felix ker's blog » Life Tips and Tricks

8 Money Saving Tips: Spend less, Get more!

Felix Ker — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:17:15 +0000

I’m a fan of NTUC Fair Price, Cold Storage, Giant, Carrefour & Watsons and guess I should share some tips on saving more money that I practice.

Buy or borrow newspapers and check out promotions/best buys!
Very often these stores will advertise on papers about their promotions. When a store advertises, doesn’t mean that it’s got the best price in Singapore. Don’t come back commenting that you bought something much more expensive but was on promotion. (Read #2)
Start to compare and remember prices
You don’t have to go around the different stores looking remembering the prices of everything. Just roughly remember the price of stuffs you get more often. Example: Glico Pocky at 85cents at NTUC Fair Price. For some stuffs, Carrefour may be cheaper. If you’re getting stuffs in larger quantities, sometimes Giant offers a better deal! If price isn’t an issue, go over to Cold Storage for some fresh deals.
Start buying house brands
Some people got the concept that house brands lacks quality. Not true. Maybe food wise, the taste may not be as good as some popular brands. Other than that, I guess they’re comparable. House brands are cheaper because they are less advertised. However, not always house brands are cheaper too. Remember, compare. (Read #2)
Brands and stores:
Fair Price – Fair Price
Watsons – Watsons
Carrefour – Carrefour
Giant – Giant
Cold Storage – First Choice
Buy what you need
Jot down a list of items you probably will need. I am a bad shopper as I always walk around the store for very long, aimlessly and buy everything that I see that’s on promotion. This is very wrong. Buy only what you will need to use or eat. (Buy more? Read #5)
Buy 3 get 1 free?
Do you really need 3? If today, Giant starts to hold a promotion for Organic salt and offers 3 packets for the price of 2. Are you going to get it? Do you need 3 in the first place when you’re going to take a year to finish 1. There’s an expiry date to most items. (Not forgetting Active Ingredients too!) Think about it.
Free Gifts vs. No free gift (Not always true!)
Buy tomato ketchup and get a free apron. Good deal isn’t it? Let’s put the word free aside. Normally when there’s no free gifts, tomato ketchups on shelves could be priced at a dollar or two cheaper. So make sure you check if you could get the one without a free gift at a better price. Don’t be misled by the word FREE; nothing is free in the world. Unless you need the free gift, else it’s not worth forking out the dollar for it, although it’s a good deal.
Quality vs Quantity.
I would take clothes detergent as an example. There are brands such as “Attack” that produces detergent that is 2 In 1. Which means you do not need to buy any softener. And also you do not have to pour as much detergent as other brands because it’s thicker. That’s why you have to know what’s value for money.
What size should I get?
Again I shall take clothes detergent as an example. NTUC Fair Price sells 2 Litre and 3.5 Litre Attack 2IN1 Liquid detergent for $7.65 and $11.95 respectively. But which one to get? Since detergent isn’t perishable, start calculating. $11.95/3.5L=$3.4142/Litre for 3.5 Litres bottle and $7.65/2L =$3.825/Litre for 2 Litres. Isn’t it obvious that buying the 3.5 litre bottle can save you more and it’s going to last you a longer time? Bigger bottles doesn’t mean cheaper sometimes though. Just be more calculative.

After reading what I’ve written above, it doesn’t really matter whether the item is $9.95 or $10 (Cheaper doesn’t mean better, refer to #7). What’s important is you save through the tips above.

Next week, if I get some time to walk around the store again, I’m going to cover what you can get with many 1 dollars in your pocket. And again it’s going to save you quite a bit (8 bits and you get a byte!) too!

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I’m having my period. What can I eat and not eat?

Felix Ker — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:56:35 +0000

Let’s say I’m having my period. Ignore me. Let’s say you’re having your period. What can you eat, and what can you not eat? I’ll share with you my research.

What can you not eat and drink?

Salty food. Salty food make you retain water and give you a puffy and bloated feeling.
Dairy Food. This doesn’t apply for all women, but its better to take caution as dairy food might make women feel terrible.
Cold water. Refer to what should you eat #2.

