Cheap as chips

Hack girls?

2009-11-05T21:39:00.002+01:00

I just came across a story on Hack a Day where Yahoo hired some strippers for their Hack event in Taiwan just recently. Judging from the quick manner which an apology got posted and the response from, it sounds like Yahoo made an unpopular decision by hiring these strippers.

Is this just an over-reaction? Perhaps it is the environment that it is in. I have been to many trade shows and conferences, Cebit, E3, etc. and guess what, the booth hosts are they because 1) they look good and 2) by looking good, they attract people to the booths to talk about the products. They even use the same techniques on webpages, have you ever noticed that when you click onto the technical support page, they usually is a picture of a hot looking girl/guy smiling holding a phone.

Do get me wrong, I don't like the exploitation of women and events like the Hack is absolutely not the correct occasions for this.

I reckon the guys leaving the Hack will be yelling out Yahoo! OK, lets move on....

The cost of setting up to live in an another country

2009-10-30T22:17:00.001+01:00

Relocating is always a significant event in anyone's life. It is ever more so if the relocation is to another continent. We recently start our relocation from Melbourne, Australia to Leichlingen, Germany. We are still in the relocating process, but are getting close to finalising it all.

The cost of the relocating is extremely astounding. Before we actually shifted, I did a budget on what I envisage we would needed to spend for the shift to be successful. Needless to say, I totally underestimate it. Some of the assumptions that I made during the formulation of the budget proved to be totally false.

The following are the major ticket items that we have encountered during the relocation.

Cost of renting a house. In Germany, the cost of renting a house is much, much higher than in Australia. The cost can be divided into two catergories, administrative and constructive. Overall, I estimate that it has cost close to about $20,000.

For the administrative, you will need to be paying for the real estate agent's commission (2 x monthly rent), the security bond (3 x monthly rent), the rent (1 month in advance). For a typical house, this is a total of about 6500 EUR.

For the constructive side, the houses in Germany is usually bare and it need to be kitted out with lighting and a kitchen. Yes, I mean the kitchen. This could easily cost up to 2000 to 3000 EUR.

Cost of transport. We managed to get a car, an old car but driveable and suitable for the family for about 5000 EUR. However, it is the incidental cost that caught us out. This includes the conversion of our Australian driving license to a German driving license, (1000 EUR for my wife and mine), the car taxes (400EUR for my diesel car), the insurance (400 EUR per year) and registrating it in the your town (100 EUR). It is certainly not cheap to own a car in Germany.

Cost of appropriate clothing. The winter in Germany is totally different to the winter in Melbourne. For the kids, they will need to "upgrade" their winter clothing. The clothing includes their shoes, coats and jackets, thermal underwears, hats and beanies, gloves and mittens, and the list goes on and on.

I think that we were fortunate that our relocation occurs in European summer. It just means that we can delay the cost of the appropriate clothing until the winter time.

Returning...

2009-10-29T00:07:00.000+01:00

I have decided to restart this blog as I starting to feel the need to write. However, I have evolve this blog from a personal fianance blog to something that I can write about anything. I guess time will allow it bias it towards a certain theme.

In the meantime, I hope that you will join me on this ride...

I'm going for a spell....

2009-01-15T12:17:00.003+01:00

It has been blast and now my time that I have available for writing articles for this blog is getting smaller and smaller. I am having too much fun with the kids and my wife. So I am taking a spell, or a break from writing any more articles.

I have a few thankyou to say before I close off.

For those who reads this cheaps as chips regularly, I thank you for readership.

For those who subscribes to cheap-as-chips via RSS or email, thank you for subscribing.

I hope that all that have ever read this blog has gain something out of it.

See you at another time in the future.

Hooray!! Cheap fuel!!!

2008-12-01T13:13:00.002+01:00

Well, cheaper than a few weeks ago when the cost of petrol was about 150 cents per litre.

I pulled up to my local petrol station to get some petrol into the car, and I had a feeling that I haven't felt in a few years. It was like an old friend visiting and saying "Hello, I haven't see you a while. I hope that I can stay for a few months."

My service station was selling petrol at 102 cents per litre. This is the cheapest petrol I have purchased in the last few years.

