Friday, February 28, 2020

Upgraded Honda City stock Goodyear Excellence 185/55R16 tyres to Michelin Energy XM2 Plus

The stock Goodyear Excellence 185/55R16 tyres of my Honda City had worn out by 70%, and I had shortlisted the following 3 models as their replacement:

  • Michelin Energy XM2 Plus
  • Goodyear Assurance Triplemax 2
  • Continental UltraContact UC6
Before I was able to made up my mind, one of my tyres was found to have a nail poked in it, so I was forced to replace them a little bit earlier than my planned date.

The tyre shop informed me that they didn't have stock that fit with the wheel size of my car for some of the brands, and I ended up taking Michelin Energy XM2 Plus to be the replacement.


When looking for new tyre, I look for the following 4 criteria: cost, comfort, performance and lifespan.

Cost

This Michelin Energy XM2 Plus costed me RM200 each (including installation), which is within my budget.

There are of course better tyres with higher cost, which are beyond my selection.

Comfort

This Michelin Energy XM2 Plus is apparently softer than the stock Goodyear Excellent. The car is now less stiff when crossing road bumps, and also less road noise produced when running on the road, especially on cemented road.

Performance

Handling and traction is pretty good. Braking is very responsive. I haven't tried braking on water surface yet, as there is still no raining since I changed the tyres.

Lifespan

This tyre is made with full silica thread compound, which is said to have longer lifespan than rubber tyres. It is advertised to be able to last for over 100,000km mileage. Michelin provides a 6 years manufacturer warranty to it.

This means that as long as it is not poked by nail or damaged by accident, I can expect to use it for many years.

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this Michelin Energy XM2 Plus tyre. It is value for money and performing up to expectation.


Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Boost x Prudential free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage

Boost e-wallet has just launched a "Boost Cares for you" campaign to provide free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage by Prudential, made available to Boost Premium e-wallet users who enrolled for it in their app.

This free COVID-19 insurance coverage is eligible to Boost users who are:

  • having Premium e-wallet with verified personal details.
  • aged between 18 to 55.
  • limited to the first 200,000 enrolments only.
The coverage will start from the date of successful enrolment until 30 April 2020. The coverage is funded by Boost and free for members who successfully signed up for this campaign.

To sign up, open Boost app, then tap on the Boost (second) icon on the top menu, tap on More, scroll down the page to Insurance section, and select COVID-19 with the Prudential logo. Then, accept the terms & conditions and submit for processing.



The coverage of this special COVID-19 life insurance include:
  • RM1,000 payout to your family upon death (all death reasons are covered, except suicide)
  • RM5,000 coverage upon diagnosis of COVID-19


You will be entitled to this coverage despite having an existing medical condition.

For existing Prudential insurance policy holders, if you are already covered for the special RM5,000 COVID-19 coverage under Prudential insurance, you cannot claim double with the COVID-19 coverage under this Boost campaign.


Monday, February 24, 2020

Upgraded my Bacfree BS-1 drinking water filter element from Swiss-Tech to pH-Tech

I have been using Bacfree drinking water filter for more than a decade and it is still functioning very well.

All the years, I had been using Swiss-Tech filter element, which I would replace with a new one after using it for more than a year.

This time, I decided to upgrade the filter element to pH-Tech, because I found out that there is not much price different between Swiss-Tech and Multi-Tech, and that the Multi-Tech is selling at the same price with pH-Tech.

The differences among Swiss-Tech, Multi-Tech and pH-Tech is summarized in the table below:


Basically, Multi-Tech has all the functions of Swiss-Tech, plus an additional function to remove Chloramine in the water. You can read about the danger of Chloramine to our body and health here.

Chloramine can be removed from the water by boiling it for more than 20 minutes. However, my family has been drinking water directly from the Bacfree water filter over the years!

pH-Tech has all the functions of Multi-Tech, plus additional mineral stones to make the water slightly alkaline, and convert the water into mineral water.

When I installed my Bacfree drinking water filter many years ago, Swiss-Tech was the best filter element available, and there were some other filter elements with less functions, which now Bacfree has stopped selling.

Now that I have discovered the availability of pH-Tech filter element, and its price is pretty close with Swiss-Tech, there is no doubt for me to upgrade my Bacfree filter element to pH-Tech from now onwards.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

EPF declared 5.45% (conventional) / 5.00% (shariah) dividend for 2019

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. KWSP) has just declared the dividend rate for financial year 2019.

