Sketches of Life

All of a sudden I felt a huge yoke was placed on my shoulder. Can I stand up? I can but for how long I am not sure but I am trusting that God will lift that yoke soon. How soon, only He knows.

Have to live life to the simplest now.

I can forget about going for holidays.
No more dining out.
No more supper.
No more buying our wants.

Come to think of it, stress and no supper will help me slim down!

Always think positive.

Nervous, Scare, Worried, Uncertain and very stressful too.

My gastric juice is oozing out now. It normally does when I am in stress!

Manage to de-stress for a lil while just now, watched Hancock at GSC, Mahkota Parade.

My heart beats so fast when I open my email.

I received yet another bad news…my whole body felt so lifeless.

Looking forward to Monday night though and hope that everything will be back as usual or even better.

I am telling God that if you are going to stop blessing me financially, you better start blessing my husband!

Since I need to TT the maid’s salary, and never done that by myself before, I left home at 9.45am and make sure I reach the bank by 10am! I also helped hubby by doing his banking too. All those are done within half and hour. Well, at least I utilised the coupon, so don’t feel that it is a waste.

Later I realised…”Hey…only 60 cents lar!”

To comfort myself, “You learned something new today…How to TT money.”

Before I resigned, I was thinking that I might have free time at home to continue my studies. As I was going through the online college courses, I was thinking whether to pursue a master degree, another 2nd degree or just get a TESL diploma.

Now that I am at home, jobless without any fixed income, I am thinking more about getting money. The US economy is bad and I just hope I don’t loose my online job come next week. I am very worried now. I am thinking about starting a few more niche blog and earn from adsense. Then when I see the income coming again, I might consider studying again.

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Instead of Proton Persona, we terPersona with the LeRun Mountian Bike which does not need petrol to move. Besides saving on petrol we will have nicer butt and legs.

We bought the LeRun Avatar front suspension mountain bike with the petrol rebate that hubby claimed yesterday.

So, follow our footstep. Don’t go joli (spend) the RM625 Petrol Rebate. Go buy bicycle.

My first hobby was collecting stamps. That does not last long too as I do not have many friends to exchange them with. Then I started making friends from overseas and we started exchanging coins. The I started to have interest in my father’s rare coin collection. I think he found them when he was doing farming and when he travels. Do you know that Monaco have the finest rare coins available? Morgan silver Dollars, minted from 1878 to 1921, are America’s most-collected coins because of it’s beauty. To me this is a very expensive hobby unless you are rich.

I have finally decided not to buy a new car. I really hope I will stick to this decision. It has nothing to do with the petrol hike. I was thinking, what is main purpose of getting a new car? My answer is, so that we can travel outstation or go holiday without borrowing other’s car. Then I thought to myself, how often can we go for holiday? The most, maybe 4 times a year (locally of course) because we do not have the time and on top of that, petrol is so expensive now. Which means everything else will increase price too.

Rather than paying about RM500 a month to own a new car so that we could go for holiday 4 times a year, I’d rather rent a car which would cost about RM400 for 3 days. We can’t go away for a long holiday, we have work commitment. Like I wrote before, we might not afford to go for frequent holidays if we have the car loan to pay ever month.

The last trip to Genting, we rented one of hubby’s brother’s car since we knew that he need every extra cash he can get to pay for his home loan. Rather than giving our money to strangers, better give to our own relative. Got discount some more!

So any relatives reading this blog and in need of extra cash, do let us know. Our next trip outstation would be in August and we need to rent a car.

Yay! I am eligible.

Rebates:
> RM625 per year
For private vehicle with engine capacity of 2000cc and below, including private pickup trucks and jeeps with engine capacity of 2500cc and below.

> RM150 per year
For each private motorcycle with engine capacity of 250cc and below

> RM200 reduction on road tax
For private petrol and diesel vehicles with engine capacity above 2000cc

> RM50 reduction on road tax
For private motorcycles with engine capacity above 250cc

I heard that they will rebate when we renew our road tax and insurance. In that case, they have to pay me instead because my road tax and insurance is about RM400 only. Will they actually pay??? If they are, gonna spend that money buying office furniture for hubby’s internet cafe.

