Thursday, February 26, 2009

Stop Wasting Your Money On 25 Things

There are many ways that people overspend on a regular basis. They include costs that could easily be avoided, or reduced, by customers willing to do some market research, shop around, or plan ahead. In a downward economy, these useful tips can markedly help consumers reduce their unnecessary expenses. The following is a list of 25 things that many people commonly overpay for, and it most likely includes at least one thing that every person is guilty of spending their hard-earned money on from time to time.

Pseudo-Health Products


There are a number of products marketed specifically to people trying to live healthy lives. They are often presented as “low fat”, “all natural” or even as being “high protein”. But some of these products may actually be full of other non-healthy ingredients, and can be high in sugar. As a result, “protein bars” can end up just as unhealthy as candy bars, while costing up to five times as much.


Brand New Technology



Buying brand new technology is one way to spend more than is necessary. It is well documented that technology prices come down considerably once new products have been on the market for several months to a year. Additionally, waiting allows time for other companies to release competitive technology, presumably leading to better overall products becoming available in the marketplace.

Bottled Water


This is probably the most overpriced of all regularly consumed products. Over 2/3 of the world is covered in water, and filters to covert ‘tap water’ into filtered water are readily available for under twenty dollars. However, millions of people choose to $1-2 on this convenience item each day.


Individual Cups of Coffee


Individual cups of coffee purchased anywhere, whether from restaurants, gas stations, or coffee shops, are invariably priced high. Especially when compared to what one could buy and prepare coffee for in bulk at home.


Prepackaged Food


Buying prepackaged food items such as sandwiches, sliced apples, or desert cups is one way of overspending on products that are relatively easy to make. They also often cost several times more than if one were to prepare these items and store/serve as single servings.


Premium Audio Equipment

Premium audio equipment often costs a considerable amount more than mid-range electronic equipment. And, the disparity in quality is often confused with a matter of taste, or it may not be discernable to the everyman.

Apple Brand Accessories


Apple has built a cult-following over the past decade, and they are able to demand premium prices for many of their aftermarket accessories. There are, however, a number of manufacturers that make products that are compatible with their mp3 players and other products, available for a fraction of the cost.

Sending a Fax from a Business Center



There are a number of free web-based fax services, for which you only need an email address and a scanner. This process can be even easier with an editable PDF file. Sending faxes from places such as Kinkos can cost $1 per page for local, and $2 per page for long-distance faxes.


Car Maintenance at The Dealership


Unless a car is under warranty, going to a dealership for a repair is one sure way to overspend. Car dealerships often prey on the fear of car owners and promise that certain work can only be done by authorized dealerships. Dealerships are also less-inclined to negotiate prices, something that should be done with any type of auto maintenance.


Music

Customers now have the ability to compartmentalize the purchase of music to the individual song level. No longer must consumers purchase entire albums that they may be uncertain about. There are also new services like Pandora.com that offer a dynamic way for people to consistently listen to new music, with the only stipulation being that the listener does not own a hard/digital copy of the music.

Buying a New Car

Buying a new car is a well-documented, poor use of money. Little else need be said about an investment that regularly looses up to 30% of its value within 24 hours of purchase. Add the price of financing a portion or the entirety of the vehicle, and you have the recipe for one of the most illogical purchases on earth.

Package Phone Deals


Most regularly, phone companies sell customers ‘package deals’, which include certain local and long distance services, as well as several other add-ons, such as call-waiting, call-forwarding or caller ID. Many customers do not know they may choose a solitary service such as local calling only. Many DSL customers have land-lines only because it is necessary to operate their DSL – for these customers, especially those that have mobile phones, the objective should be to get their land-line expenses as low as possible.


Buying Additional Warranties for Electronic Products

The typical lifespan of electronics products are 3-5 years. A warranty that last five years may protect you from having to buy a new DVD player after four years. But, with the rate at which technology develops and its price deflates, it is unreasonable for a warranty to cost up to 50% of the item’s purchase price. It is seldom worth the extra cost for something that many customers will upgrade before the needs for repair or replacing.

