Plan to Upgrade Family Car into SUV

With new family member joining in, space becomes the number 1 consideration and that's why I'm looking for upgrade of my wife's faithful Civic to a bigger space car, like SUV. Lots of friends told me that Civic is big enough already, but it's amazing how many luggage you will be carrying when travelling outstation with baby in tow. Stretching my budget a bit into RM200,000 and see what I can get now.

Toyota Rush - RM86,000
Mitsubishi ASX - RM115,000
Suzuki Grand Vitara - RM121,000
Hyundai Tuscon - RM133,000
Kia Sportage - RM136,000
Mazda CX5 - RM137,000
Nissan X-Trail - RM145,000
Subaru XV - RM146,000
Honda CRV - RM146,000
Ford Kuga - RM156,000
Inokom Santa Fe - RM157,000
Chevrolet Captiva - RM161,000
Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 - RM179,000
Subaru Outback - RM179,000
Subaru Forester - RM199,800

Alternatively, these cars are in consideration as well due to the bigger space.
Nissan Grand Livina - RM87,000
Peugeot 3008 - RM154,000

Seems to be lots of choices in the market now, but I'm trying to limit my choice to European/US made only, as they have better built in terms of safety and quality ride. That automatically crossed out almost all the cars in the market, leaving only the following:

Ford Kuga
Chevrolet Captiva
Volkswagen Tiguan
Peugeot 3008

Unfortunately, European/US cars are not favor in Malaysia, therefore their resale value is very bad. That open up the question of, why not find some used / imported / recond car from europe made brand? So what we can get for a budget of RM200,000?

Ford Kuga is relatively new in the market, so there is no used unit available.
However, being Ford, they are always hungry for sales, so look out for discounts from them. Discount can range over RM10,000 from Ford most of the time for this car price.

Y2010 Audi Q5 is in the range of RM200,000. For a new car that's selling in RM300,00 region, you basically save up to RM25,000 depreciation a year, quite a bargain to consider.

Y2010 Toyota Harrier 2.4 in the range of RM160,000. Not selling new in Malaysia, but quite a good bargain as well, and it rides very well. However, drawback is this model is already very old and doesn't looks that appealing anymore. New Harrier is expensive as well.

Y2010 Peugeot 3008 surprisingly only selling at range of RM70,000. Considering a new car of RM154,000, it basically depreciated over RM21,000 per year. A real bargain if you don't mind a used unit.

Y2010 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 is in the range of RM135,000. Note that this is 2.0 model, where market selling for over RM240,000. That make it has depreciated over RM26,250 per year. Another good bargain to look at.

Y2010 Land Rover Freelander 2 is in the range of RM140,000. New car is selling at RM270,000. That makes it depreciated at RM32,500 per year.

Lots of bargain in the European / US section, but the important question is, will it continue to depreciate at the same rate? If yes then not worth buying it. If no, then worth every cents. Getting a high quality car at much lower price. Of course there will be maintenance involved for older cars, but at a discount of over RM20,000 every year in depreciation, I would be able to overhaul the entire car at that amount already.

I'm still hunting, will update again =) Stay tuned.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus 32GB Gold

My earlier loyal comrade HTC One M7 has finally reached its shelf life, and it's dying on me. Normally I will use a smart phone for a duration of 2 years to follow the Telco contract, but I couldn't wait till December this round. The battery life of HTC One M7 can only manage to hold up for 3 hours max, and I will need a replacement fast. That means I will need to buy a new smartphone at retail price, or find options available in the market.

As usual, I survey and analyse the available package, and drawn conclusion to Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus 32GB model that's just launched days ago. Sharing my decision here, might help your case to decide.

With my experience in iPhone 4 and HTC One in both iOS and Android environment, I've expose to both sides and each has own advantages of another. I don't mind to use either iOS or Android for my next smartphone, so decision relies on the package and also the smartphone model & features from both system. Tiles style from Microsoft never attracts me, so dropping it in this sharing.

For iOS, it's pretty straight forward. iPhone 6 or iPhone 6+ only, small or big screen. Coming from a small screen user, I'm dying to move into big screen wagon, and I would only consider iPhone 6+ if I were to take iOS. 16GB is too small, so 64GB is the next size up retailing at RM3,550, that's super expensive! Worth it or not very much depending on individuals, but I would compare to flagship from Android to decide.

For Android, there are multiple brands available, such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Asus, HTC, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and etc. Lesson learned from my experience with HTC is, don't buy brand that's not proven by the popularity. There is a reason they are not popular among phone user, and this will impact badly in your overall experience. I will explain later. So either you pick the flagship from the big brand such as Samsung, or get the flagship from the China big brand like Xiaomi. My wife basically ban me from getting the Xiaomi, as she knows me to well, that I always heart for the glamorous thing, and she is right. 

