytm too has rolled out a food wallet feature that is competing head to head with Sodexo, with similar features and benefits. Employees can now eat at KFC, PizzaHut, Burger King, or Taco Bell, while the Paytm food wallet also allows them to carry out their monthly grocery shopping at Big Bazaar.

Companies are also issuing corporate credit cards to reimburse any excess expenses carried out by the employee for the organisation. This could include travel expenses and client meals. Several banks, including State Bank of India, and ICICI Bank have extended their support to a prepaid card model. Expense management brand Happay has also created prepaid cards for business purposes, so that employers can get their money reimbursed easily.

Multiple credit-based companies are also trying to ease the financial pressure of employers and providing loans and salary advances without any added expense.

AmazonPay and FuturePay have partnered with EarlySalary in order for you to shop at the end of the month, without the impending thought of paying immediately. Another app – Simpl, allows people to collect all their online bills so that they can pay the amount in full at the end of the month.

EarlySalary is pioneering the concept of a salary advance to the mass market:

The model focuses on an instant salary advance that lets you pay off all piled up bills, but extends to far more uses – for example, you could splurge it on that dress you have been eyeing for a long time.
Users have a dynamic borrowing limit, depending on their needs, where they can pay back the money in equal monthly installments (EMIs).
Your child’s school takes only bi-annual payments? No problem, the EarlySalary School FeES feature allows you to pay off the entire amount in one go through a salary advance. The borrowed money can be paid back in installments without any additional charges.

Financial Wellness Is Crucial
Financial wellness directly impacts employee productivity. It isn’t rocket science to guess that stressed employees will not perform optimally at the workplace. No surprises then that organisations are also encouraging employers to take meditation and yoga classes. Some companies even offer to reimburse a part of their employee’s gym fees as a sign of encouragement and support. Once employers start promoting and helping with financial wellness, employees interaction and engagement sees an increase. Then there’s a host of other benefits:

Employer costs, such as medical expenses reduce.
The average retirement age also increases if you’re dealing with healthier employees.
Fewer work days are missed if a financial wellness plan is in place.
Perhaps most importantly, low stress on employees lowers attrition rates as well.

Financial Wellness is a top concern for most companies today, with employers trying to fight the financial stress and burnout of their employees head-on. From monthly bonuses and team outings to family and child support, companies have come a long way on financial wellness is concerned, and this would not have been possible without the tech easing the whole process.

5 Reasons a Salary Advance is All We Need

Among the many reasons for salary advances are the added expenses. But that’s not all where salary advances can prove to be useful. For instance, the rising costs may lead employees to borrow money from home or live a very frugal lifestyle towards the end of the month. But by getting a salary advance, they can avoid this.

A salary advance involves paying an employee a part of his pay in advance and making up for it in future salary payments. As such, opting for this has many benefits – from quick access to easy repayment. Read on to know more. 

Benefits of Salary Advance

Here’s a list of pros you stand to enjoy when you opt for this facility:

#1 Convenient and Flexible Way to Access Funds

Taking a loan from a bank can involve lengthy application and approval processes. In comparison, a request for a salary advance is much simpler and easier. Not just that, you get to enjoy flexibility in terms of amount and interest rates with advance salary adjustment.

Salary advances take convenience to the next level as lenders deduct the repayment amount from your future payslips. Moreover, since the minimum amount for salary advance is quite low, you need not borrow any hefty amount if not needed. 

#2 Great for Unexpected Emergencies

Expenses for treating sickness, hospitalisation, or other emergencies can burn a hole in your pocket. While you may think to liquidate your investments when such a situation arises, you don’t have to. Instead, you can request a salary advance and cover the costs easily without losing your assets or savings. A salary advance also allows you to pay for any unexpected big-ticket bills, be it credit card payments or expenses for your vacation. 

#3 Easy Repayment Modes

As opposed to personal loans and other lending options, salary advances offer flexible repayment schedules. Since they generally align with your payday, problems like inadequate cash during the repayment period do not arise. As such, seamless repayment is one of the reasons for a salary advance request. 