For year 2019, the dividend declared for conventional account is 5.45% while for Shariah account is 5.00%. The dividend has already credited into members' account, and you can check for it by login into your EPF i-Account.

Year 2019 was the third year of dividend declaration for Shariah account, while dividend for conventional account has been declared annually since 1952. The dividend for Shariah account in all the years from 2017 to 2019 were lower than the dividend for conventional account of the same year.


The 5.45% dividend for EPF conventional account in 2019 is 11.38% lower than the 6.15%  dividend declared for 2018 (last year).

Calculation: (5.45-6.15)/6.15 = -0.7/6.15 = -11.38%

It is 9.00% higher than the 5.00% Shariah dividend declared for the same year.

Calculation: (5.45-5.00)/5.00 = 0.45/5.00 = 9.00%

The table below shows the historical EPF dividend payout rate since 2001, for you to judge yourself whether the dividend payout rate in 2019 is satisfactory or not.



Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Auspicious dates for opening business in 2020

Here is the list of auspicious dates for opening business in year 2020, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

It can be applied to new business opening, or reopening of business after a break/holiday. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Auspicious dates for renovation in 2020

Here is the list of auspicious dates for home or office renovation in year 2020, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Auspicious dates in 2020 for signing contract, register for marriage, etc.

Here is the list of auspicious dates in year 2020 for signing contract, signing offer letter, register for marriage, receiving religious baptism, and other similar agreement-related activities.

It is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Monday, February 17, 2020

Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2020

Before becoming the life partner, marriage is proposed by lover and engagement is made.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in year 2020 (year of Rat), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Auspicious dates in 2020 for getting a baby / childbirth / Caesarian delivery

Here is the list of auspicious dates in 2020 (year of Rat) for getting a baby (求嗣), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

The dates have good element(s) to embro/faetus. Traditionally, the dates are referred for conception planning (making love and expecting a baby to the family). Nowadays, people also make reference to them for Caesarian delivery of new born. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Auspicious dates for moving to new house / office in 2020

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2020, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

You might probably also be interested with the auspicious dates for the following occasions in year 2020:

Auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2021

Many couples plan for their wedding more than 1 year ahead in order to have sufficient preparation time.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in year 2021 (year of Cow), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)


Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are looking for auspicious dates for wedding / marriage in 2020 (year of Rat), click here.

Adjustable undercarriage base with wheels to raise up washing machine, dryer, fridge, etc.

I was looking for a cheap and good solution to raise up my washing machine so that it can drain water out more completely into the drain hole on the floor, which has a portion risen on top of the floor, as shown below.


And I have found this adjustable undercarriage base with wheels to raise up wachine machine, dryer, fridge, etc. which really fit to my need. In fact, its feature exceeds my expectation, as it also comes with pretty good quality wheels which can be locked (fix on the location) and unlocked (make it movable).


Now, you can see that both my washing machine and dryer are lifted higher from the floor with this undercarriage base. With the wheels, I can also easily move them around, to clean the floor area under them.

This undercarriage base's width and length is adjustable, to fit for different size of washing machine, dryer, fridge, etc. placed on top of it. It is advertised to be able to hold a maximum load of 250kg.

Illustration taken from vendor's online store in Shopee

To assemble the base, you will need a screwdriver to install the wheels onto the base. You will also need a hammer to be easier to adjust its width and length, and to install the stoppers to fill up the gap between the stainless steel metal bar and the plastic base, to firm up the adjusted length and strengthen the connection points.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Register for mySalam free national health protection insurance

The mySalam national health protection scheme is an initiative started by the Pakatan Harapan Government that aims to provide B40 and M40 citizens with free takaful health insurance protection.


You are eligible to online register for the mySalam national health protection scheme if you are inside one of the following categories:
  • Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, married, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive).
  • Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, single, age between 40 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
  • Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, OKU, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
  • Non-BSH recipient, yearly income less than RM100,000.
Basically, if you have already received your e-Tunai Rakyat 2020, there is very high possibility that you are also eligible for this mySalam national health protection scheme.

This Scheme covers 45 types of critical illnesses and provides an income replacement of RM50 per day for a maximum of 14 days, or RM700 per annum, to those who are hospitalized at government, university or military hospitals.

Registered BSH recipients will receive a one-time RM8,000 cash payout upon diagnosis of one of the 45 Critical Illnesses, while non-BSH recipients will receive RM4,000 cash payout instead.

