Things to Know Before Buying Bitcoin

Are you willing to buy your first Bitcoin (BTC)? You might be buying because you believe in its original ideology or think it’s a solid investment. Or perhaps you want to put some Bitcoin aside for your children. Whatever your reason, it’s important to keep your investment safe.

What is Bitcoin (BTC)?
Bitcoin is a digital currency that was launched in 2009. It’s stored using something called blockchain technology, essentially a chain of decentralized data blocks. There are now thousands of cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin was the first and remains the largest.

What are the risks involved in it?
If you want to buy Bitcoin safely, you’ll need to consider the risks.

Cryptocurrency is extremely volatile. This year alone, Bitcoin has gained over 200% but has seen its fair share of crashes. And even though a reputable exchange or brokerage can help protect your investment, you’re still going to want to pay attention to how you can safely buy and store your Bitcoin. Let’s get into the topic.

Do your research:
The best way to handle the bitcoin investment is to know what you’re investing in and have a strategy.

Buying cryptocurrency is similar to buying stocks, but it is still in its infancy stage. That’s one of the reasons it’s so volatile. And with over 11,000 currencies out there, you have a lot of options to explore. You’ll have to look into individual coins for yourself and decide which ones you believe will be profitable in the long term.

Choose the best exchange:
There are several exchanges in India to buy Bitcoin. I would recommend “Koinbazar”, India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies safe. Their motto is to provide a user-friendly platform and intuitive experience to users all over the world. They have recently launched their mobile app for both Android and iOS platforms. Koinbazar offers 10,000 Shiba Inu tokens to the user who downloads and sign in to the app.

Deposit funds:
If you haven’t bought Bitcoin before, you’ll first need to deposit some fiat currency, such as Indian Rupee (INR), US.dollar, into your account. Koinbazar supports instant INR deposit options only for Indian users. So you can easily transfer your funds from banks to your wallet within few minutes. They will enable features for other fiat currency deposits in the future.

Buy Bitcoin (BTC):
After all that preparation, this step is perhaps the easiest. Log in to your exchange, build your profile details, complete KYC, link your bank account, deposit INR in your wallet and choose how much Bitcoin do you want to buy. You can easily buy Bitcoin in India with INR on Koinbazar.

Read More: How to buy Bitcoin in India from Koinbazar?

That’s it. You’re now the proud owner of your very own piece of Bitcoin. One final note: It’s natural to be tempted by the high-profile profits people have earned with Bitcoin. And you may be scared you’ll miss out if you don’t invest now.

Even so, it’s not a good idea to invest money you can’t afford to lose. If you’re saving your money for plans, such as buying a house or retirement, don’t risk investing in Bitcoin. And make sure you have a solid emergency fund before you do begin. By following these steps, you have a better chance of protecting your investment.

Final Thoughts
Over the long term, there’s been no better way to grow your wealth than investing in cryptocurrencies. But using the wrong exchange could make major issues in your investing returns. There are many risks involved in it. So, be careful while investing in cryptocurrencies.

What Your Family Should Know About Debt Consolidation

We are a society of debtors. No matter how hard we try, it always seems like we owe more money than we make. This is especially true with families in North America. Household debt as a percentage of disposable income increased by over 170% in 2020. Part of this is due to the coronavirus. However, many families were already in debt before the pandemic took hold. Now, they are looking for a solution to right their ships. A possible way to return things to normal is a debt consolidation program. Here are some things your family should know about this form of payment option.

It Combines Debts Into One Payment
The biggest issue families have when controlling debt is to get it down to a manageable amount. With added late fees and interest, it feels like the total added to the principle is minuscule. A debt consolidation program works similarly to a standard loan for a home or car. You’re provided with an amount that closes the accounts of creditors, utilities, and other vendors. In exchange, you pay down the loan.

Firms Work To Negotiate Lower Payments
While debt consolidation firms want to help you, they also try to lower the amount of the loan provided. They do this through a similar exercise as a bankruptcy trustee. They negotiate for a lower pay-off amount. This normally works with loans from other banks, credit card companies, and debt collectors. In negotiating with these organizations, the consolidation firm minimizes its liability. Furthermore, it allows you to quickly pay down the loan.