#4 Quick Disbursal

Lenders also sanction salary advances quickly and disburse the funds as quickly as possible. On the other hand, the approval and disbursal of traditional loans may take weeks. Hence, a salary advance can be an ideal option if you wish to secure funds quickly.  

#5 Low-Interest Rates

As compared to bank loans, salary advance loans have lower interest rates. This allows you to save considerably on interest payments. In addition, they only require you to pay interest on the amount that you withdraw and utilise.

Why Choose a Salary Advance Loan?

Here are the reasons why employers must opt for a salary advance loan from Fibe:

  • You can implement it without any cost or liability
  • It allows you to attract top talent and reduce employee attrition
  • It only requires minimal tech integration
  • Salary advances reduce financial stress and increase productivity

Here are the reasons why employees should get a salary advance from Fibe:

  • You can get a salary advance of up to ₹5 lakhs
  • The repayment period ranges between 3 and 36 months
  • It offers a reduction benefit of 0.5% on interest rates
  • Fibe also offers free financial guidance sessions from experts

In case you cannot get salary advances from your employer, you can always get an instant loan from Fibe. Apart from the hassle-free online loan application, you get to enjoy a loan amount of up to ₹5 lakhs. You also get affordable rates, zero foreclosure charges, flexible repayment and more. Download the Fibe instant loan app or visit the website to apply. 

FAQs on Salary Advance

How to get a salary advance?

Getting a salary advance from Fibe is simple and instant, provided that your organisation offers this facility. If yes, then all you need to do is follow a few easy steps:

  • Check for a banner on your CRM portal or an email from your HR with a link
  • Click on the link and apply through the Fibe App or the official website
  • Register with your mobile number, enter your basic details and upload KYC documents
  • Select the loan amount, choose the repayment tenure and get an instant approval

How does salary advance work?

If your organisation provides this facility, then you can access your salary at any point through a salary advance. With Fibe, you can get up to ₹5 lakhs directly to your bank account with flexible repayment tenure. You can also use the money without restrictions or limits.

What is a pay advance?

Salary or pay advance refers to the same financing concept. They just act as synonyms for each other.

What is the rule for advance salary?

While some organisations provide up to 50% of an employee’s net salary as advance, others may provide up to 80%. They will then deduct the amount from your future payslip.

How many times can I take salary advance?

In general, you can make up to 3 requests for a salary advance. However, this depends on your employer and the lender with whom they have tied up. 

What is a good reason for a salary advance?

You can take a salary advance for myriad purposes like:

  • Financing medical bills
  • Making rent payments
  • Paying credit card bills
  • Meeting vacation expenses

Holiday on A Budget: 5 Tips for Making Your Holiday Affordable and Still Enjoyable

Holidays are often an expensive affair, with all the travelling, parties, gifts and everything else that we just have to do. But a budget holiday is not as impossible as it may seem, provided you’re willing to put some time and effort into planning it. There are several ways to save money on your holiday without taking the fun out of it.

We’ve put together a list of 5 tips you can follow to have an enjoyable holiday while on a limited budget.

1.  Make a Budget (and stick to it)

Although it may seem trivial and tedious, this is what helps you save the most money during the holidays. Check how much money you can afford to spend and make a meticulous, detailed plan as to how to spend it. Realising exactly how much you can spend, increases your will to save money. You can strategize your budgeting by assigning priorities and simply cutting out the spends which come in last on your list.

2.  Save on gifting

Holiday gift-giving can get extremely expensive, especially if you have a large family, not to mention your colleagues and friends. Some of the best ways to save money in this case without offending anyone are:

a.    Keep your eyes open for offers

As soon as the festive season rolls in, stores and online retailers alike abound with sales, each competing with the other to give you the best possible deals. Take advantage of this, and buy your gifts via these offers. Sometimes the best offers come during a clearance sale or at the end of a season. There’s no harm in doing your holiday shopping early – you can even buy an expensive Diwali gift for your boss at a “90% off” sale much before Diwali!

b.    DIY is the way to go!