So looking at Samsung, the earlier flagship is only Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which I don't feel excited at all. Their Samsung Galaxy S6 model is too small, but I love the Edge design that they implemented. It looks cool and super neat but then the size is small and I hope for the big screen. Of course they cover all sides, and they have the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge available, but then it's an old model. So the timing is just right that Samsung is preparing to launch the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. Hey, both are big screen model, and it's new model. 

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus 32GB @ RM3,099


Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32GB @ RM2,699

I've been asking myself the question hundred times, Note5 or Edge+ as RM400 is not really a big factor for me to decide, but more to if I want practicality (stylus for production) or style (curvy screen). Obviously you know what's my choice, but my decision is made only when I'm holding the actual phones to compare. Curved screen is just the latest tech in the mobile world, and I love latest tech. Productivity is attractive features, but I will then choose to do it on laptop if need to. As I survived without productivity all these while and I'm fine. 

Why not the iPhone 6 Plus someone will ask. Simple, it's the old model, and if I wait for the new model to launch by 9th September 2015, it will take easily weeks for it to reach our shores. Further, I doubt anything interesting from Apple that will be the deal breaker will be announce, so I'm not too interested to wait. It's RM200 more, less exciting, simple. 

Back to the earlier question why not the not-popular brand? First of all, their product might got problem, such as HTC got battery overheating issue, and their battery life performance drop like nobody business. You won't know it until it happened, by then it's too late as you already locked in a 2 years contract with Telco. Secondly, accessories problem. Because it's not popular, you cannot find anyone selling accessories! My nice HTC One is still using the RM15 ciplak black rubber casing, just because I couldn't find any others to replace it. I've been finding the transparent rubber casing for my HTC One past 2 years, just couldn't find it. 

Choosing what to buy is part of the fun, and I enjoy the process very much.

Now some photos for your enjoyment =)

*pardon the screen protector, just temporary measure while I can find the proper curved tempered glass =P

IRONMAN

Ultimate challenge, I'm committed.

Ironman 70.3 = 1.9km Swimming, 90km Cycling, 21km Running
Ironman = 3.8km Swimming, 180km Cycling, 42km Running

Cycling in the Concrete Jungle?

After conquering the full marathon of 42.195km on foot, time to look forward for new challenges. Completing a Triathlon is always my ultimate aim, and on the way there, I will need to pick up Swimming and Cycling. Next I'm looking to pick up cycling so did some search about cycling in the concrete jungle for route and club. Came across this site which is quite informative to share.

cyclingkl.blogspot.com

First look seems to be an initiative by the local community but then it seems to be supported by the government, not sure but it's definitely a useful site.

This map is downloaded from cyclingkl.blogspot.com and it's pretty informative for KL route.

Time to hunt for a bike, will keep you guys updated on my progress.

New Desktop Computer before GST?

I've been always a computer guy, so when it comes to computer, I always hand-pick my own components and build it myself. It's pretty simple, and my current rig is set-up since Y2008,

This is my current rig specifications:

Mainboard ASUS P5K-PL

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz 775BC 1333FSB 6MB L2

Kingston PC800 DDR2 2GB

2TB WD 3.5" 7200rpm 64MB SATA3

500GB WD 3.5" 7200rpm 16MB SATA2

XFX GF 9600GT (650MHz) 512MB DDR3 256bit

22" Samsung 2232BW 2ms 3000:1 (A+D)

Liteon 20x SATA DVD-RW Combo

EMAG ATX Casing

Cooler Master Extreme 460W

Logitech Internet Pro Keyboard & Optical Mouse

Edifier E3100 RMS 8Wx2+12W 2:1 (5" Woofer)

It is now Y2015, this machine has been running for almost 7 years now, and there are some problems.

1. Y2014 the mainboard dead, and I have to find a replacement for it. Problem is, there is no mainboard in the market then that supported the Intel Core 2 Duo socket, big problem. I hunt for so long and finally manage to find the Asrock G41C-GS that's selling for a premium price of RM229. I paid for it still, as it's' much more expensive for me to fork out cash to setup a new system.

2. Then this month, the Power Supply Unit (PSU) went down as well, but PSU is easy peasy. I managed to find the exact same unit to replace it at RM129. Other than that, it's all running well.

With 2 incidents within a year, it shows that the system is aging fast and might not able to support me for longer time, so I search out for new system to gauge the budget and price. And this is what I gathered.

Gigabyte GA-H61M-WW = RM189.00

Intel Core i5-4440 Quad Core 3.1GHz 6MB = RM614.00

Kingston HX316C10FB Fury PC1600 8GB DDR3 = RM239.00

Sapphire R7 240 2GB DDR3 128bit = RM249.00

SSD Kingston V300 120GB 450MB/450MB = RM199.00

Silverstone Essential 500W = RM169.00

Liteon DVD-RW SATA = RM59.00

Cooler Master K350 = RM149.00

AOC E2450SWD 23.6" 2ms D/W = RM469.00

Total = RM2,346.00
*note: keyboard, speakers and additioanl HDD is missing, so add what's needed.