Unfortunately, I will be affected by this…the 18% increased in the electricity rate.

Electricity tariff restructure
> Households using 200kWh and below every month will not be affected. This covers 59% of households in Peninsular Malaysia with a monthly bill under RM43.60.

My electricity bill is more than RM200 these days. It used to be around RM60-80 per month. The most it goes up to RM90 when some of the in laws come back for the weekend.

Oh well, I can’t say much about it. Just work harder to pay up bills.

Read the rest of the news here.

Check it out here.

To those who are lazy to click the link, here’s what on that page:

PUTRAJAYA, Wed:
The new price of petrol is RM2.70 per litre beginning midnight tonight, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced just a moment ago. The 78 sen hike or 40 per cent increase is still below the antiticpated RM4 per litre price projected earlier and among the cheapest in Asia.

I just got my cars full tank. That’s all we can do. I wonder if I borrow my future BIL’s pick up truck they will let me buy in drums arh??? The company I’m still working in got lotsa drums.

So, we have to cut down on a lot of things now. Everything will increase further. I wonder whether my nen-nen can resume production! Milk is sooooo expensive now.

St. Barts villa rentals have to wait for a little longer then. Did I say that I’m planning to go there? Nah…forget about it.

My tenant is moving out by end of this month. I really pray that God will send 3 more of them to take over their place. If not, that would be about RM700 each month for me to pay!

I also hope that the apartment is still is good condition and nothing is broken. The last I went to see, the apartment look clean and tidy. If we are living in NY, I would assist them to look for mover NYC to help them move to Cyberjaya.

After using credit cards for so many years, I can’t imagine myself without at least one credit card. Even though I have cash in my purse, I can’t help thinking of the cash back rewards or point rewards that I will loose if I pay my purchases with cash. Carrying a few credit cards in your purse, you must have self-control.

Well, so far I managed to settle my outstanding payment when the bill arrives. Only once I owe the credit card company when I bought furniture to furnish my newly bought apartment. Thanks to Balance Transfer Credit Card, I managed to save some interest when I transfer my balance to another credit card company, normally it comes with No Balance Transfer Fee too. Looking for one? Look them up at CreditCardSpecialist.com.

If you have overspent, don’t worry, there is still ways for you to continue swiping. CreditCardSpecialist.com has a few
Credit Cards for Bad Credit to choose from. You can choose from their 4 unsecured credit cards like Centennial MasterCard®/Visa, MasterCard®/Visa, Centennial Gold MasterCard®/Visa, and Gold MasterCard®/Visa. Then start paying on-time and rebuild your credit history.

Hubby asked me how much is the market price now for a medium cost house. Btw, got such term arh?? Those single storey terrace house with 3 room (70×20). A few years back, the price is around RM70k, now at least RM90k a unit.

He said he wanna buy for his son as an investment and also so that when his siblings return home, they would have a place to stay since the current kampung house can’t accommodate everyone anymore; families expands yearly.

Anyway, that is just a thought, we don’t have the means for one now even if we can get loans from mortgage lenders, we are not ready to be more tied down with more loans.

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I wish I have that much money to jump in the bandwagon too. As it is, I can only write about it and tell others who are into making money through stock. Anyway, with this options screener it will help you to automatically sort, filter, and analyze all 2,900+ optionable stocks and 190,000+ options online to find investments to meet your profit goals. No need remiser already.

When I read the news about Penang Chief Minister flew in Economy Class, in TheStar, I was like, “So what?” until I read a few other blogs that he is the First CM to fly Economy Class. Thank You so much for not wasting the tax payer money. I really hope that more will follow your footstep.

Even though I do not know him personally and met his wife face to face once, in an informal DAP meeting which I declined signing up as a member yet, somehow I know that they are humble people from they way they speak and carry themselves. It must be the Christ in them. As Christian, we should be the Salt and Light to the world. I hope and I pray that he and his wife will continue to be the Salt and Light in our country.