What should you eat and drink?

Chocolates. According to some websites, it’s good to eat chocolates contains complex carbohydrates that helps your body expose off excess progesterone, which is the main culprit of PMS.
Warm water. By drinking warm water, you make your body feel warm and thus pain will be reduced during period. Even days before you know your period is coming, you should be drinking warm water to prevent and lower the pain.

Dietary ways to reduce period pain

Eating six small meals throughout the day, instead of three large ones – this can help to keep your blood sugar up and your mood elevated.
Ensure you’re getting enough calcium. The symptoms of calcium deficiency include depression, irritability and anxiety – much like the symptoms of PMS. Adequate calcium intakes vary with age:
Girls ages 9 – 18 should be getting 1300 mg/day
Women 19 – 50 years should be getting 1000 mg/day
Women over 50 years old should be getting 1200 mg/day (Women above 50 rarely read my blog)
No alcohol please. During this period, depressing effects from alcohol can make your period symptoms more serious.

Help! My period is killing me! I’m having stomach Cramps! What can I do?

Take a warm glass of water.
Take a rest inside a warm blanket.
Put both your warm palms on your stomach.
You should feel well in awhile.

If you think anything above is wrong, please comment.

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Singapore: Pay bills, remember. (I nearly got sued)

Felix Ker — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:22:56 +0000

How many pieces of bills do you pay every month? A normal family man or person living alone would need to pay 2-3 bills monthly. It can be hard to remember, and it happened to me. Sigh.

What?

Max Alliance sent me a letter today, over at my former rented place address threatening to take legal actions if I don’t pay my bills for my previous Broadband Internet Service (MaxOnline) with Starhub by 29th June 2008. (Woo, just 2 more days.)

I suddenly recalled that I still have part of my previous bill unsettled as I always have the practice to deposit $100-150 into Starhub/Singtel’s account and slowly debit it. That would save lots of trouble.

Settled my bills online – only $49.22. So I guess they won’t give me any trouble.

How to remember to pay bills?

Try using Sandy, I am Sandy online secretary service that reminds you to do anything virtually. Sandy don’t sleep!
Have your mobile’s calendar to remind you the monthly billing date of your bills and you’ll remember to settle them.

What else? Let me know

Lesson learnt

Once you receive your bills, have them paid the next day or within a couple of days. Dragging it will only cause forgetfulness. Unless you’re broke?

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8 Tips on How to Get Out of Bed even When You Don’t Want To

Felix Ker — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:54:25 +0000

I’m committed to help make my readers’ life better. Here’s some tips for those of you who can’t wake up on time. I practice them; it works for me.