This is a pretty decent machine to cover most basic gaming needs and definitely can last another 7 years if taken care of. However, I formatted my old rig and installed Windows 7 and it's running fine again, so don't see the point of upgrading it, so postpone my desire. Since I've done the research, so share it here for anyone that's interested to build a new rig before the GST =)

Cyberjaya Putrajaya Perdana Twincity Marathon 2014

I've been really busy and lots are happening past few months. I need to continue running as part of my life goal to build a healthy balance lifestyle. Registered myself for the Cyberjaya Putrajaya Perdana Twincity Marathon 2014 for 21km run on 21st December 2014. First step to reboot my life, push towards full marathon event in Y2015!



For those interested, this event is still open for registration, do sign up for run. Not many full marathon event in calendar, so let's go.

Staggering Numbers of Social, Digital & Mobile User in Malaysia

Saw something interesting online, thought of sharing it for my readers.
Internet penetration in Malaysia is astounding, think the only people not on internet is probably orang asli living on the mountain. That's not long until Maxis/Digi/Celcom/TM go get them to subscribe to the internet LOL.

Garmin Fenix2

It has been a busy year, and me being me, I'm playing with more and more toys as when my pocket allows =)

This round I got myself something that I wanted for long long time, a Multisport Training GPS Watch. There are lots of model out there, crowned by the famous Garmin Forerunner 910XT that's launched way back in 2010, that's 4 years ago! Being in digital world, 4 years is a long long time ago. The design is a bit dated and I never like to buy old gadget. I waited and waited, finally Garmin decided to launch a new product! Excited.

That's the Garmin Fenix2! For the first time, Garmin is listening to customers, that we wanted something not hideous, stylish that still pack the punch of all functionality for a truly Triathlon capable watch.


This is the Garmin Fenix2, I bought the bundle pack that comes complete with the Garmin HRM-Run Premium Monitor. Don't mistaken this HRM monitor from the older one which is non-premium type. Somehow I heard the strap and quality is much better. I got this unit directly from My GPS Talk, the official appointed distributor for Garmin in Malaysia. I missed the first batch order, ended up in 2nd batch and waited for few weeks to collect mine! For those asking me what I bought, tada!


Unboxing is always exciting, This is a performance bundle package that includes the HRM unit and I paid the full retail price for it at RM1,550! I'm not surprise that the price might be cheaper now, so scout around for the best deal. Now you know why I dream of this gadget for so long, hold up by the price tag. Probably one of the most expensive sports gear that I've ever bought! But I think it's worth it considering what it can do. Let's find out.

Penang White Curry Noodle by My Kuali

Been very busy recently, so just posting a random thought. I've heard lots of noise on the new instant noodle in the market, as you can guess, the Penang White Curry Noddle by My Kuali. So I've been hunting to try it out, but major supermarket always run out of stocks. I found it in one of the chinese medicine store in OUG.



I bought a pack of 4 for RM7.60, and it's basically one of the most expensive instant noodle in the market, not comparing with other imported variance though. How it taste like? It's pretty good, the noodles are ok, not soggy, the soup is creamy due to coconut milk, but it taste good. I don't like it though, with my comments following:

1. The noodles are normal, nothing special.
2. The soup base is too thick, and you really got to add more water but then it got wash out the taste. This is due to the creaminess from the coconut milk. I've not tried to exclude that, maybe someone should try and comment.
3. It's way to spicy. I'm tomyam lover but this is different. I nearly fall sick eating a pack in the first time. Subsequently I drink lots of water to clear up the heat.
4. The flavour is too strong, too much ajinomoto is the word?

It's good not doubt, but I think twice before trying on 2nd pack, in fact almost few months since I tried it, and I still don't dare to buy another pack. The reason why we eat instant noodle is to get fast meal and something to go around quick lifestyle. If I want something too strong flavour, I would've eaten outside.

This is purely personal taste bud preference, and my favorites remain with the below.

1. Thai Tom Yam Instant Noodle by PAMA
One of the best noodle and tomyam noodles in the market and remain my favourite. The springy noodle that don't get soggy, spicy and sour soup base is awesome. Only the portion is a little small, but good for a quick hit of tomyam crush.



2. Vegetarian Flavour Instant Noodle by Wei Wei A-Series
One of my favourite, very nice noodles but can get soggy if cook too long, and awesome soup base. The portion is big and it got my vote of the best normal soup base instant noodle. A little pricy is the trade off.


3. Mi Goreng Perisa Asli by Indomie
If fancy something dry, nothing beat the Indomie, they are the king of mi goreng instant noodle and it remain the best, enough said.