Actually, there is not much point to this article except that strange deja vu feeling of living in an era where petrol was less than a dollar a litre. Hooray for cheap fuel!!.

Now where is that jerry can....

Talk About Debt

2008-12-01T12:58:00.002+01:00

I recently received an email from Matt, the editor of TalkAboutDebt, bringing my attention to a UK based website call www.TalkAboutDebt.co.uk. I like the title as it encourage people who are in the debt to start talking about their problems. So I had a better look at it.

TalkAboutDebt is run by a group of bloggers who have, in the past, been in debt and are able to provide some dialogue about their debt experience.

It is good to talk about your problems as it allow the problems to be acknowledge and then for it to be tackled. TalkAboutDebt provides a forum, in their "Questions and Answers" page, which your debt problems can be discussed. By using the forum for the discussions, your anonymity is retained.

The thing to watch out for with TalkAboutDebt is that the advice provide is generally only useful for UK based debt.

It has a page where it lists a range of companies that are able to provide you with profession advice on getting out of debt. Most of the companies feature provide a free financial planning service to help you get out debt.

As with most information on the internet, beware of the information that you received, and double check it against another source. However, from what I can read information on TalkAboutDebt, it appears to be sensible and logical.

In summary, TalkAboutDebt provides another source of information, however, just beaware of the information that you received or read on it.

Fixing our interest rate - a retrospective

2008-11-11T13:47:00.003+01:00

Back in February this year, we fixed our home loan interest rate for the the next four years. Now that we are coming up to the one year anniversary, and falling interest rate. It is interesting to find out if we have made the correct decision.

One of the things that fixed interest rate gave us was a peace of mind. Like the many mums and dads out there, I don't really have a clue on which way the interest rate is going. At the time when we fixed the interest rate, it was on the way up. Looking back on it, it pretty much hit the top and is starting to plateau. However, we missed about two interest rate increases. Furthermore, the fixed interest rate gave my wife and I a peace of mind and some certainty on what our monthly mortgage payment is going to.

Now that interest rates are on their way down, we are considering re-negotiating a new loan. However, among the fees that the new loan will incur is an re-establishment fee, which will be about $600 to $700 and mortgage insurance if the new loan amount is more than 80% of the loan (a few thousand dollars). A calculation will need to be made to determine how much will be save and the saving will begin when the fees are taken into account.

During the reconsideration of the new loan, we are not going to limit ourself to our current bank. Perhaps we should consult a mortgage broker to see if they can secure a loan with a low cost.

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Interest rate fixed

Movember 2008

2008-10-31T12:59:00.003+01:00

Hi All,

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I'm growing a Mo. That's right I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against men's depression and prostate cancer.

To donate to my Mo you can either:

Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account

Write a cheque payable to 'Movember Foundation', referencing my Registration Number 1608361 and mailing it to:

Movember Foundation
PO Box 292
Prahran VIC 3181

Remember, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men's health issues and donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative. The PCFA and beyondblue will use the funds to fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and depression.

Did you know:

Depression affects 1 in 6 men....most don't seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.
Last year in Australia 18,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer - equivalent to the number of women who will die from breast cancer annually.

Imagine if one of these men could be your father, your brother or your son.

For those that have supported Movember in previous years you can be very proud of the impact it has had and can check out the details at Fund Raising Outcomes.

Movember culminates at the end of month Gala Partés. If you would like to be part of this great night you'll need to purchase a ticket. The ticket can be purchased at Gala Tickets.

Thanks for your support.

More information is available at http://www.movember.com/.
Remember to make your online donation via this link: Donation

Movember is proudly grown by Holden and Schick.
Movember is proud partners with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative.

Where to go for the freebies?

2008-07-27T14:51:00.001+02:00

What could be better than getting something for free? I would certainly would want it, but where do you find all these free things? Doing a Google search with the keyword freebie brings up 7.9million hits.I have come cross three place that. Some of the hits only provide links to promotions like "get a Free iPod if you click on this advert, and then only if you and then of your fiends sign up for an online survey and ....blah blah..", I think you know what I mean.

Having said that, I have three sites that are has quite reliable information about freebies, what to do and where to go etc.