He was first spotted flying Economy Class by Ning Baizura and her manager. Read all about it here.

Where is the DAP membership form???

Missed a few credit cards payments? Do you know that once that happened it will be reflected in your credit history? You may be denied of renewal of your credit card, apply for new credit card or even applying for bank loan. In some circumstances having at least one credit card will sure come in handy especially when you need to travel a lot. Some places do not accept check at all.

Well, don’t be dismayed, there is always the Credit Building Credit Cards which will help you build, rebuild or re-establish your credit if you make on-time payments. One of it is the Unsecured bad credit credit cards.

This kind of cards usually charges high interest rates and low credit limits but if you can prove yourself a good paymaster, in time you would be able to apply for cards with lower rate and higher credit limits. Avoid the same mistake, you would never know when you would need the help of your credit cards in foreign country if your often travel.

I guess you would know by now that Fiona did not strike the 4D. I already started to imagine the possibilities of me getting something from her if she strikes the 4D coz that’s my car number what. =P Fully paid vacation at Genting Highland, a new Persona, settle my credit cards balance or maybe silver or gold.

Unfortunately she did not strike any. It is ok, it is gambling money. Haram!!!

Let’s earn money the proper way. Invest in silver and gold. But then arh, we need money to make money too. *scratch head* All of us wish money would come that easy eh?

“Welcome to the Hotel of California”. The famous lyric from the song “Hotel California”. Personally, I like the tune and rhythm of that song but I don’t like the message that the song is trying to put forward. Sounds eerie to stay in Hotel California. However, accomodation should not be a problem if you want to stay in California. There are many beautiful homes that are worth buying. Just find the house that you like and check out the California Mortgage Rates that suits your needs. Don’t forget to look at California Jumbo Loan or even San Francisco Home Loans and compare the rates.

It is easy if you know where to look for when you need to finance your real estate purchase. Just make sure that you don’t rush into any loans but consider carefully the rates and long term payments that you have to pay. It is always wise to be prudent in financial matters. Having said that, I wonder whether the Hotel California mentioned in the song still exist. I don’t think I want to stay in it if ever I got the opportunity to visit California. Maybe I’ll just enjoy myself at the beautiful sandy beaches.

What does it comes to your mind when you see the above title? 4Cs. Cash, Credit Card, Condominium and Car. Am I correct? The 4Cs that man must have in order to woo money minded girls. Simple girl like me don’t go after those 4Cs. Furthermore, I have my own cash, my own car, my own credit cards and my own apartment (can’t afford condo lar), so no need to trouble the man lar. hehehe

Anyway, man need to learn about the 4Cs of ideal cut diamonds. I am sure you could impress any woman if you know all these. Of course you have to buy one for her.

The 4Cs are…Cut - Carat Weight - Color - Clarity.

Btw, I am still waiting for my diamond! No heart to ask him to buy for me. So expensive. Maybe one day when he has more money to spare. By then I think, we would rather give than indulge ourselves in luxury.

After the trip to Genting Highland, buying a Persona is not practical. No doubt I like the car quite a lot and it is affordable too but since it is not practical, I don’t want to regret later.

Reason being, my two girls fight for the back seat when they wanted to take a nap during the journey. And, my son is not in the car then. We did not bring him along.

As they grow older, their feet will get longer and I don’t think they can share sleeping like the above. No place for my son too. I don’t think in one year time, he would mind being left behind when mommy, daddy and jiejie go to have fun.

So, I need a MPV and…I was advised to get a new car. So Toyota Unser is out of the question because we can’t afford the new ones (btw, I think Toyota has stopped production for Unser). So Toyota Avanza is so far the most affordable (I can’t say cheap because it is not cheap to me :P). The price is about RM60k.

After *%+-/ (not cursing here, ok) I need to save RM20k for downpayment so that I need only pay RM500 for 9 years.

*sigh* I wonder when can I get the car.