What you guys think? Do share your thoughts =)

Asics Gel-Nimbus 15

As promised, I've been looking for a new pair of running shoe since I decided to join another full marathon this year. My 3 year old Asics has been serving me very well, and only recently it started to show sign of old age, the shoe sole started to come off, so my wife helped to send it for stitching. It's still wearable but it feels loose and weird wrap because of the stitching.

I search for new model in Asics that suit my feet type, and I quickly catch the opportunity to get a pair when I'm visiting Singapore last month. Singapore always sell Asics cheaper than Malaysia, else you wait for special discount on older model and it might make sense.

Preparation for Second 42km in Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014

It's been 3 years since my first 42km full marathon run at Penang Bridge, and I've decided to do another 42km full marathon this year. As usual, aim is to get fitter, have more energy and lead a healthier lifestyle. The upcoming Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014 will be held on 16th November 2014. That gives me a total of 7 months / 30 weeks to train.

My last experience taught me to prepare myself better this time. I studied and created a training chart for myself, stretching over 30 weeks duration to prepare myself for this run. Eventually the plan will push me into maximum of 64km in the peak week before tapering down in 3 weeks in approaching the big event.

To further prepare myself, I've registered myself also for a 21km in BSN Putrajaya Night Marathon 2014 which is to be held in 11th October 2014. Funny that SC Kuala Lumpur International Marathon 2014 is held the next day on 12th October 2014. That's totally no fun, and they will be fighting for participants, as I doubt many will actually run both events considering it's only few hours away. Here is the registration link for BSN Putrajaya Night Marathon 2014 - http://www.bsnpnm.com/



While I also already registered for the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014, and interesting to note that this year will be the 1st year we will run on the newly open 2nd Penang Bridge! I'm not sure what to expect but it's exciting to be part of the history =) Here is the link to PBIM 2014 - http://www.penangmarathon.gov.my/portal/



Good things are I've already got most of the gears needed for a full marathon, so nothing much I will need to prepare / buy. I will definitely need a new pair of running shoes as the old Asics should be retire after 3 years. I'm also looking for a gadget to help track my heart rate and record my training. Been searching around and should update you all once I decided on what to get =)

National Automotive Policy 2014 - My Opinions

Malaysia's National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2014 is finally announced after much delay, so call to in-depth study the framework, and it ended up craps. This is my blog, so I will just point out my view over the new NAP 2014.

1. CBU Hybrid and EV incentives is terminated.
Means all CBU hybrid that's enjoying all the cheapo price is going to say good bye. This is a very bad news for Hybrid car owner, as they all think the party will go on forever, but it just given me another reason to advice people against buying a hybrid in Malaysia. Why? With a drop of hybrid cars on the road, the after sales is going down with it. No car sales, no profits, no investment for after sales service, problematic maintenance. The investment by car dealer is always with the money flow. So good luck with that, you only hope more will invest for CKD hybrid, but why would they do hybrid when they can have EEV model?

2. CKD EEV fully open market.
This is good news, for good technology car, example like Mazda Skyactiv technology. Unknown yet if Volkswagen / BMW / Honda / Toyota qualified, time will tell. Big impact would be the smallest CC car that meet the EEV will also be available, so that's good to encourage investor to put money in for EEV assembly plant in Malaysia, but how much impact will yet to be see.

3. No news on Open AP.
After much delay, nothing at all for open AP issue. All car manufacturers already stressing that they are putting millions into the country to invest for manufacturing plant, but they are killed off by the grey import, which only let the cronies earn money. This actually put off lots of investor, scaring them off from investing. Pretty stupid. And another committee suppose to do another "in-depth" study, your guess is as good as mine -_-

4. No news on Euro 4.
Enough said, we are still stucked with lowest grade of fuel, and limited us to the diesel model available. I think biggest problem is we have too many commercial "black smoking" truck / bus on road, which this will basically kill them off. One of the pain to take on if want to move the country forward, again the cronies controlling those company pressure the government I suppose.

5. No news on Car Price Reduction.
MITI said they have a framework ready for 5 years reduction plan, but nothing announced. Might as well say you don't have the framework?? And being in Malaysia, they can get away with it, nice! The presentation even explained that car price reduced last few years, sounded very much like what we saw on "newspaper" earlier, what's the point?

6. No news on Reduction of Excise Duty & Tax.
And what pissed me off is, government is in 4% deficit and need the tax now. So if government continues to be in red, we will never see sunlight?? That's really pretty stupid. They screw it up, and we citizens have to pay for it. Our Prime Minister promised to reduce car price by 30% is still hanging until now.

Others that's not mentioned which I think should be included.

7. Adjust the road tax in accordance to car price / power / emission. People are buying expensive cars but paying little road tax, why don't have a more fair system to tax the higher earner more?

8. Impose additional safety equipment as basic to car offer, like traction control and etc. I'm sure most people don't mind to pay same price for additional safety features. Why is Toyota still allow to get away with little safety features on the mainstream model that top the sales chart? Protect the citizens!