This is by far the best possible way to save money on gifts – make one! It gives an emotional and personal touch which no amount of money spent can ever hope to compete with, and it saves you lots of money in the process! Rather than buying a Christmas card at Archies, you could make a cute card with your best memories written on it. Rather than buying your friend a pen, you could gift them with a scrapbook containing your favourite pictures. DIY gifts always have more feelings attached to them than store-bought ones, and raw materials never cost as much as the finished product!

c.     Alternatives to gifts

Instead of individual gifts for them, consider treating them together. Take them out to dinner, or plan a fun outing they would enjoy. You’ll not only end up saving money, but also enjoy it to the fullest. After all, as one grows older, material gifts matter much less than the gift of precious time spent with loved ones. Of course, there are people you have to give gifts to, like kids, but you can definitely save money when it comes to adults.

3.  Save on travel

Holiday travel gets expensive, and you usually end up spending most on your journey. It’s peak time, and everything from bus ticket prices to airfares shoot up during any holiday. Here’s where you can save in such cases:

a.    Choose your travel time wisely

Ticket prices show vast variation from off-season to peak season, but there’s also a major difference depending on time. Tickets are often cheaper during inconvenient times. For example, a 3:00 am flight ticket from Mumbai to Delhi may cost ₹ 2000, but one at 5:00 pm on the same day may cost ₹ 10,000! If you really want to save money, it’s always better to travel at odd timings. Also, if you’re travelling long distance, prefer night travel as long as it’s safe, thus saving on accommodation.

b.    Walk/Cycle when you can

It’s always better to explore a place on foot, especially if the place you visit is beautiful. Rather than taking random walks to take in the scenery, try to walk to your destination, because after all, walking is free! If the place you’re going to is too far for a walk, you can always hire a cycle rather than anything else. Many cities like Pune have recently come up with pollution-free initiatives, like providing bicycles for rent at low rates.

c.     Buy a travel pass

Most places also have travel passes for those tourists who don’t prefer to walk or cycle. Daily and weekly train or bus passes are usually very affordable, especially if you wish to move around a lot during your time in the city. Different cities have different systems, but they almost always work in our favour when it comes to being frugal.

d.    Travel light

Many flight companies charge exorbitant sums for excess baggage, so it’s always better to travel light. Control what you pack and only take whatever is absolutely necessary for your trip.

4.  Compromise on luxuries

Sometimes, you’ll need to learn to swap a dinner at a fancy hotel for a home-cooked meal. You may have to stay in a traveller’s hostel rather than a 5-star hotel, or swap homes using a service like Airbnb to fund your vacation. You may also need to use public transport once in a while, or travel in economy class rather than business class. But such compromises often make all the difference and save you a lot of future trouble. They also help ensure that you have enough money for another vacation in the near future.

5.  Get Instant Cash With EarlySalary

Despite all your budgeting and careful planning, it is entirely possible you end up with more expenses than you’d have liked. Fortunately, there are services out there – like EarlySalary – tailored to meet exactly this need. India’s first advance salary app – it instantly approves advance cash based on your profile and requirements, directly into your bank account – or even to ecommerce stores if it’s an item you’re purchasing online. Get your advance salary here.

It isn’t too difficult to afford your vacation, fund your holiday, or even take care of sudden expenses, without burning too large a hole in your pocket. Happy holidays!

Millennials Earn Less, Spend More on Themselves During the Holiday Season

Muskan, a 25-year-old photographer, has just ventured into this professional field. Her education field was psychology. But by the end of her masters, she decided to do away with it, and make a career in photography. At 25, where most millennials start earning and supporting their family, Muskan is still living off of her parents’ money. She tried being economically independent, but her expenses were simply too much and she was unable to cut down the standard of lifestyle she had maintained for so long.

With the ongoing festival season, booze, card parties, and upcoming vacations, Muskan found it difficult to keep her head above water. She realised that economic returns from this profession aren’t enough to support her lifestyle, and she had to ultimately approach her father for monetary support, something she doesn’t approve of herself.