Why money don’t fall down from Heaven one??? We have Our Father in Heaven what? He is super duper rich some more. Dad, can you please throw some money down? RM60k enuf d.

*****

I got a lot to share about my recent vacation but my mind isn’t working too well, still on holiday mode.

My sister in law (hubby’s sister) is living in UK (not Ulu Klang eh, United Kingdom). She is suffering from breast cancer now. I guess in UK, medical bills are all free but they have others expenses to pay.

I am not so sure what the husband does but all I know that he will only get paid when he lectures. It’s like he is working on contract basis. So, there is no stable and consistent income for the family.

SIL is a nurse but due to her health condition, she is not allowed to work anymore. That really adds to the family financial burden. They have 2 lovely children, Emma and Elliot. I can’t remember how old they are; both are under 15yo I guess.

As a family we have given as much as we could but that is still not sufficient for them because our RM value is so small to them.

I understand from hubby that they need another £10k which is about RM65k for us! We are not from rich family, so that amount is a huge amount to us.

Paid post is not helping me much, just sufficient for my own expenses as I am only working half day with half pay now. Maybe I could buy lottery ticket or 4D. Cannot lar, later Jesus get angry at me.

So, I am pleading you generous people out there. If you can afford to part some of your hard earn money to help my SIL, please drop me a note in my comment and I will reply via email my paypal id or you can email me at cencalukbelacan@gmail.com. Thank You so much from the bottom of my heart.

All donations will go to her, none will go into my pocket, I promised.

I tried placing the Paypal Donate button but I kept getting error message.

To those who can’t afford to donate, please pray with me that God will heal her completely in no time so that she can care for her children and her family.

Sekian, terima kasih.

p/s: how to make this post a sticky post without me needing to alter the timestamp everyday?

In my culture, if you don’t get any term life insurance quote and purchase them, your family need not worry so much about burying you when you are dead.

Friends and relatives that come to visit will surely give some cash. That cash will be used for the funeral. From the coffin, the tent to the kuaci, peanuts, mineral water, porridge, nyonya kuih and noodles that is being served to those who came. If you have rich friends and relatives, your grave will also be sponsored by them.

If you have death the family, be sure to guard the “Milo tin” (that’s where we normally keep the cash) with your life! I heard many occasion, the cash in there will go missing. Too many people come and not all are there to give but to take.

I wonder how is my youngest sister’s Wedding Planning going on. To tell you the truth, we hardly chat with each other. Maybe due to the age gap. From small we always do things on our own and never depend on each other. We are very independent. I can’t remember what my dad did to make us this way.

Anyway, I heard from my mom that she is going to buy gold accessories before getting her dowry because the price of gold is getting more expensive each day. By the time she got her dowry, maybe she could only afford a thin necklace.

I wish that’s mine. The time has not come for me to own that much earthly treasure. Hmmm…not so sure whether the time will come or not. 100g of Gold also cannot afford to buy.

On Monday, lady boss told me that since the gold price is predicted to increase further, she is thinking of buying gold bullion. Today, she told me that she shared with her sister and bought 1kg of Gold. She is asking the goldsmith to split them into 100g gold bar! The price that she got is RM108/g. Current market price is RM118/g. That’s RM108k.

Rich people can lar. Poor people like me can just say, “Fuwah!!!!”

I just browse through a few websites selling used car. Not easy to find the car of your choice. When the price is good, I don’t like the colour. When I like the colour, it is an auto car; I want manual. When I got the colour right and it is manual, the price I cannot afford. *sigh*

How I wish I am still earning RM5k a month blogging. Then money would not be a big issue to get another car.

Another option would be, change the car engine. Hubby did that for his car a few years ago. Maybe I could do the same with my old junk. I shall contact midwest auto recycling to check the price now.

Today is my last day as a full time staff in the company that I am currently attached too. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be a PTWM, that’s Part Time Working Mom.

My morning will be dedicated to work, helping my boss to expand his business to the China market and search for him potential China Manufacturers that would like to joint venture with him.