9. No news on older cars, good news for me, so I can continue to enjoy my Fiat Coupe =)

Habits of the Rich People

New year, new resolution. As usual habits, I started to read more to find out how to live my life better and found an interesting article about differences between habits of the rich and the poor.

1. Rich people eat less junk food
2. Rich people focus on single goal
3. Rich people exercise more often
4. Rich people listen to audio books when commuting
5. Rich people maintain a to-do list
6. Rich people make their children read fiction books monthly
7. Rich people make their children volunteer
8. Rich people make birthday calls
9. Rich people write down their goals
10. Rich people read 30 minutes or more each day for education
11. Rich people don't say what's on their mind
12. Rich people network more often
13. Rich people watch less TV
14. Rich people don't watch reality TV show
15. Rich people wake up 3 hours before work
16. Rich people teach good daily success habit to their children
17. Rich people believe good habits create opportunity luck
18. Rich people believe bad habits create detrimental luck
19. Rich people believe in lifelong educational self improvements
20. Rich people love to read

Myself has been practicing some of the habits above, but one thing that caught my attention is the no. 11, where Rich People Don't Say What's On Their Mind. I'm guilty on this that I've been quite honest and open with what ever in my mind. Then after reading this I realize that it's actually not very good for myself. As I pay more attention to the people surrounding, I also notice that nearly no one share what their thoughts and they wanted to always know what you are thinking or doing.

Selfishness? I don't know, but I think I also have to be more careful with my thoughts, anyway it's a recognize habit for being rich, so I better starting acting like it also. I love sharing, so don't worry, contents will remain for 1simpleplan, but would hold up on my personal life matters.

Let's see, I still have 9 more habits to go, hope I can eliminate all my bad habits before end of 2014 =)

My New HTC One Arrived!

My earlier post mentioned that DiGi do have a special year end promotion, and I've taken it up replacing my iPhone 4 with the brand new HTC One. HTC One that's launched in 1Q of 2013 has been running out of stock in every DiGi outlets that I came across, and even the online website indicated same. Don't want to miss out the promotion, I check on the website everyday, and finally I managed to order it over online website. Hassle free, choose the plan I want, choose the phone I want, then click proceed. Payment by credit card, verification done, voila, that's it.

Problem with online shopping is that, you paid already, but where is the phone?? No indication over when it will deliver to me, so I call DiGi up, and they said within next working days, but because I ordered after 2pm, so another working day. I ordered on Thursday, meaning need to wait till Monday, argg!! =( I waited patiently, and finally on Monday, the box arrived!


This is how the DiGi online shopping box delivery looks like. It's very small and light, kind of hard to believe I paid nearly RM2,000 for it.


Once open up, there is only this HTC One box inside, and it's very small, but still bigger than iPhone box, LOL.

Living Life

Coming to the end of 2013, and as usual, I started to go into deep thoughts of my life in past year and what I want to achieve in 2014. There are also lots of people posting remarkable ideas online, and money being very important subject caught my eyes.

I decided to post it on the blog to share with you guys, but also as reminder for myself for coming year so that I can achieve greater heights.

Traits of Successful People
1. They didn't use excuses
2. It wasn't just about themselves
3. Early mornings and late nights
4. Energy (Health) the greatest commodity
5. Principles
6. Wavering, yet unbreakable faith
7. A reason, understand why
8. They persevered when others give up
9. Great people relentlessly studied their craft
10. Risk to truly see the reward

Some other golden advices:
Money does not make you happier, relationsips do.
After you are rich, you take it for granted like you take having great parents for granted.
Having lots of money makes you want to make more.
When rich people start dying, they become less proud of their wealth.
Rich people get all the same sadness, but they don't hurt as much because they are still rich.
After you get rich, you feel the same eventually.
If you are rich because of your salary, you end up working all the time.
Being rich makes you feel smarter and better than the rest of the world, and that feels good.
You get respect you don't deserve.
Sometimes, you feel like you are god.
Being rich makes life less risky.

Money is not everything, but everything needs money.
If we can build the wealth earlier, then we can spend our time to care about things that we really care.
Work smart and enjoy every moment of life.
It's the journey, not the destination =)

DiGi Special Year End Promotion

As I'm searching for a replacement phone over my aging iPhone 4, last few days my best friend pass this message over, that DiGi is doing a special year end promotion. After I check it out, it is indeed one of the best deal in the town, so I placed my order.



What they are offering this time? To thank you US for being their customers, DiGi is not giving out free phone for anyone sign up with Smart Plan 148 for 24 months. As usual, we netizens always want the best deal of everything, so let's compare to the obvious iDiGi 138 plan user, which is myself.