Living the good life

Around 50% Indians spend around Rs. 500-1500 on clothing every month! Indian millennials are waking up to more brands everyday, with fashion trends swiftly changing, coupled with an increased brand consciousness. It is not difficult to fathom why their lifestyles are way over their monthly budgets. The pressures of being presentable on the  job are more than ever, and millennials are never ones to shy away from a challenge.

Holiday season leads to more spending, expenses on gifts, parties, drinks, and outfits. Holidays, festivals are mostly the time when financial planning goes for a toss, and every other individual struggles with spending decisions.

Before you know, it is end of the month, and you are frantically waiting for your salary to pay basic expenses like rent, groceries, transport etc.

Dynamic Career Paths

Folks from this generation are more willing to take the plunge more often and pursue their passion. We see a number of engineers becoming writers, civil servants giving up their jobs to pursue teaching, lawyers choosing to do public interest litigation work rather than working for a law firm.

While all of this sounds pleasantly surprising, the economic aspect of things isn’t very well taken care of with such switches. Starting a new career path without prior experience or knowledge amounts to almost no or meagre pay increments. We witness an increased dependence on credit cards, which ultimately leads to a huge statements that are difficult to pay off.

Holidays and its Hangover

The need and importance for a holistic education has risen. With every commodity hitting skyrocketing prices everywhere, education, tuitions and everything in between has started eating too much out of monthly budgets.

Considering the Indian holiday season starts from Diwali in november, and goes on till new year’s, a good chunk of spending can go unsupervised. With such a prolonged festival time, followed by holidays, budgeting can get overlooked.

Following the merry time is semesterly/quarterly submission of school and college fees.  With such an arrangement millennials looking forward to pay tuition fees of courses, colleges might find themselves in a puddle. However, a few financial constraints should never come in the way of  getting access to education millennials deserve.

Loans for short-term payment of fees should also be made available, to take the stress off of their backs. Although, there might be education loans for higher studies, such an option is hardly available on a short term basis for school/college scenarios. A few options such as – Fibe provides loans upto 3 lakhs in order to enable seekers to pay their college fees even with the holiday hangover just waning off. The loan repayment method is also easy, with the option of 3-6 EMIs available.

Where do millenials get the money?

Millennials generally tend to incline more towards experiences, gadgets and vacations, rather than savings. Therefore, parties, extravagant vacations and expensive gadgets take precedence with the “YOLO” generation as opposed to a retirement account or building up savings. This doesn’t leave much in their hands at the end, or sometimes even in middle of the month.

There exists enough literature on how detrimental credit cards are for spending habits, and long-term financial planning. In such cases, quick cash from Fibe works as the ideal solution. With the platform allowing you to shop from brands like Amazon and Big Bazaar directly by giving you a pre-loaded wallet, it’s never been easier for millenials to spend on themselves without trouble. With instant approvals and zero cost EMIs, there really isn’t much more to ask for.

How are you spending on yourself this year? Let us know in the comments!

Are you Guilty of These 15 Money-Wasting Moves? Here’s How to Stop

We all want to become master of our money instead of being a slave to our habits, but let’s admit – we all give in to a lot of temptations. These temptations may seem fine at that moment because they’re relatively small, however, if you add them all together, chances are, you’re going to find yourself guilty of wasting a significant amount of your hard earned money.

In this post, we’ll explore 15 common money-wasting moves and share the secret of avoiding these mistakes. Some tips need expenditure cuts, and other tips involve grabbing the money on the table that you didn’t realize was there!

#1 Using only one bank account for all expenditures

Money management can get tricky if you carry out all expenditures from one checking account, as often we cannot trace what’s gone where. To avoid muddling up finances, open a second account. You can allocate a fraction of your income in one account to cover all the basic expenses like rent and bills and another fraction for spending over leisure.