The Freebies Blog - This is my favourite in getting what is going for free. What I like about it is that it also has pictures of the freebies received.
BuckScoop Forum - BuckScoop has a forum for freebies. This is good as it is a forum and many users would provide feedback on how good the freebie is. This Crispy Creme freebie is a good one, stirs out the patriotic blood. :-)
Whirlpool Forum - Whirlpool also has a forum of freebies. Similar to the BuckScoop foum, it has reader feedback, however it does not appear to as active as BuckScoop's forum.

The two forum sites are mainly focused on Australian Freebies, while The Freebies Blog are mainly Australian and American.

Does anyone else know anymore of these sites?

The twin's mums just lost an unreasonable case.

2008-07-24T09:36:00.000+02:00

A few months ago, I wrote an article about the parents of an IVF twins suing their obstetrician for implanting two embryos instead of one, causing a set of twins to be born.

Well, the case has been settled in favour of the defendant. This article from The Age has some details on the case.

Apart from the ridiculous amount money being sued for, the following quote stunned me.

"The court was told the twins' birth mother had lost her capacity to love and the couple's relationship suffered as they became mired in everyday tasks associated with raising two children."

Having read this, I get the feeling that this set of parents have lost (or perhaps, never gained) the notion of being parents. Not only have the mums blessed with children via the amazing IVF program, they have twice the amount of enjoyment with the twins.

I am not saying that having twins is an easy job. I have a young toddler myself and I can imagine that a pair of twins will be even harder, but as a parent, I will never lose the love for my son.

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High fuel price costs jobs

2008-07-22T15:30:00.003+02:00

About two weeks ago, when I was waiting for my car to be serviced, I had an interesting conversation with the mechanic at the car dealership. It goes something like this.

me: "Did see the price of petrol today? It is getting pretty high."

mechanic: "When I drove in to work this morning, I saw about $1.70 per litre."

me: "I hope that it goes down a little in the next few weeks"

mechanic: "Well, I think the damage is already done. Some of my mates had to quit their jobs because the petrol prices are too high."

me: "Really?!?"

mechanic: "Yeah. They had to travel about an hour to work, and the cost of petrol is around $125 per week. They just couldn't afford it."

At that point, I start the feel how lucky I am to be working about 5 minutes drive from home. In a city like Melbourne where the suburban sprawl of extremely wide, it is quite common for workers to travel for more than two hours each day between home and work. The lack of public transport to service the widening suburban sprawl does not help these people.

The mechanic went on to say that his friends would have got more money in their pockets if they went on the dole, or unemployment benefit, however they manage to find similar jobs closer to home.

If I was in a similar situation, I probably would have seriously consider this option as well. In the current economic climate, having enough money to provide for your family the number one priority.

What would you have done in a similar situation?

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The real cost of that hamburger, movie, or kid

2008-07-22T14:33:00.001+02:00

Welcome to a guest writer, Aaron Stroud, who blogs On Financial Success. He provides plenty of down-to-earth writing around personal finance. Many thanks to Aaron for the guest post.

What do burgers, kids, and movies have in common? They all involve opportunity costs.

When you buy a burger, you can't use that money to rent a movie, pay down debt, or invest. And when you sit down to watch a movie, you've traded your time and money for two hours of entertainment.

Sometimes a movie is the best use of your time and money, but that's time you can't spend reading or walking in the park.

These alternatives–the missed opportunity to read, walk, pay down debt, or to invest–are the opportunity costs of picking one option over another.

So how much does a $2 hamburger really cost? Well, over the next 25 years you're missing out on:

$65 if you carry credit card debt at 15%
$9 in saved interest on a 200k mortgage at 7%
$34 in missed retirement savings if you earned 12%

Perhaps it is worth rethinking your options before ordering that hamburger!

Oh, and the costs of children? Costs vary from family to family, but one thing is for sure—children are expensive. Fortunately they pay dividends superior to any stock.

Aaron Stroud shares reliable, easily followed steps to build wealth at On Financial Success. Subscribe to his feed to follow along or ask a question to direct the conversation.

Would you use a fuel price monitoring service?