Late Fees and Overdraft Fees

Paying late fees on credit cards and bills, and overdraft fees on bank accounts can be a disheartening use of one’s hard-earned money. Especially when a minimum payment on a credit card of $15 is missed, resulting in a late fee that can be as high as $39 (and perhaps result in an APR% increase). Overdraft fees can also add up, especially when they are made in quick succession, resulting in fees for each transaction made while an account is overdrawn.

Non-Bank ATM Fees

ATM Fees can add up. They can also be slightly misleading; it’s not unusual for ATM convenience fees to cost $2.00, and for the card-issuing bank to charge up to an additional $2.50 as a non-bank ATM Fee. As a result, it may cost up $4.50 to withdraw $20.00.

Parking Tickets

Often times, parking tickets are the result of either laziness or a failure to pay attention. Depending on the city, they can range anywhere from $39 to $99 for a basic parking ticket, and the price can continue to go up if the ticket is paid late.

Subscriptions to Print Publications

With the increased popularity of online publications, print media is becoming less of an worthwhile expense. Most print publications’ online counterparts offer the same articles and features, and it’s usually entirely free – often with archives too.


DVDs

For the first time since their introduction, DVD sales are slumping. This is a result of there now being many alternatives for individuals to watch movies without having to purchase them. Netflix offers unlimited monthly rentals, and websites such as Hulu.com, enable users to watch thousands of its titles for free.

Film

Except for use by photographers, film has become all but irrelevant. Digital cameras allow users to view photos immediately after taking the picture; the decision can be then made to delete the picture, or to save some form of it – either digital, or a print, or both.

Home Fitness Equipment

It seems that most people who to purchase home fitness equipment rarely use it. Paying for this type of equipment can often equate to several years of gym membership dues. And, for example, with a treadmill, the equipment is often not useful for a full body workout, such as what one would have access to at a gym.

Gambling

Most people gamble with a vague sense that they may one day strike it rich. Others, play for entertainment. It cannot be denied that – especially at a casino – the odds are stacked against most gamblers. In any case, gambling is often the source of grief and frustration – presumably, at the thought that any money lost could have better been used by depositing it into one’s money market account.

Paying Full Price

Perhaps a silver lining to a downward economy is that many types of products are now being sold at either discounted prices, or vendors are more willing to consider price negotiations. Even if this were not the case, there are a multitude of websites where customers can do price comparisons, or find deals on overstocked brand name or high-end products that vendors and manufacturers are desperate to get rid of.

Impulse Buys

TV infomercials are constantly trying to convince people that the advertised product is absolutely necessary. A number of obvious and subliminal marketing methods are used to sell these products. Consumers should try and make a point to research before they buy, and not fall prey to aggressive solicitation – whether it is from television ad, or from a door-to-door salesman.

Designer Clothing


With the increased popularity of department store brands such as Zara and H&M, designer style clothing is becoming increasingly accessible. Stores such as these offer prices much more affordable than the design houses that inspired their wares. For those who are not as concerned with fashion, there are a number of ways to cut costs in this area such as buying second-hand, or shopping at stores such as Target and Wal-Mart.


Flowers From a Florist

Flowers are often overpriced, especially at florists, and always around the holidays. Grocers often offer flowers at a fraction of the cost than gift-related specialty shops. This alternative is definitely worth considering given that the lifespan of flowers – once cut – is only several days.
( Source )

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Govt to introduce Sexual Harassment Act

The government will introduce the Sexual Harassment Act to tackle issues relating to sexual violence and harassment against women including the eradication of sexual harassment at workplace.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Noriah Kasnon said her ministry was in discussion with the Human Resources Ministry about the proposed legislation particularly on the best way to enhance efforts to deal with problems affecting women as well as the existing guidelines.

"Presently, the Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment launched in 1999 is the only guidelines used by the government to tackle the problem," she said when opening a seminar on sexual violence and harassment against women at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka here today.

Besides, sexual harassment in whatever forms, be it physical, verbal or psychological, was a serious offence under the Penal Code, she added.