#2 Reserve Management

If there is one thing that stresses us all, it is our fear of drowning in debt repayments if we’re run out of our salary. Getting out of debt involves sustained disciplined spending. You can even get credit counselling to get personalized lending options. This may involve refinancing or debt consolidation which can save the interest cost that you may lose.

If you’re looking for a salary advance, check out EarlySalary – India’s first advance salary service featuring instant approvals, direct transfer to your bank account (or even e-commerce wallets), and low fees. It’s a fairly neat way to avoid high-interest debt.

#3 High insurance premiums

Many of us shell out huge chunks of our monthly pays on insurance premiums. Because, just like other essentials, we need insurance, right? Sure we do, but the insurance market is a crowded one, so it is important to find the policy that best suits you. Tax deductions and credits that you do not claim is money wasted. Take a professional’s help, compare policies & maximize your tax savings.

#4 Overspending on monthly bills and overdue

Our lives are busier than ever and among the many things that we often miss out on is the monthly payments on them. Neglecting some payments like irregular credit card bill payments may cost significant late fee charges and even downgrade your credit scores. Consider automatic payments to avoid such situations or you may even set reminders.

#5 Credit Card Fees

Many card users extend their spending limit and pay for it even if their expenditures never reach those limits. Do not use credit cards which have monthly or annual membership fees unless there is a worthy rewards program that can make up the difference, whether in terms of cash back, airline miles, or other rewards.

#6 Poor Investment

All that shines is not gold and the same is true for investment. Investment in the wrong policies can eat into your overall gains, and when you compound that over 30–40 years, your savings can even go south. You miss on the power of compounding returns if you keep it idle. However, it is critical to do some thorough research before putting money in any policy. If you cannot do that yourself, take professional help and identify the right time to invest.

#7 Impulsive Shopping

Marketing tactics are there to lure you into buying stuff that you do not need. To avoid getting tricked, plan your spendings, carry cash instead of cards and most importantly – think twice before making any purchase. If you do need some money for important purchases though – remember when we said EarlySalary even transfers to your e-commerce wallets? Check it out here.

#8 Electronic Luxuries

We all love to swank our electronic luxuries like latest phones, paid apps, digital subscriptions, etc. but sometimes this love for gadgets goes overboard and we end up regretting when we don’t use them. To avoid this, learn to resist urges and beware of free trial offers because if you forget to cancel in time, you could be wasting money for nothing.

#9 Brand Obsessions

If you’ve got a bunch of clothes collecting dust in your attic, you are guilty of wasting money on brands and fashion fads. Remember that quality clothes in classic designs reduce your clothes’ average price.

#10 Extended Warranties

Everytime you buy an electronic device, retailers go all out & hard sell you extended warranties at inflated costs. It is better to do review whether it is even needed because mostly buying a used or new replacement for your item, or repairing it is cheaper.

#11 Grocery shopping

How many times do you end up throwing extra food?  Delayed shopping & shopping with time constraints can help you cut costs of those extra items by getting you into a habit of buying more appropriately to fit your needs.

#12 Spending for the sake of coupons

If consumers think they are smart, marketers and retailers are smarter. They often trap buyers into overspending to avail of cashbacks/ coupons or gifts. It is important to compare and evaluate purchases to avoid being tricked.

#13 Wasting money on Dine-outs

If on an average you are spending 50 bucks per week on takeaways or dine-outs, it adds up 26,000 bucks in 10 years. Homemade food is not only cheaper but also a lot healthier.

#14 Smoking/ Drinking

An average smoker spends $2,292 (or about Rs 1.5L) per year and you may be shocked to find the price tag of the diseases that will follow. You are not losing days from this valuable life but also your hard-earned earnings. So stop before it’s too late.

#15 Indiscriminate use of gas

Many drivers fall for pricey premium fuel when their vehicle needs regular fuel. Opt for carpool, switch to fuel-efficient vehicle, consider walking or biking & maintain your vehicle to reduce fuel costs.

To conclude, use your wisdom, compare costs and most importantly learn to differentiate between needs and wants if you want to stop wasting money.