I'm currently still enrolled into iDiGi 138 plan as it's quite affordable with good freebies and internet data.

iDiGi 138 Plan
Monthly Fees: RM138
Free Voice Calls: 450mins
Free SMS: 400sms
Free MMS: 40mms
Free Internet: 3GB
*special about this plan is, as bundled with iPhone deal earlier, it give out RM45+RM5 discount. Effectively reducing the monthly fees to only RM88. That's why I continue the plan until now.

Which means effectively I'm paying RM2,112 for 24 months. So what option do I have. If I were to buy a new phone separately without a plan, I would have to easily cough out RM2,000 for a flagship model, that will bring me way over RM4,000 budget. I'm reluctant to spend that much.

What about the year end promotion? DiGi is offering that with SmartPlan 88 or 148, you will get a phone for free. Currently promotion as following:

SmartPlan 88 - free Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro
SmartPlan 148 - free Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, Sony Xperia Z, Sony Xperia C, or you can choose to take the latest Samsung Galaxy Note III for RM1,199

I'm always interested with HTC One, and it is retailing RM2,199 outside. What if I take the SmartPlan 148 and get it for free? What's my commitment like?

SmartPlan 148
Monthly Fees: RM148
Free Voice Calls: 600mins
Free SMS: 600sms
Free MMS: 600mms
Free Internet: 6GB

There is no discount with this plan, so effectively I will be paying RM3,552 for 24 months contract. That's around RM750 cheaper if I maintain the iDiGi 138 plan and buy a phone separately. I get to pay less and more free bundles, why not? I signed up immediately yesterday, great.

For those crying for details, you will need to pay an upfront of RM1,896 now, that will split into RM79 discount per month over 24 months period. Meaning your monthly fees will be there RM69. That's a very good deal if you ask me. Don't miss it, it's limited time with limited stocks.

PS: DiGi don't pay me for this, I'm just merely sharing the good deal with my readers =) Refer here for the details.

Why You STILL Shouldn't Buy A Hybrid Car!

Since the heated discussion on the hybrid car that I posted earlier, 2 years later in 2013, let's check the resale price this time. I did a quick search on mudah and found these:-

Toyota Prius 1.8 Hybrid
New Car Price in 2011 = RM136,000
Used Selling Now = Lowest RM98,000
Value Lost = RM38,000
Yearly Lost = RM12,667

Toyota Altis 2.0
New Car Price in 2011 = RM128,500
Used Selling Now = Lowest RM91,000
Value Lost = RM37,500
Yearly Lost = RM12,500

Honda Civic 1.4 Hybrid
New Car Price in 2011= RM109,000
Used Selling Now = RM76,000
Value Lost = RM33,000
Yearly Lost = RM11,000

Honda Civic 2.0
New Car Price in 2011 = RM127,500
Used Selling Now = RM100,000
Value Lost = RM27,500
Yearly Lost = RM9,167

Seems like hybrid doesn't lose lots of its value when it's 3 years old. However, please bear in mind that I'm comparing with a 2.0 car which in nature less in demand. Let's take a quick look at 1.8 then.

Toyota Altis 1.8G
New Car in 2011 = RM119,634
Used Selling Now = RM95,000
Value Lost = RM24,634
Yearly Lost = RM8,211

Honda Civic 1.8
New Car in 2011 = RM116,500
Used Selling Now = RM96,000
Value Lost = RM20,500
Yearly Lost = RM6,833

The difference between a hybrid with a 1.8 model is so substantial, equivalent to?

Toyota Prius vs Toyota Altis 1.8G
RM4,456 per year = 2,122 liters of petrol (consider RON95 is RM2.10 now)

Honda Civic Hybrid vs Honda Civic 1.8SL
RM4,167 per year = 1,984 liters of petrol (consider RON95 is RM2.10 now)

I know lots of comments will say this is not a fair comparison, maybe it is, maybe it is not. Very much depending on how you look at it. This post is merely showing the hybrid is expensive in Malaysia, even with a fantastic fuel savings technology and tax free status. You can basically get free petrol on the savings over car depreciation value. Opps, need to change battery soon, make sure account got cash.

PS: new car price from livelifedrive.com and used price is based on mudah.my, and I take the lowest offer and mark up RM2,000. The highest selling price must be too optimistic, so I don't bother to average in.

Where Do You Want To Be a Billionaire?

Interesting chart from The Financialist site.
Link: http://www.thefinancialist.com/where-do-you-want-to-be-a-billionaire/

Which Smartphone to buy?

I'm always a saver, that's why I never have a new handphone since my graduation (aka stop spending family's money). I always on the lookout for a cheap used unit and got my first smart phone Dopod D810 for a mere RM800 which is 2 years old. I used that for 2 years, and got myself an iPhone 4 after trying to buy it for my wife. I were impressed with the iPhone 4 speed and retina display and I use it until today, for a good 3 years. Couldn't decide to change it last trip.