2008-07-17T13:24:00.002+02:00

With the fuel prices almost reaching the $2 per litre mark, I am always looking for different ways to spend as less as possible when I am filling up the car. One of this ways was to exploit the volatility of fuel cycle. Sometimes, I believe that the fuel cycle is manufactured to keep the illusion that the poor driver is getting a bargain at the bowser, (I am probably too cynical).

Fuel watch was a program that was first used in Western Australia with varying degree of success. It was introduced in 2001, so its effect on the local fuel prices would be well understood if it was to be introduced for the test of the country. Fuel watch was to provide the drivers to make an informed decision on when and where to get the next load of fuel.

An article in WA Today today has indicated that fuel price cycle in Western Australia has basically disappeared. It is not conclusive that Fuel Watch was the main reason. If the price cycle is as predictable as it is, what difference would Fuel Watch make?

I believe that fuel cycle will not totally disappears. It's price will still go up and down,following the world oil prices. It just that the fuel prices is not going to be as volatile as it has been. The volatility cycle will probably be measured in weeks rather than days.

Instead of investing money into Fuel Watch for the rest of the country, that money should be invested into more worthwhile projects such as ways of dealing with housing crisis, or getting more people in homes.

What do you think about a monitoring service like Fuel Watch?

CoPF #161 up at The Budgeting Babe.

2008-07-14T15:10:00.002+02:00

The 161st edition of Carnival of Personal Finance has just been hosted by the Budgeting Babe. My entry on the rental crisis was also selected for publication.

Some of the articles that caught my eyes were.

Sallie's Niece on how she spent $900 on Gyros.
Money Ning on adjusting your invesment contribution.
Our Four Pence Worth has some wise advice on splurging on that next purchase.

There are many other great articles at the carnival. Get over there and take a look.

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Watch out for David Rhodes and his crazy chain letter

2008-07-09T15:18:00.001+02:00

About two weeks ago, I received a letter in the mail addressed to "T. Chin", Upon opening it, I discovered it is a letter from David Rhodes. It had a 5cent coin taped to the top corner of the letter. It certainly caught my attention on what it was all about. Having never heard of David Rhodes, I read a bit more. It dawned on me that this is a classic pyramid scheme/chain letter that no one will ever be the winner. Furthermore, this type of activity is illegal and will incur a heavy penalty if found guilty. The Consumer Affairs of Victoria has a nice bulletin of what this chain letter is all about. The fines are more than $24,000! Wikipedia also has a good article on the history of this letter.

Essentially, the chain letter works by having you sending a gift of $10 to the person at the top of a list of 5 people. Of the 200 letters you send out, the person on the top of the list is removed and you placed yourself at the bottom of the list. The person that receives your letter will do just as you have done. You get your $10 when you have reached the top of the list.

That evening, I read it again trying to understand why so many people would be drawn into it and give it ago. Let's have a look at some of the letter characteristics.

The plan itself appears to be extremely plausible for it to work, and the instructions looks thorough enough for it work. It even contain steps on how to fold the letters so that the creases in the folded letter does not mess up any future photocopying by your receiver.
The chain letter contain a calculation of a scenario where it appears to be reasonable and realistic. It used a 3% response rate on letters that you sent out.
The outlay for the participation is about $200. Most people may think that this is not such a large outlay and would be willing to risk to receive the "guaranteed" $70,000 return.
Everyone loves a rags-to-riches story and caused them to think "if it happen to him, it certainly can also happen to me as well." The letter also contain several other rag-to-riches testimonials.

This is the first time that I have ever received such dangerous spam through the post. However, it is only dangerous if I acted upon it. The best thing I can do is take the 5cent coin off the letter and throw the letter into the recycling bin. At least that way, that letter did increase my wealth by giving me 5cent, better than nothing.

By the way, just found the Make Money Fast Hall of Humiliation. Reading the comments, I am amaze on how gullible some people are.

Rental crisis and what you can do to avoid it.

2008-07-07T05:18:00.003+02:00

The ever increasing affordability of housing in Melbourne is causing some grief in the rental market. The landlords may be loving it as there are no shortage of potential tenants. This situation has inflated the rents of properties. I don't believe that the situation is isolated to only Melbourne, the other capital cities are also experiencing similar effects, especially in Perth and Brisbane.

