Interloper View

cohdra_100_4264.JPG By cohdra (Morguefile) I received a notice with my last OCBC credit card statement that they are revising the cash back rate from five percent in selected categories (and one percent for everything else) to a flat one percent for everything. As part of the change, they removed the cap of RM 50 per month cash back. What is not mentioned in the announcement was whether they are changing any other benefits for the card. The bank also removed another benefit of reimbursing the GST with an annual spending of RM10k and above.   Based on what I read on the Facebook page for OCBC, many customers are not happy with the change. Several customers threatened to cancel the card and encouraged others to do the same.   Based on my spending, the cash back will be substantially lower since my monthly cash back is well below the RM 50 limit with very few exceptions. However, based on what I know about other cards, the cash back is still one of the best in the ma...

Image courtesy of    phanlop88 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net I recently decided that Android operating system is now mature enough for me to get a cheap alternative for tablets and phones. Ten inch tablets are all more than RM 1000/-. The exchange rate is US$1 = RM 3.25. In order to test my theory, I bought three devices. They are: 9.9 inch tablet from HK Video (‎AM10D1B‎) (RM 699). 5.5 inch phone from HK Video - also known as Note 3 (RM 599) 7 inch phone pad from Asus (RM 699) UI All three devices came with Android 4.1.x installed. Quite often those using HTC phones and other branded Android phones and devices complain about how the HTC Sense or third party UI weights down on the devices. However, when I started using the above devices, that was the first thing I missed. I preferred the keyboard that came with HTC Sense UI instead of the keyboard in HK Video. Android 4.1 had a lot of added features compared to the Android 2.3 on HTC Desire HD. Batte...

I have been debating which is a better model to manage expenses. The following are two which I have been trying: JIT - Just in Time purchasing. Which means only purchase items only when we need it. BH - Bargain Stocking/Hunting. Which is to stock up items when they are on sale. To help better explain the model, let us go through some scenarios: Junk Food For those with children, one of the things we usually buy are ice cream and candies. In the case of JIT, you will only buy the individual ice cream cone or bar when they request. So you will go to places like 7-Eleven, McDonalds etc. Same with lolly pop and candies. In the case of BH, you will purchase the tub of ice cream or even the multi pack from the supermarket. In the case of lolly pop and candies, you will buy party packs. Pro for JIT: From experience this actually reduces the consumption of the ice cream and candies since they will only request when the urge strikes or when they see other consuming it. The candy and ...