It Is Not A Form Of Bankruptcy
A debt consolidation program is not a form of personal bankruptcy. In this practice, a trustee is brought on to negotiate with creditors on amounts owed. While bankruptcy features an amalgamation payment similar to consolidation, the effects it has on your credit are more harmful. For example, debt consolidation in Canada is in the form of a loan. Firms support these programs to help families reduce their debt difficulties.

Payment Plans Are Flexible
Though you still make monthly installments on a debt consolidation loan, the time it takes to close it out is flexible. Firms work with you to establish a reasonable payment amount and the months or years you feel it takes to finish things up. There’s a caveat to this. The greater the loan’s length the more interest your family ends up paying. Granted, the value applied to the principal increases over time. However, it’s more incremental for a 60-month loan than for a two-year plan.

It Doesn’t Cover All Debt
Most unsecured debts can be included in a consolidation program. This is in the form of credit cards, mortgages, or auto loans. Yet, some things can’t be added to a debt consolidation program. For example, student loans. Though these are unsecured they tend to be held by a government entity. Thus, consolidation takes place within that institution. Unpaid taxes are also not permitted for inclusion in a debt consolidation program.

Not all Debt Consolidation Programs are the Same
Most debt consolidators want to help you get past the burden of owning money. Hence, they work to get the best value for a program. Nevertheless, not every firm is so giving. Though they say your payments are considerably less than the total of your individual transactions, that statement might only refer to the principal. The exorbitant fees and interest rates they apply make your monthly installments even higher. This is why you must perform a thorough investigation of debt consolidation organizations before a contract signing.

Debt Consolidation is One Step Toward Financial Freedom
Here’s the most important thing to know about debt consolidation programs. They only work well if coordinated with other steps toward financial freedom. To put it another way, you remain in debt if your family continues the same practices.

Conclusion
So, as you pay down your consolidation loan you must learn how to work well with money. This means reducing your expenses, creating a budget, and eliminating the use of credit cards. These changes help get out of the financial basement and into a world of financial security. In the end, don’t let the positives of a debt consolidation program falter.

How should you make mutual fund performance analysis?

You should not solely rely on performance rating by third party websites and mutual fund returns for the last year to assess the best possible mutual fund for you. This is because performance keep changing every year. The top performers of today may not be on the list next year. When making a mutual fund comparison, there are specific performance indicators that you need to look out for. Let’s evaluate them here in detail.

Look at returns beyond 1 year: You need to evaluate the mutual fund performance over 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 7-year performance. A reasonable yardstick is the mutual fund performance over the last 5 years.
Mutual fund performance comparison against benchmark: You can start by making a mutual fund performance comparison against the benchmark. When you compare, you need to evaluate the period of consistency during different market cycles against the benchmark. This will help you assess whether the mutual fund has outperformed or underperformed the benchmark.
Risk-reward tradeoff: You need to understand how effective is the mutual fund in offering risk-adjusted returns. As per risk-return tradeoff, if you take a higher degree of risk, it should be compensated by a greater level of returns. For instance, small-cap funds more significant downside risk, but it also has the potential for high returns. The risk is measured with the help of specific mutual fund performance indicators such as standard deviation and Sharpe ratio. Standard deviation is how much the mutual fund performance deviates from the benchmark. The greater the standard deviation, greater is the inherent volatility. Sharpe ratio is the return per unit of risk. In other words, it evaluates the risk-adjusted returns. Look for a fund with a higher Sharpe ratio to earn a better risk-adjusted return.
Compare Average Maturity and Duration: While evaluating debt funds, the average maturity and duration of the fund should match your investment duration. The Average maturity relates to the period after which the underlying securities will mature. A short-duration debt fund has lower interest rate sensitivity than longer-duration funds. You can use Macaulay Durations and Modified duration to evaluate the risk of investing in debt funds. Macaulay Duration indicates the time it takes for the price of the underlying bond in the debt fund to be repaid through its internal cash flows. Modified duration indicates how much the NAV of a debt fund would change if interest rates move by 1%.
Compare Fund’s cyclical performance: Evaluate how effective is the fund manager in outperforming the benchmark across different market cycles. A good mutual fund performance indicator is the Alpha. Alpha measures the return over the benchmark index. When making a mutual fund performance comparison, a fund that generates alpha indicates a well managed fund.

You can use the above mentioned mutual fund performance indicators to help you compare two mutual funds and make a decision. It would help if you considered your financial goal and risk profile carefully in this exercise.