I changed my wife's iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 last year, and I don't see the need for me to upgrade as it's a waste of money. However, recently I got a little impatient when my loyal iPhone 4 started to slow down and sometimes hang until unbearable level. Now I'm looking again for a replacement. Scouting the market, and luck on my side that iPhone is launching the new model, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S.



Let's start with iPhone 5C. I remember Apple promise the people that they will be developing an affordable iPhone for the masses, which I thought it's a great idea. But when the iPhone 5C is out, the price at RM1,999 for 16GB?? The processor is the same, iOS is the same, rear camera is the same, in fact, everything is the same. Oh, iPhone 5C is plastic and spot a better front facing camera. Boring, need to tell more? I might as well get a used iPhone 5 instead. So much about making a model for the masses. Next.


Then come the iPhone 5S which they jack it up few hundreds ringgit to make it even more expensive at RM2,399 for 16GB. It got a new A7 chip with M7 coprocessor, finger print scan, and better camera with dual flash. That's nice to have, but the price is really putting me off. iPhone has been always upgrading their specification but selling at the same price, and this time they decided to rank up their phone at higher price, giving the masses something cheapo. I have RM2,399, but I felt reluctant to pay for it. But what other options do we have?


Of the entire market, only HTC One caught my eyes. My friends are using it, and I played with it for a while, and really love it. I didn't mention Samsung here, because I personally do not like the Android interface. I mean it's ugly, and it lag sometimes. Coming from iPhone user after 3 years, I can be that particular about lagging. However, HTC One changes all that. It's beautiful and snappy. I didn't changing the interface can have so much difference to overall user experience. So what HTC got for price tag of RM2,200.

It's running on a Quad Core 1.7GHz Krait 300 CPU, Adreno 320 GPU, 32GB internal memory, 2GB RAM, LTE, with 4.7" Super LCD3 Capacitive Touchscreen with resolution of 1920x1080. It got Corning Gorilla Glass 2, 4MP primary camera, 2.1MP front facing camera, and everything else a smartphone got. It support JAVA and Radio receiver, something that iPhone is missing. Everything seems good, because it is HTC flagship handphone. Every specifications kick iPhone ass, but of course, iPhone user is all about package and integrated experience.

I can basically get this phone brand new for around RM1,200 for a 2 year contract with iDigi 88 plan which I'm running now. That sounds good, affordable. Only problem is, this phone is launched February 2013, coming to a year cycle, which I thought new model might be coming soon. Also I will be losing out the effortless iTunes sync backup that I've got used to for past 3 years. Still not decided, will update again.

Malaysia Budget 2014

This is the first time I posted Malaysia Budget in my blog, reason being I felt that it's relevant to my life, comparing to earlier time. Maybe I'm more mature and started to relate myself to the country development and change in policy, I don't know. But I read through everything and it's important for me to know. Somehow, newspaper fail to share with me what's the actual implementation, and I search online and got this data. Sharing here for your reference as well.

 

I've highlighted some pointers important for middle income group like me, hope it's helpful.

 

 

CIVIL SERVICE

* Pensioners will receive a special financial assistance of 250 ringgit to assist them meet the rising cost of living.
* Government to give a half-month bonus for 2013 with a minimum payment of RM500 to be paid in early January 2014.
 
CASH HANDOUTS
* Cash handouts to households with a monthly income of below 3,000 ringgit will be increased to 650 ringgit from 500 ringgit.
* For individuals aged 21 and above and with a monthly income not exceeding 2,000 ringgit, cash handouts will be increased to 300 ringgit from 250 ringgit.
* For the first time, cash assistance of 450 ringgit will be extended to households with a monthly income of between 3,000-4,000 ringgit. Rising cost of living borne by the lower middle-income group.
* To implement all cash schemes, government will allocate 4.6 billion ringgit which is expected to benefit 7.9 million recipients.
     
REAL PROPERTY GAINS TAX
* For gains on properties disposed within the holding period of up to 3 years, RPGT rate is increased to 30 percent.
* For disposals within the holding period up to 4 and 5 years, the rates are increased to 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Malaysian property firms with exposure to this tax change include UEM Sunrise,  Mah Sing Group and Tropicana Corp .
* Raise the minimum price of property that can be purchased by foreigners to 1 million ringgit from 500,000 ringgit.
* Prohibit developers from implementing projects that have features of Developer Interest Bearing Scheme (DIBS), to prevent developers from incorporating interest rates on loans in house prices during the construction period.
* Financial institutions are prohibited from providing final funding for projects involved in the DIBS scheme. Malaysia's top three banks are Maybank, CIMB and Public Bank.
   