Most of my administrative job will be handled by my clerks and also the new lady that is supposed to come to replace me but no sign of her yet.

I will be a PA/Secretary to the Managing Director and Assistant to the Finance Director.

Wondering about my pay? If course it will only be half. The only advantage is, I only work 3.5 hours everyday instead of 4 hours because I have to fetch my girls from school at 12noon. I start work at 8.30am.

The rest of my day will be spent making sure my children do their homework, shower, take their nap and teaching them the SWR program. Looks like my time spent on the internet has to reduce. Like that arh, how to earn the other half of my salary???
Praying hard that God will indeed bless hubby’s business.

My brother in law called again and told my husband that someone wants him to be the guarantor for his car loan. This would be the second requests for him from foreign students. These foreign students want to buy cars here so that they can have easy mode of transportation from their place of stay and the universities they attend. Due to the laws and regulations, it is very difficult for them to own a car unless they pay everything in cash. Because of such regulations, some of the foreign students seek the help of the locals like my brother-in-law to help them own a car.

One of the hardest things for those who are looking for loan is finding the best loans available. Not every bank or lenders offer the best quote. Most of them want to get the most out of every borrower. Now, the task is much easier with loannetwork.com. Those who are looking for Home Loans can ask for quotes from various lenders and make comparisons. This would definitely make the task easier. Furthermore, they can request for custom made quotes for their specific loan needs.

You can also find some informative articles on the loannetwork.com website. It is important that you have some kind of knowledge on how loans are processed and how the calculations for payment are made. This would help you to be better prepared and most importantly knowing what kind of loans you want to apply. Will definitely recommend the website to the foreign students.

That is what I just Googled.

Wondering why?

I finally sent my car for repair. The water tank goes empty after less than half an hour of driving! It used to be topping up the water once a week, then twice a week, then every 3 days, then 2 days and just a few days back, EVERYDAY.

When we sent the car, the mechanic said the charges is RM60 for servicing, mending and adding coolant. Later we received call from his boss saying that my radiator can’t be used anymore. Got to change to a new one; RM450. After negotiating, he reduced it to RM420.

Just a few minutes ago, he called to informed that we can collect the car and have to top up RM25 for the cap.

Doesn’t a radiator comes with cap???

I’m pissed. Have to pay so much already and after it is fixed then only asked for more.

I felt like asking him to remove the new radiator if he insisted that I need to pay for the cap!!!

So, does a radiator comes with the cap? The answer is some model yes and some no.

At least tell us lar, before fixing it.

Once the CNY is over, most parents declared “bankruptcy” but their children will be a small “tycoon”. hahahaha.

I still remembered when I was a small girl, I will be so happy to receive Angpow with the gold coin. Not the one from Monex, I wish it is but it’s the RM1 coin.

Getting RM1 Angpow is like striking 4D because the usual amount that we get is around 20 cents to 50 cents only.

These days ah, you give them RM1, they might shower you with curses!

When you were young, very young, how much was the least amount of Angpow that you got?

I think all mommies couldn’t resist not visiting any baby stores that they come across. Even mommy-to-be will be gleeing happy with all those cute lil toys, clothes, toiletries etc. Sometimes when I am there, I wonder whether I am buying them for my children or for myself.

Hubby always commented that I buy because I didn’t get to have them when I was their age. Partly true also. My dad income does not permit him to spend on luxury item. So we have the minimal in life. Clothes and toys are from the night market. Made in China cheap and low quality product. Si I tend to pamper my children now. In a way, I am pampering myself. Hehe.

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You will be paid weekly and if you want more, you could earn as a affiliate too. Each time you refer a new affiliate you will earn 5% of what advertisers spend on their website. You will also earn an additional 5% on those that your direct referrals bring on board.

Well, Pay Per Play will only be launch this February 1 so quick be one of the first to sign up. To date, they have over 24,000 core affiliate partners responsible for signing on 9,000,000 websites producing over 1 billion 5 second audio ad plays per month (projected). I am sure we will get to generate some income from them.