Unfortunately, the rent for a property is almost dictated by how many people wants to live it. In today's rental market, I would not be surprise if the rent is higher than a mortgage's repayment.

In the Frankston area, just a short drive from where I live, the landlords are being opportunistic in trying to extract as much rent as possible. This article from the local paper discusses the sad state of affairs.

So, if you are renting, what you do to help with the rising rent rates.

Move the an area with cheaper rent. Some suburbs has lower rent rates than others for many reasons. If you are happy with the reasons on the lower rent rate, consider moving to these locations.
Negotiate with your landlord. Most land lords are reasonable people, and an attempt with communication with them shows that you are willing to discusses the crisis with them. In most cases, most land loads are happy with a good tenant with a reasonable rent rate than a bad tenant at a high rent rate.
Know your tenant rights. If your land lord is not is reasonable, have a good knowledge of what your rights are. For rentals in the state of Victoria, you can contact the Consumer Affairs for more information. The are similar government bodies in the other states an territories.
Consider purchasing a house. If the rent that you are paying is so high that it almost as high, if not higher, than a mortgage repayment, then consider purchasing a house. In today's market where new house purchases are declining, the developers are extremely accommodating in the terms and conditions. Have a chat with them. Be aware that purchasing a house is not something to be entered into lightly, it is littered with traps and pitfalls.

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Happy New Year

2008-07-01T04:26:00.002+02:00

Happy New Year!

Today is the new day of the new financial year in Australia. For most of Australian businesses and general public, the financial year ends on the 30June, and the new one starts on the 1July.

So what can be expected for this financial year, from my perspective, I can't see as many positives as I can see the negatives. Lets start with the negatives.

The interest rates are expected to rise. My prediction is that mortgage rates will hit 10% by the end of the year. Recent reports of the slowing down in the economy such as spending in retail and housing will probably stop the interest rate from going much further than 10%.
The petrol prices will continue to increase. Even though there was a recent conference among the oil producers to help reduce the cost of oil, I feel that the days of seeing the pricing at around $1.20/ltr are long gone. I expect to see the price of unleaded petrol to hit $2/ltr by the end of the year.
Australian manufacturing industry to slow down dramatically. The current Australian economy is really riding on what the land can provide, more correctly, what the underground can provide in mining. Another industry such as manufacturing, services and farming will probably suffer due to environmental reasons and economic reasons. Personally, I would like to see the manufacturing industry enjoying the same economic boom as the mining industry, I don't think it will happen in the near future.
Due to the on-going drought and increasing fuel pricing, the groceries prices will be increasing.
Our superannuation fund is on its way to give one of the worst return ever. We can blame the US subprime problems for this.

Feel free to shoot me down in flames with these predictions, and I hope that I very wrong with some of these predictions.

A couple of the positives are

The personal tax rates have changed, which means that you should be getting a little bit more in your pocket each payday.
With the increase of petrol, focus on alternative energy are being looked at in a serious way. So hopefully, a commercially viable solution is not too far in the future.

With those predictions, let's try make the best of the new 08/09 financial year by viewing the negatives as problems which solutions are to be created for, especially on a personal finance level.

Quick post towards the end of Apr08

2008-04-23T15:13:00.002+02:00

I haven't been keeping up with one of my goals for 2008, that is to post at least articles per week on this blog. There are many things to talk about, like the inflation rate has just hit 4% today, the level of mortgage stress is at a record high and how the fixing our interest rate is working out for us.

Things on the family front and work front have been extremely busy. My wife is about half way through carrying our second child, and project deadlines are looming at work!

Hopefully, I will get back to regular posting sooner than later. However, if any one wishes to do any guest posts, drop me an email via tehn.yit.chin@gmail.com

CoPF #147 - Q1 financial advice edition

2008-04-08T15:24:00.001+02:00

Carnival of Personal Finance #147 is up at MoneyNing. Many great articles, some of the ones that caught my eye were...

Wide Open Wallet - The pawn shop are thriving. This article gave a scary thought of pawning items that are financed. I guess when folks are desperate, crazy things are done to get money.
You might as well burning $5! - The $37 Latte. This a great article on keep track of you finances.
On Financial Success - Can we afford college? A good range of tips on how to go about getting a university/college fund ready for your kids.