All registered citizens under this scheme will also receive RM50 daily hospitalization income replacement up to RM700 per annum at any government, military or university hospitals. This include hospitalization to receive treatment of the Covid-19 virus.

You can click here to find out what are included in the list of 45 critical illnesses covered under this scheme.

To register yourself for the scheme, click here before the deadline of 31 March 2020.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

PTPTN announced 2019 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

The Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has just announced dividend for year 2019 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus) on 5 February 2020.

The 2019 SSPN dividend payout rate is 4%, amounting to RM147.25 million. This rate is the same as previous payout for 2015-2018.

This 4% dividend will be created into our SSPN accounts respectively on 8 February 2020.

On top of that, there is a good news for SSPN-i accounts opened in 2017 or earlier. These SSPN-i accounts can get an additional 1% bonus for new deposit made, which will be paid within this year, as long as they make new deposit of at least RM500 into the account between 5 February 2020 to 30 April 2020, and there is no withdrawal of money from the account during the campaign period. The maximum bonus to be paid for each account is RM8,000.

In 2019, the amount of deposits in  SSPN was RM1.37 billion, with 455,952 new accounts opened by depositors.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 4.39 million.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

  • 2019: 4.00%
  • 2018: 4.00%
  • 2017: 4.00%
  • 2016: 4.00%
  • 2015: 4.00%
  • 2014: 4.25%
  • 2013: 4.25%
  • 2012: 4.25%
  • 2011: 3.75%
  • 2010: 3.25%
  • 2009: 2.50%
  • 2008: 4.00%
  • 2007: 4.00%
  • 2006: 4.00%
  • 2005: 4.00%
  • 2004: 3.00%

You can proceed to the Online SSPN-i Statement of Account website to check the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.


You are also highly encouraged to read about Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Install invisible safety grille at windows, balconies, yards, etc. for high rise buildings

I have just engaged with KL Invisible Grille (KLIG) to install invisible safety grille at the windows of a service apartment unit.


Invisible safety grille is just like a wire mesh or netting fence, except that it is customized to the installation area and constructed on site, precisely and firmly attached to its base. The construction of this invisible safety grille is similar to the way of doing racquet stringing.

To make it looks nicer, you can choose to only construct with vertical cables but without horizontal cables, or to construct with horizontal cables without vertical. In this way, it will look something like a harp. You can also increase its safety level by constructing both ways to make it like a racquet stringing.

(Photo from KLIG's Facebook page)

The invisible safety grille really looks invisible when viewed from some distance (a few meters) away and will not cause distraction to the beautiful scenery outside the building.

The main purpose of installing invisible safety grille is as a measure of safety to prevent people (especially toddlers and children), domestic pets, objects, etc. from falling out of the building.

Although the cable used is pretty strong and durable, with a breaking force of up to 900kg, it can be cut by metal cable cutter by exerting strong force. The good point of this is that the grille will not block fireman equipped with special cutting from rescue mission in case of emergency. The bad point is that it is more vulnerable to burglar and thieve who have the metal cutter and trying to enter the premise from the window.

The process began with a free onsite measurement to the areas of installation. The quotation is based on actual installation coverage area in square feet units.

Then, a deposit is paid and their workers will come for installation. It takes about 10 hours to complete the invisible safety grille installation for all the windows in my service apartment unit.

Since the installation involved drilling, there will be some minor touch up to the wall needed after the installation. The workers performed the touch up filling and repainting with white base paint to the affected places. They also cleaned up the floor, before leaving.

The warranty period will depend on the selection of cable material to be used. There are 3 types of cable for selection:
  • 316 stainless steel cable - 15 years material warranty. Thicker.
  • Nanotechnology Teflon coated cable - 15 years material warranty. Thinner.
  • Nylon coated cable - 3 years material warranty. Thinner but not as durable as the other 2 types above.
You might be surprised that the installation price of invisible safety grille is actually much more cheaper than traditional metal bars grille. For example, the installation cost of the single panel window below is less than RM200.


As such, invisible safety grille is highly recommended to be installed for windows, balconies, yards, etc. of high rise buildings that is very difficult to climb in from outside, to prevent people, pet, object, etc. from dropping out of the building. The cables are as fine as 2.0 millimeter only, which will be seen as invisible and will not block the scene when viewed from some distance away.

If you play it like a harp, the cables can actually produce some nice sound. But unless the cables have different length, the sound produced by each of the cables is pretty monotonous.

Hint: Click on the "Older Posts" link to continue reading, or click here for a listing of all my past 3 months articles.