Give yourself a mental command before you go to sleep.
Let yourself know that you’re going to do something when you wake up. E.g. "I’m going to wake up at 6am and get out of bed immediately." Plant a mental command into your head before you sleep so you’ll be mentally alert when you’re awake.
Think of your one definite burning desire as soon as you wake up.
What do you desire to do when you’re awake? Think of something that you must do when you’re awake; remind yourself that if you continue sleeping, that something won’t be done.
Smile.
Yes, it seems silly. How can a smile help get you out of bed?For starters, you need to think of something to smile about. Think of something that you are grateful for in your life, and actually physically smile when you think of it.You can’t just think happy thoughts – that won’t do it. You will be amazed at how much the physical act of smiling will bring your mind into focus on your life, and also start to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. This has the added bonus of energetically setting yourself up to attract even more things to be grateful for, so you get two perks for the price of one by simply smiling like you mean it!
Think of your “want to do” list.
Everyone has tasks they feel that they need to do each day, but in the grand scheme of things, you don’t “need” to do anything. Every single task that you accomplish in life is based on the fact that you want something.You get up and go to work because you want a paycheck. You get up and exercise because you want to be healthy, lose weight, or accomplish a fitness goal. You get up and help your family get ready for the day because you want them to be happy, or because it benefits you in some way to send them on their way.By thinking of how you will benefit from accomplishing your tasks, you not only make the entire process about your own desires, but you will also start your day with a positive attitude, rather than feeling like someone who is simply slaving away at life for the benefit of other people.
Think of the benefits that come from getting up and getting your day started.
If you have a morning ritual that you enjoy or that brings an immediate benefit to you – and only you – think about how it will feel to get up and start enjoying that benefit.For me, my day starts around 5:15am, and includes 30 minutes of total quiet time with a cup of coffee and an enjoyable assessment of my personal and business accomplishments from the previous day. That 30-minute session is followed immediately by a total mind/body prosperity session while I run or briskly walk outdoors for 60 minutes.That entire 90-minute period is all about me, and rarely do I even interact with another human being accept for the occasional run in with a fellow early morning exerciser. By the time I am back home by 7:00am, I feel like a million bucks and I am fully energized to focus 100% on another day of personal and business accomplishments.
Plan your first “reward”.
Other than the personal benefits that you get from accomplishing that first task or two after waking up, plan the first reward that you will give yourself for staying on track with your sleep schedule.I am a firm believer in people “giving back” to themselves after accomplishing goals or tasks, so as you are laying in bed trying to motivate yourself to get up, plan the first reward that you will get as a result of rolling out of bed and getting your day started.Maybe it is a mid-morning or afternoon nap, maybe it is a pleasant lunch with a friend or family member, or it could be something as simple as an hour of “play time” that you give yourself to do whatever you want to do. Make sure you stick to your integrity by not allowing yourself to have that reward unless you get out of bed on schedule!
Make a commitment to other people a part of your morning routine. If you have other members of your household who are counting on you to be up and focused by a certain time of day, that can help motivate you to get up and do exactly that.No one likes to feel like they let someone else down, and on that some note, most people like to feel wanted or needed. By making commitments to others that you can only accomplish by getting out of bed on time, you will be motivated to do exactly that.Caveat: Remember, though – it is imperative that you do things for other people because you want to. If it starts to feel like a chore, or that it is expected of you, it will actually have the opposite effect, causing you to feel like a worker, rather than a trusted friend, family member, or co-worker.
Put yourself on a schedule that is non-negotiable.
Depending on what your morning routine is, there are very likely things that need to be done during a certain time frame, or it will cause stress or negativity in your life or in the lives of others. By locking your tasks into a certain block of time, you remove the luxury of possibly allowing yourself to sleep in.Again, using my early morning cardiovascular routine as an example, I have no choice but to do that within a very specific window of time. Summertime in northeast Florida means that the sun is fully up and blazing by 7:15am, and it is already 75-degrees (or more!) and very humid as well. If I am not pounding the pavement by 6:15am at the latest, I will not have 60 minutes to exercise before the sun becomes a debilitating factor.If you use this method of putting yourself on a schedule, make sure once again that you keep the right frame of mind. You put yourself on that schedule because of something that you wanted, not something that you had to do.

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What to do when you dropped your mobile phone or iPod in water?

Felix Ker — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:54:57 +0000

What is the next step that you would take if your expensive mobile phone or iPod gets wet in the rain or your drop it in a wash basin?

Such accidents are not very uncommon. Adam Curry once dropped his iPhone in the toilet. Venadium went for a swim while the iPod was still in his pocket. Leo Laporte did something similar to his cell phone. Virgo soaked his iPod when a bottle of Diet Coke fell over his trousers.

Since the warranty for most electronics does not cover water damage, what can you do to revive that wet gadget ? The answer is in your kitchen.

Power off the device (if it’s not off already) and try to completely cover the iPod or iPhone in a bowl of rice. Rice being a natural desiccant will help absorb the excess moisture. Let it try for at least 24 hours and DO NOT try to charge the device.

If your gadget has a removable battery, dry it separately to speed up the whole drying process.

This home-remedy is cheap and worth giving a try before you rush to the Apple store for a replacement.

Ernesto Londoño successfully managed to fix his wet BlackBerry phone after he left the device soaked overnight in a bowl of uncooked rice.

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