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 =)

El Fresco @ Jaya Grocer, Empire Shopping Gallery

This time I would like to introduce a good outlet, and it's favourite for the local neighbourhood, a restaurant within the Jaya Grocer located inside the Empire Mall in Subang Jaya. For those that's not familiar with Empire Mall would normally find their lunch or dinner outside, the usual franchise name that you can recall. But if you fancy something special, and don't mind the lower privacy with good price and good food, take a walk into the Jaya Grocer.


Entrance of Jaya Grocer, and you can see the recommended restaurant right across the entrance.


Introducing El Fresco café, it's an open concept where they just decided to smack the kitchen and tables in the middle of the shopping mall. Something similar with what Jusco is doing all these while, but there is a huge difference in what they do here.


The special thing is, you can buy the raw meat from the Butchery or Seafood counters, and they will cook it for you for free! Hey, that sounded like a bargain, as you will notice their price is normal compare to other groceries, but you get to eat a chef alike cooking method for free. That sounds good for everyone. However, they only cook for free for item above RM20, and they do a surcharge of RM4 for anything below. So pick some bigger portion and share it out, simple.

my Burger Lab @ OUG

I've heard about my Burger Lab since like 2 years ago, and being a food blogger, I always wanted to try out the so-call new hip shop in the town. However, due to our baby in tow, and knowing long queue with cramp space is definitely not baby friendly, I've hold it up until now.

29th October 2013, second outlet of my Burger Lab opened up in OUG, surprised me as I'm just staying next garden. I told my wife about it, and we must try this out. Anyway I've been lacking of food materials for blog for quite long so just nice timing. Last week we managed to squeeze a dinner time out without our baby, and go for it. Let's see really how good it is.


Second outlet of my Burger Lab in OUG, they choose to open in a small row of shoplots without any attention and far from the hip area but good visibility from main road, wise choice, as they avoided the high traffic area with plenty of car parks for their shop alone. Simple dark contemporary paint job with a lighted logo, they are up for business.


ID can do wonders, once you are in the shop, you forgotten that this is an old shop that's nearly abandon before my Burger Lab take it over and do a revamp. The decoration is simple, table and chair is light, cramp but neat and tidy. Basically there is no noise absorption, everything bounce and it's noisier than pasar. Very true that it's not baby friendly, hardly any space for baby chair. This is the place where you order, eat and walk. Fast food style, local fast food style. 90% patrons are Gen Y, and if there are any Gen X there, they are brought by their son / daughter.

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.

Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf @ Bangsar

Over the weekend, my parents are around and my sister decided to bring us to a special place, which I quickly grab my camera to cover it for my blog. My sister told us that it's in the Bangsar Village, so off we go, and we ended up in front of Village Grocer. What possibility available in the Village Grocer, so curious but we keep our mind open.

Good news, whole family here, means more food coverage for you guys!
Bad news, it's non-halal, sorry for those Muslim's friends.


Village Grocer is located at the ground floor in the Bangsar Village 1, they are one of the anchor tenant for the place since long time ago, and you won't miss it once at the hall way. Don't put off by this lousy quality photos, lighting problem, because it's old building, so light is low, and paint is old also. Check out the entire post, it's a good place.

As you can see, most of the people are waiting in front of the village grocer, and 75% of them are waiting for their seats for a lunch at the "special place". What place is that? And it's located within Village Grocer.


Then we went in and reached the small pink opening with a signboard, Three Little Pigs with The Big Bad Wolf! That's sure a catchy name for a restaurant, but is it good? Let's find out.

Check out the advertisement, The Wolf's Favourite, interesting =)

Nam Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat @ Singapore

Been staying in Singapore for almost a year, and finally reaching the end of the project cycle where I started to have some free time after normal working hours. I took the opportunity to get my colleagues to show me the good food in Singapore, as I'm really falling back in getting resources for my blog!

This time round, they brought me over for a special best fish head steamboat in Singapore, and being a Malaysian, I'm always skeptical over food quality in Singapore, but they will show me what's meaning of good food in Singapore. We went to the famous Nam Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat in the city center.


Nam Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat is located at the corner shop along the cross roads of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan. It looks old and nostalgic, perfect setup for a good original Fish Head Steamboat that I'm looking for in Singapore. Somehow those famous shop in such setting in city center of Singapore is normally good quality.


Nam Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat is quite famous in Singapore somehow as told by my colleagues. Let's see what they got.