My recent article on you are only worth at market value was also included. Many thanks to MonyNing. Happy reading!

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Did Earth Hour 2008 really work?

2008-04-04T15:18:00.001+02:00

Well, Earth Hour 2008 came and went last weekend. I even wrote an article about it. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in it as our 2 year old was caught the croup a few days previously and needed some attention.

How did it go for you? Even though I was not able to participate in it, it has made me more aware of the my usage of electricity. This also goes for the other resources such as water, gas and food. So Earth Hour wasn't just one hour for me, it is going to be an effort for me to apply it to my day-to-day living.

The one thing that got me beat is the amount of energy used to increased the profile of the event, to create the infrastructure to support the event and to celebrate the event.

Earth Hour's blog has figures quoting a reduction of 264MWatts in Toronto, Canada but it hosted huge public music/party for the event. It also has figures about Bangkok, Thailand saving 73.34MWatts.

I can't help but think that if we all just stayed at home and turned off the lights, it would have been an even more significant savings. A cynical person would think that many people got into the spirit of Earth Hour because it is the in-thing to do for the environment. Think about it, imagine the public music event in Toronto, what kind of infrastructure is necessary to support it, and the energy consumption of that infrastructure.

Am I just a bit too cynical about this type of events?

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CoPF #146 - Online Broker Tip edition

2008-04-01T13:58:00.002+02:00

The 146th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is up over at Stock Trading To Go. I was fortunate enough for my post on revisiting my superannuation to be included among the many fine articles.

A selection of the articles are:

Dreaming of Ferraris - Personal Benefit of Savings
Blunt Money - The high cost of inertia
The personal financier - How to make sure that this is your dream home: 7 Practical tips
Smart Easy Money - If you build it, they will come
Mommy gets paid - Friends and Money

These are only a small selection of the many articles being hosted. Go and check them out.

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You are only worth at market value

2008-03-30T12:26:00.002+02:00

Back in 2002, my wife and I went into semi-retirement. Well, more really like putting our working lives on hold and recharging our personal life. Since graduated from university in 1992, I have never had an extended period of holiday or even a time to reflect on my life and where I want to head towards.

At the start of 2002, I told my boss that I am resigning my position, I told my family that I am selling the house going traveling around Australia in a caravan. Their reaction was a bit of disbelief and telling us that we are quite mad.

So we sold the house in Feb 2002, paid all our debts and put any remainder into a term deposit.

We reached Brisbane after six months of a traveling up the east coast of Australia from Melbourne. I started to look for a job and ended up with an offer of a job that I thought would paid a bit more. They offer me $45K, and I rejected their offer. That is one of the biggest mistake that I have ever made!

I rejected their offer because I believe that I am worth more than the offer, and my mistake is that assumption. The reality of what I am worth is that I am only worth as much as the job market is willing to pay for my services.

You may be the the most talented engineer in the country that is worth $150K, but if the hiring companies can only pay $50K, that is all you are worth.

What do you do if you think you are worth more? Well, the following may be worth attempting.

Wait for the job market to evolve. The job market may change so that your position is worth more, but are you able to wait that long?
Move to another city where the job market is willing to pay more. Many people do this, think of how many country folks come to the city for the bigger salary.
Switch profession. If a different job market pays more, consider switching. However, the time it takes to reach the equivalent career level may take a few more years, and then the job market may change again!

We finally returned to our working lives when our travels brought us to Adelaide and I got a position to work in Singapore for three months. My wife enjoyed it very much, and I enjoyed the food very much as well ;-)

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The rules of buying

2008-03-28T13:46:00.002+01:00

My pair of shoes are just about to die, it was then that I realised that the last time I bought some shoes was back in 2003! I haven't even bought a pair of cheap sandals for the beach since 2003.

There are quite a few reasons why that is, but I believe that the main is that I purchase high quality and robust shoes.The last three pair of shoes that I bought were Birkenstock shoes. These shoes are build to last! These shoes are not the cheapest nor are they the most expensive. However, I believe is spending that little bit more to ensure that I get good value for money.

