Cover Story

Get the most from your salary
Many companies are shedding the rigid salary structure and allowing employees to rejig their pay. Learn how to make the most of your income by restructuring your salary efficiently.How to redesign your pay structureHow to get the best of both worlds

The fixed portion
Your salary slip lists out the fixed part of your monthly take-home income. Here’s what you should know about the different components mentioned in the salary slip.
Variable perks
The variable pay comprises the allowances and reimbursements that come to you as cash. Learn how to make the best use of them by rejigging their proportions in your compensation package.
Negotiating a new salary
No two compensation structures, even in the same industry, are always similar. Comparing apples with oranges, as one typically does, is not a useful exercise.
Pay for performance
Once offered as a way of dodging tax, perks are today being used to retain employees and increase productivity.
Customisation is here to stay
It is important to structure a package in such a way that the basic is not too large to be taxed too much, but is large enough for the provident fund contribution to make sense.
How to redesign your pay structure
There is no one-size-fits-all kind of ideal salary structure. It all depends on your needs and financial situation. Money Today shows you how people at different income levels and age profiles should restructure their pay packages.
How to get the best of both worlds
Many employees are opting to be consultants to avoid deductions and reduce taxes. But watch out for the pitfalls before you become one.

2008-09-04

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Upfront

Benefits of market cycle

The only way to master the art of stock investing—low risk and high returns—is to take the time-tested route of long-term investing.

Mutual Fund

Taurus Libra Taxshield perform well

The Taurus Libra Taxshield, with minuscule assets under management, has delivered exceptional returns in the past year. Equity diversified funds are steadily regaining lost ground.

FMP Plus

Money Today-Plexus Management analyse JP Morgan India Alpha fund. Though it is a low-risk scheme, but not completely risk-free.

'Volatility offers opportunities'

Volatility gives an advantage to those who invest in equities for the long term.The present scenario will prove to be an ideal opportunity.

Taxation terms

While investors should consider several risk-return measures before investing, an important factor to take into account is the manner in which income or profits from investments are taxed.

BASICS

If you are a depositor or a borrower

The high cost for borrowers is high income for depositors. Today, almost all banks offer a 10% rate on fixed deposits of 1 year. But even this rate is lower than the rate of inflation.

Expert View

Why the CTC makes sense

Using the CTC in formulating a salary structure makes the compensation structures more flexible and attractive to existing and potential employees.

Inching back into business

As is to be expected in any fundamentally solid business, the best time to invest is when it’s in trouble. It’s in this context that Punj Lloyd’s first quarter results seem like a fairy-tale comeback.

Stocks

Fertiliser stocks perform well

Fertiliser stocks gained ground as a new urea policy is expected to benefit these companies.

Some hopes, many fears

Despite the recent bullish trend and hopes of a revival, Dipen Sheth opts to retain the 50% equity exposure and wait for the worst to be over.

The benefit of IPO grading

In response to the Money Today story on how rating of IPOs has been of little help to retail investors (Read 'Do We Need IPO Grading?') Crisil’s Arun Panicker argues that grading helps if investors know where exactly it belongs in their investment decision process.

Bigger orders, better bets

The state of a company’s order books is a good indication not only of the market demand but also of its capacity to generate higher returns on its stocks.

Insight

Your world: Currencies

The rupee has reversed its trend by gaining against major currencies.The gain against the US dollar was minimal but was steeper against the Australian and European currencies.

Your Wallet

Before you buy a water purifier

Drinking untreated tap water is seen by many as akin to writing a suicide note—death by disease. Little wonder then that it has led to a booming bottled-water business.

Books

Be wiser in four months

With tips on issues ranging from career to buying a house, Pond covers every possible aspect of personal finance in a simple and engrossing style. But experienced investors may find the book of selective use, says Namrata Dadwal.

Travel

Time your travel

Off-season travel or off-beat locations are the surest way to big savings. Here is a holiday calendar to help you plan a memorable trip at affordable rates.

Real Estate

Tips to buy a pre-owned home

If you are buying a pre-owned house, make sure you inspect it for structural and legal soundness to avoid any nasty surprises later on.

Careers

Confident of a LiL venture

This 24-year-old opted out of IIM campus placements to launch a unique Web start-up called Life in Lines.

New Business

Soft start, sharp growth

At 16, Divyank Turakhia set up a software company along with his brother. Within 10 years, the two have turned it into a Rs 1,400 crore global entity.

Portfolio Doctor

Going wrong with fundamentals

Kolkata-based Saibal and Sumana Sinha must understand expense accounting and invest the monthly surplus in mutual funds to exploit their risk appetite.

Tax