AFFORDABLE HOMES
* To further increase access to home ownership at affordable prices, an estimated 223,000 units of new houses will be built by the government and the private sector in 2014.
* Companies that specialise in affordable housing development include Hua Yang Bhd. 
* Government to allocate 578 million ringgit to the National Housing Department (JPN) for low cost flats consisting of 16,473 housing units.
* Malaysian's government to provide 80,000 housing units with an allocation of 1 billion ringgit under affordable housing scheme. The sales price of the houses will be 20 percent lower than market prices.
* Introduce the Private Affordable Ownership Housing Scheme (MyHome) to encourage the private sector to build more low and medium-cost houses. The scheme provides a subsidy of 30,000 ringgit to the private developers for each unit built.
* Preference will be given to developers who build low and medium-cost houses in areas with high demand and limited to 10,000 units in 2014.
* The scheme is for housing projects approved effective from 1 January 2014 with an allocation of 300 million ringgit.
   
TAX RELIEF
* Government proposes a special tax relief of 2,000 ringgit be given to tax payers with a monthly income up to 8,000 ringgit received in 2013.
      
GOODS AND SALES TAX
* To implement goods and services tax (GST) on April 1, 2015 -17 months from now.
* GST rate fixed at six percent, the lowest among ASEAN countries.
* GST replaces current sales tax.
* Basic food items, transportation services, highway tolls, water and first 200 units of electricity for domestic users per month to be exempt from GST.
* Sale, purchase and rental of residential properties as well as selected financial services are exempted from GST.
* PM Najib: "The reality is that inflation now is low at around 2 percent. The government is confident this will be the best time to impose GST as inflation is minimal and under control."
* Training grant of 100 million ringgit will be provided to businesses that send their employees for GST training in 2013 and 2014.
* Financial assistance amounting to 150 million ringgit will be provided to small and medium enterprises for the purchase of accounting software in 2014 and 2015.
   
CORPORATE TAX
* Corporate income tax rate be reduced by 1 percentage from 25 percent to 24 percent.
* Income tax rate for small and medium companies will be reduced by 1 percentage point from 20 percent to 19 percent from the year of assessment 2016.
         
INCOME TAX
* Government to give one-off cash assistance of 300 ringgit to low income households
* Personal income tax rates be reduced by 1 to 3 percentage points for all tax payers.  
* Individual income tax structure will be reviewed 
* Chargeable income subject to the maximum rate will be increased from exceeding 100,000 ringgit to exceeding 400,000 ringgit.
* Current maximum tax rate at 26 percent to be reduced to 24 percent
* Measures to be effective in 2015       

SUBSIDIES

* Subsidy programme to be "gradually restructured"
* A portion of savings from restructuring to be distributed in the form of direct cash assistance with the other half to finance development projects.
* To abolish the sugar subsidy of 34 sen effective October 26 2013.
 
IMPROVING BUDGET MANAGEMENT
* committed to reducing the fiscal deficit gradually, with the aim of achieving a balanced budget by 2020.
* To ensure federal debt level will remain low and not exceed 55 percent of GDP.
* Government to conduct audits on projects valued at more than 100 million ringgit during its implementation.
 
ISLAMIC FINANCE
* Securities Commission to introduce the a framework for Social Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk, or Islamic bonds, to finance "sustainable and responsible" investment initiatives.
   
AGRICULTURE
* Government to allocate six billion ringgit allocated for agriculture programmes.         
* Says to 243 million ringgit allocated for rubber, palm oil and cocoa replanting as well as forest plantation programmes. Main plantation companies in Malaysia include Sime Darby, IOI Corp and KL Kepong.
 
LOGISTICS
* Government to allocate 3 billion ringgit in soft loans under the Maritime Development Fund through Bank Pembangunan Malaysia.
* The fund is to provide financing to encourage the development of the shipping industry, shipyard construction, oil and gas as well as maritime-related support activities.
       
AVIATION
* To replace existing air traffic control and management system in Subang, a new air traffic management centre costing 700 million ringgit will be built at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
* Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Miri, Sibu and Mukah airports in Sabah and Sarawak to be upgraded with 312 million ringgit allocation. 
* Malaysia Airports manages and operates all airports across the country except for one in Johor.
 
PUBLIC INVESTMENTS           
* Public investments to reach 106 billion ringgit. Projects to be implemented include:
* A 316-kilometre West Coast Expressway. Locally listed Kumpulan Europlus Bhd owns 80 percent of the project, while IJM Corp owns the balance 20 percent.
* Double-tracking rail project along west coast Malaysia. The project is carried out by as a joint venture between MMC Corp  and Gamuda.
* Various projects from state oil firm Petronas under its 300 billion ringgit capex programme, including a Petrochemicals plant in southern Johor state.
 
INTERNET ACCESS
* To carry out second phase of high-speed broadband project with the private sector involving 1.8 billion ringgit investment. State-linked telco Telekom Malaysia Bhd is involved in the project.
*To increase Internet coverage in rural areas, 1,000 telecommunication transmission towers will be built in the next three years, with an investment of 1.5 billion ringgit.
*To increase Internet access in Sabah and Sarawak, new underwater cables will be laid within three years at a cost of 850 million ringgit.