Applying this concept to other products, such as kitchen appliances, clothing and other house hold items, have allow us to not purchase many high price. However, with many of the electrical products emerging from China and India, their quality are questionable.

So my rules are

Buy the best that you can afford. Everyone has a budget on what they can afford, so buy the best that you afford. Some of the best quality products are not even the more expensive products.
Know what makes it a good quality product. For example, a good pair of shoes that last a long time has real leather uppers and eyelets that doesn't cut the laces. For high price items, I would spend a few weeks researching on the product. The car that we purchased, we spend six months researching it.
Dare to be different. Not purchasing the same product as everybody else allows you to choose from a larger range of products, however do the research on why the popular products are popular. They might actually be of good quality.
Talk to the experts. The majority of the items that we purchased, we have no idea on what qualities we should be focusing on? Is the fit of a shoe, or how breathable the upper that is the most important. I have no idea, so I talk to a few of our friends whom have worn Birkenstocks before.
Make sure that it has a good support system. If the product does need to be repaired, it is supported by a good warranty return system with a quick repair time. Is the warranty period reasonable?

What are some your rules when it comes to buying?

Photo credit: sundeip arora
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Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-27T12:21:00.003+01:00

Earth Hour began in 31 March 2007 in the Australian city of Sydney at 8pm to 9pm. The idea is for as many people as possible to stop using electricity for one hour, such as turning off their lights or switch their appliances at the power point, for one hour.

The effect was startling. For that one hour, it reduced the power consumption in the City of Sydney by 10.2%! That is only in one city. In 2008, Earth Hour is going global!

29 March 2008 8pm - 9pm is Earth Hour 2008.

Earth Hour 2007 showed us the following.

It shows how much energy is being wasted. The majority of the time, we just leave a light switch on because we can't be bother to switch it off. Just switch off when you are not using it. I usually leave my computer on at work when I leave my desk at the end of the day. I need to make a conscious effort to switch it off when I leave, especially over the weekends.
Stand-by power is really wasteful. Stand-by power is when the appliances are still be left on when you 'switch it off'. For example, when you switch off the TV, it is still being powered up. The TV is still powered up to do things like being able to be switched on via the remote control, or remember its last settings. To really switch it off, flick the switch at the power point.
Wasting energy is also wasting money. If you like wasting energy, then you must like throwing money into the bin as well. The effect to your wallet is just the same. Don't do it!

Please consider support this. You don't really have to register to join in. Just switch off the power on the 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and consider doing it every week. It will make a difference.

Earth Hour is supported by WWF, (no, not the wrestling guys, these are the panda guys!).

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superannuation revisited

2008-03-24T13:09:00.001+01:00

I have just received my annual statement for my superannuation fund and it has triggered some rethink on my superannuation strategy. The downturn in the stock market this year have probably put many superannuation funds in a similar position. Lets start by looking at some of the figures that has caused me to do the rethink.

Account balance change: 7.12% on the opening balance
Return on Investment: -2.58% of closing balance
Management Fee: 16% of contribution

Looking at each of these figures in turn.

Account balance change: This represents the raw change in my account balance. A positive figure here is an absolute must as it indicates that I haven't lost all of the my contributions to the falling investments, fees etc.

Return on investment: I was expecting this figure to be a negative value. We can look across the Pacific Ocean towards the American economy. I actually thought this figure would be a lot worse, I expected it to be around -5% to -7.5%. I was quite relieve to see this figure of -2.58%.

Management Fee: This is how much I am paying my super fund to management my account. Now 16% of my contribution goes off my superannuation's wallet. When I did the calculation and realised what I am paying, I was pretty upset. This figure is what actually drove me to investigate other superannuation fund and how I can maximise the investment.

At end of my calculation, it came down to the following strategy.

Lowest fee structure. Two reasons here, firstly minimising fees is one of the very few items about the superannuation fund that can be influence so make it as effective as possible, secondly, I want to maximise the magic of compounding interest.
Online access. My current superannuation fund does not allow online access. So its performance can not be analysed in a timely manner.
Good insurance policy. Most superannuation has an insurance component, we need to ensure that the policy is suitable and covers all the family members.

What are some of yours?

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