Noriah said sexual harassment incidents affecting women were more than the number of cases reported because most victims felt embarassed or afraid to come forward.
From 2005 to 2008, 3,906 sexual violence and harassment cases including rape and molestation were reported to the police and 27 disciplinary cases involvingthe public sector were reported by the Public Service Department.

Air Asia ads- Pick a seat



This commercialize ads from Air Asia announced that passengers can pick their own seat. Add RM5 (standard seat) and RM25 (Hot seat). In the ads, the couple just seated few seats apart in the same flight but looks like apart far away. lolz

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Leona Lewis - Better In Time


Lyrics | Leona Lewis lyrics - Better In Time lyrics

Thursday, February 12, 2009

60 Earth Hour



What began as a campaign to get Sydneysiders to turn their lights off, has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2009, at 8.30pm on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. We’re aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that its possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

Over 64 countries and territories are participating in Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day as people realise how such a simple act, can have such a profound result in affecting change.

Earth Hour is a message of hope and a message of action. Everyone can make a difference.

Join us for Earth Hour 2009, turn off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and sign-up here to be counted.


The Earth Hour in Malaysia

Earth Hour in Malaysia is planned and run by WWF-Malaysia and its partners. We welcome all parties to participate in Earth Hour on the 28th of March 2009 by turning off your lights for one hour from 8.30pm-9.30pm. If you would like to sponsor or be more involved in Earth Hour, contact us at: araj@wwf.org.my or call +603-7803 3772.

There are many other things you can do to make earth hour 2009 a success. Click on TAKE ACTION to check it out !

Sunday, February 1, 2009

USQ CNY gathering in Ipoh


On the 5th day of Lunar New Year , Henry, Kristal and Soo drove all the way from Penang to Ipoh. They arrived Ipoh at 11am. but spent 1 hour waiting in front of Mc'Donald near Jusco. (I shall said , Mc'Donald just the same row with Billy's shop. However, Billy is not in at that time. Otherwise he can be the 1 day tour guide). Thus, please don't asked Henry eat or meet at McDonald within these few days, cause he might be very frustrated on it! hahaha.

Henry --- still like to act cool . Kristal & Soo posing as pretty as usual... =P

Seng went to guide them to my house. Poor Phooi Phooi, have to took taxi to old town and walk down the streets under the sun where we had lunch. I wish to bring them either to 'Gong Heng' or 'Tian Jin' for lunch but when we arrived that time already crowded with people. Luckily, we sat besides Tian Jin and had tried on Popiah , lobak and chicken noodle... old town white coffee, custard egg ...
All USQ mate In Kek Lok Cave

The Scene insides Kek Lok Cave Temple

After bringing our Penang guest to 'Yu Hup' buy biscuits ... We went to Ampang buy 'you zi' (pummelo??shaddocks??). Seng guide us to visit one of the beautiful cave in Ipoh. At first, Henry refused to go there. Maybe he had a worried because of the recent news, rockfall in Perak Cave Temple , 1 death and 2 injured in the accident. Anyway, we did sucessfully persuade him to the Kek Lok Cave temple. hahaha.

William & Billy join the group for Hi-Tea @ Kopitiam Gunung Rapat.

I have not meet Henry, Kristal and Soo after I came back from Toowoomba. It is also has been a long time we didn't take a group picture or have a day trip around Malaysia. It really makes me miss the OZ life where we all can gather together, form like a group, have group trip or group discussion...

We had dinner in 'Dong Gu Ting' but we took the picture background --- Woollley is opposite of that food court.

I like this last picture very much. The scene and the people looks good. Hera asked who help us to take this picture? I answered 'our Car King'. Do you know who is the camera men? ^_^

Group picture taken in Phooi Phooi house...

Remember last year kimkim, Seng and I also posing in Phooi house. Same scenery. Just that this time the group is greater. I wish we could have more gathering same like this.

After the dinner we went to Phooi Phooi house. Then, they back to Seng house for picked up the car and return to Penang at about 9.30pm.

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