CIMB CashLite and the calculation of effective interest rate from flat interest rate

I was called by CIMB and offered a credit card linked personal loan (a.k.a. cash advance facility) called CIMB CashLite at the flat interest rate of 3.99% for a tenure period of up to 4 years (48 months).

I was told that there are no fees involved (cash advance fees, processing fees, etc.) other than the flat interest rate. Of course, there is still a catch: every monthly instalment need to be paid promptly, or else there will be penalty charge (late payment charge) and finance charge on the outstanding payment.

I was also told that there are no lock-in periods or early settlement fees for this loan. Early settlement can be made by calling to their customer service.

Is the interest rate of 3.99% looks attractive? So far, this is the lowest credit card linked personal loan rate offered to me. Not long ago, I was also offered by HSBC at an interest rate of 4.99% which I had rejected.

To quickly calculate the effective interest rate, what I need is MS Excel. Google Sheets or Docs To Go spreadsheets in my Android phone can do the same calculation too.

Open a new worksheet, and key in the information for loan amount (principal), the flat annual interest rate, and the number of repayments.

For example, a loan amount of $10,000 at the flat annual interest rate of 3.99% over a period of 4 years is as below:

The total interest payable is =B1*B2*B3/12. This is because 3.99% is the annual rate, so we have to divide 48 months by 12 to get 4 years, and apply the 3.99% per annum rate to it.

The total repayment is =B1+B5. This is very straightforward.

The monthly payment amount is =B6/B3. This is also very straightforward.

Once we obtained the monthly payment amount, we can calculate the effective interest rate with this formula:
=RATE(B3,-B7,B1,0)*12

And the effective interest rate I got is 7.46%.

Back to the question: is this interest rate attractive?

I would say it is quite attractive to me.

If I take the loan and make an investment with CAGR of 3.99%, I would have gain 1694.09 from a 10,000 principal 4 years later. Deducting the interest paid of 1596, I still made 98.09 from it. That is 0.98% of 10,000.

If I take the loan and make an investment with CAGR of 10%, I would have gain 4641 from a 10,000 principal 4 years later. Deducting the interest paid of 1596, I will make 3045 from it. That is 30.45% of 10,000.

So, you guess, did I actually take up this offer by CIMB?

Olympus Global Open Photo Contest 2015

"Photography has the power to bring people together from all over the world."

Currently Olympus Corporation is having an Olympus Global Open Photo Contest 2015 that is open to everyone, from amateurs to professionals, using any photographic device from smartphones to interchangeable lens DSLR cameras, of any brand.

The contest accepts entries until 11:00 am, Friday, 20 November 2015 (Japan time).

To participate, you need to go to the contest website and register for an account, then upload your photo into the appropriate category from:

• Birth
• Place to preserve
• Smiles and laughter
• Macro
• Art

Each entrant may submit up to 5 photo entries for each theme, and each submitted photo must be in JPEG format and be 15MB or smaller.

In the contest website, you can also view all the photo entries already participated in this contest.

 

The Grand Prize winner will be awarded the latest Olympus PEN camera and lens, along with 1,000,000 Japanese yen (about US$8,350).

There will be 14 additional prizes given out per theme, and a Viewers' Raffle will be held with an additional 301 winners, totaling to 372 winners.

My NutriBullet Pro 900 Series 900W Superfood Nutrition Extractor - more than just a blender

I purchased this NutriBullet Pro 900 Series 900W Superfood Nutrition Extractor online at the price of slightly more than RM200 a few months ago.

Its packaging box is quite thin, therefore you can see its corners got dented a bit along the way with the courier service when the online merchant sent it to me. Anyhow, the content inside is not hurt.

Unboxing this NutriBullet Pro 900 Series, you will find...

• 1x high-torque NutriBullet power base
• 2x tall cups (24 oz), one with handled lip ring and another with regular lip ring
• 1x short cup (18 oz)
• 1x colossal cup (32 oz)
• 1x flip-top to-go lid
• 2x stay-fresh resealable lids
• 2x stainless steel extractor blades

You can also find 3 books inside...

• 1x NutriBullet Pocket Nutritionist
• 1x NutriBullet User Guide & Recipe Book
• 1x NutriBullet Life Changing Recipe Book

This NutriBullet is not like other blender or juicer in the market.

Firstly, it is equipped with a much more powerful 900-watt (1.2 HorsePower) motor, which is able to spin its specially designed stainless steel extractor blade at the speed of 25,000 RPM. This fast action can break down, while pulverizing, all the thick and tough skins, stems and seeds of the nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables which contains all the essential nutrients hidden within it.

Secondly, its bullet-shape design with overturned cup in action produces a cyclonic action that break the pulp, skin, seeds, and stems of the plants down into tiny drinkable particles.

Therefore, its chewing, juicing, or blending result can't be rival by ordinary blenders. Ordinary blender just able to mix all the food items you put in it without breaking down into finer particles or smoothening it. This makes it to leave out pulp and fiber as a waste when you run the mixture through a strainer. The blender is fit to make a thinned out smoothie. NutriBullet on the other hand, leaves no residue of the food particles when you run the juice through a strainers as it pulverizes the food particles and converts it into a pulpy rich smoothie that is filled with nutritional value. It offers you a Nutriblast drink that is rich in fiber and nutrition.

With it, I can make delicious soups, juices, dressings, desserts, ice-creams, dips, sauces, peanut butter, baby foods, etc. There are quite a lot of NutriBullet recipes available in the Internet. There are also a few NutriBullet cook books available in the bookstores.