6 Ideas for your Diwali Bonus - Diwali Wishes

MyMoneyStreets team wishes you a Very Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year (Samvat 2075)

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Diwali is just 2 days away, one of the biggest festivities of India, and You might be in a Diwali shopping spree. This is a time to brighten up  homes, lighten up streets, wear bright clothes, distribute sweets, visiting relatives, burning firecrackers and buy new things. 

India INC celebrates this occasion, distribute sweets, gifts and most often distribute annual employee bonuses around this time. The little lamps are lit in every office, houses, the desks are decorated with Maa Laxmi Idols to celebrate the festival of lights . As we worship Laxmi Maa on Diwali, the Goddess of Wealth and prosperity, this occasion celebrates wealth too. It is an apt occasion for some good beginnings on money learning too. To make it crisp and put it to context, I have made a list of five things which you can use to put your Diwali Bonus to good use. 

Diwali Bonus, generally a variable income for many, organisations generously share their profits with emploees,  lucky ones fetch more than a year's salary some time, some get a month's salary, few gets a token money. However, receiving money on Diwali is 'Shagun', a token of good luck. Depending on the amount you recieve as Diwali Bonus, here are a few things you can consider looking at. 

1. Pay-off loans - Many of us literally live on EMIs - Car loans, home loans, credit cards etc. Though these are ultra-convenient tools, it comes with a cost "interest". Its prudent to pay off some of your loans with the bonus money, to reduce the load on your monthly budget. If you have multiple loans, consider paying off the credit card as it is the costliest loan, followed by personal loan, followed by Car Loans and the Home loans and i that order. For rest of your year, you will feel lighter on your budget.

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2. Put in Tax saving instrument - Seldom people start planning tax saving beginning of the year. Monthly budget many a times doesn't leave us with much money for tax saving saving instrument, consider paying insurance premiums/ PPF/ ELSS etc with the money. Your target for tax saving will be taken care of.

3. Annual purchase of furniture/ Television/ Electronic gadgets - Year long people wait for Diwali Bonus especially to do a Diwali Shopping - buy gifts, home furnishings, decor, electronics etc, if you hate paying EMIs, Diwali bonus can be used for these annual purchase of the Consumer durables/ furnitures you long for. The festivities also brings lot of discount deals from Retailers and E-tailers.

4. Buying Gold certificates/ Jewellery - Diwali is considered as auspicious time to buy Gold. If you like Gold Jewelery, Silver Coins etc. Do consider using bonus for buying this asset. If you are not into Diwali shopping, you can still consider buying Gold ETF, Sovereign Gold Bonds (Offer 2.5% interest - payable half-yearly) which has a 8 year maturity period since launch. You may consider buying from secondary market - trading platform, as the SGB is not offering new bonds now.

5. Gift for family and friends - Diwali is a festival of connecting with people. As a custom people visit each other with gifts like Sweets, clothes etc, depending on the relationship you share. Do consider buying gifts for loved ones, the smile on seeing the gifts on their face is priceless!! isn't it??

6. Joy of Giving - Last but not the least, there is nothing more joyful than joy of giving. There is a big part of society who are not as privileged as we are. There are Kids, Old people, Undernourished underprivileged lot. Do consider donating to them, buying them a few clothes or even donating your old ones will make a lot of difference to their lives. 

Wish you a very Happy Diwali.

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