Mr. Lee Kuan Yew
16 September 1923 - 23 March 2015
You will be missed.
Sunday 29 March 2015
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Defensive Parking: Parking etiquette for reverse and parallel parking
I realised some drivers out there do not park their cars properly. They either parked their cars too near to the boundary of their lot or they simply encroached the adjacent lot, depriving others of a parking space. These behaviours are simply undesirable.
BUT today I am not going to teach you how to park properly. I am going to teach you DEFENSIVE PARKING.
While many vehicle owners may think that parking in the middle of the designated parking lot is ideal, I beg to differ. This is because modern cars nowadays are getting bigger and wider while some parking lots may be too small to accommodate these big and wide vehicles. To prevent your own vehicle from getting "dings" and "dents" from doors of adjacent cars hitting your own vehicle, we have to practise DEFENSIVE PARKING.
Let me explain what DEFENSIVE PARKING is all about.
DEFENSIVE PARKING is about parking your vehicle with a piece of mind thereafter.
No worry about having "dings" or "dents" on your vehicle.
No worry about accidental knocks due to "kayu" drivers driving vehicles coming out of their lots.
The main thing about DEFENSIVE PARKING is to minimise risk!
DEFENSIVE PARKING is (in order of preference)
1) Always park in lone parking lot (parking lots that are isolated or have pillars on both sides)
2) Always park at the extremes (first or last lot), provided there is space for you to open your door.
3) Never park in the parking lots in front of slopes in Multi-Storey-Car-Parks (MSCP).
4) Never park beside lorries/vans, very old cars, cars with many "dings" and "dents".
5) Try not to park next to coupes.
6) Try not to park next to vehicles with child car seat, especially on the same side where the car seat is installed.
Now talking about parking at extreme lots (first or last lot), I have seen many drivers parking right in the middle of these lots. I would advise against doing so.
If you are parking at the FIRST or LAST lot of the stretch of parking space, I would advise you to park near the boundary of the lot, where it is clear without obstruction. This is the same for both reverse parking lots and parallel parking lots. I know it may be difficult to visualise in front of your computer or mobile devices, let me further reinforce my point with simple illustration.
This is how most drivers will park their cars. Most drivers will park their vehicles right in the middle of the parking lot as taught by driving schools. While this is better than parking near the boundary of the parking lot and encroaching adjacent parking lot, I have something better to offer.
If you were parking at the extreme lots and the the adjacent space is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should park as near to the boundary of your own lot as possible. This would give more space to car parking adjacent to you. By parking defensively, you also minimise the risk of your own vehicle getting "dings" and "dents" from careless or simply care less drivers and passengers.
You can also practise defensive parking while parking at parallel parking lots.
This is how most drivers will park their vehicles at parallel parking lots. However, with vehicles getting longer and bigger, you run the risk of careless drivers reversing into your parked vehicle or knocking the rear of your parked vehicle. The risk multiplies if you have lorries or old vehicles without front or reverse sensors fitted, parking in front of or behind your vehicle. Practising defensive parking will minimise your risk.
If you happen to be the first or last car and your front or back is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should be parking near to the boundary of the parking lot. This will create more space for vehicles parking in front or behind your vehicle. In this way, you minimise your risk of vehicle reversing into your vehicle or vehicle knocking into the rear of your vehicle.
Personally, I try to park at extreme lots as far as possible and I would park very near to the boundary of my lot when the space beside is free from obstruction. This minimises the risk of unintended "dings" and "dents" due to careless or care less drivers and passengers.
Now do practise DEFENSIVE PARKING and keep your car free from "dings" and "dents". I can assure you that by practising DEFENSIVE PARKING, your car will still be gleaming after many years!
Do share this with your fellow drivers!
Tags: driving in Singapore, car park, parking etiquette, reverse, parallel parking, defensive parking
BUT today I am not going to teach you how to park properly. I am going to teach you DEFENSIVE PARKING.
While many vehicle owners may think that parking in the middle of the designated parking lot is ideal, I beg to differ. This is because modern cars nowadays are getting bigger and wider while some parking lots may be too small to accommodate these big and wide vehicles. To prevent your own vehicle from getting "dings" and "dents" from doors of adjacent cars hitting your own vehicle, we have to practise DEFENSIVE PARKING.
Let me explain what DEFENSIVE PARKING is all about.
DEFENSIVE PARKING is about parking your vehicle with a piece of mind thereafter.
No worry about having "dings" or "dents" on your vehicle.
No worry about accidental knocks due to "kayu" drivers driving vehicles coming out of their lots.
The main thing about DEFENSIVE PARKING is to minimise risk!
DEFENSIVE PARKING is (in order of preference)
1) Always park in lone parking lot (parking lots that are isolated or have pillars on both sides)
- Needless to explain, you typically reduced your risk to almost zero!
2) Always park at the extremes (first or last lot), provided there is space for you to open your door.
- Parking at extremes only exposed your vehicle to 1 possible adjacent vehicle. You have reduced your risk by 50%!
3) Never park in the parking lots in front of slopes in Multi-Storey-Car-Parks (MSCP).
- You will never know if there is a "kayu" driver driving up/down the slope and forgot to turn the steering wheel!
4) Never park beside lorries/vans, very old cars, cars with many "dings" and "dents".
- Lorries and vans are usually company vehicles and their drivers might not care for their vehicles as much as they would to their own. The same with old cars and cars with many "dings" and "dents". These people do not care about their vehicles. So why should they care about yours?
5) Try not to park next to coupes.
- Coupes have longer than usual doors than normal sedans and require bigger opening for the driver and passengers to come out. Hence, they would require bigger clearance at the sides.
6) Try not to park next to vehicles with child car seat, especially on the same side where the car seat is installed.
- Anyone with children and used a car seat would know this. They need to open the door very wide to carry the child out of the car seat. This is inevitable.
Now talking about parking at extreme lots (first or last lot), I have seen many drivers parking right in the middle of these lots. I would advise against doing so.
If you are parking at the FIRST or LAST lot of the stretch of parking space, I would advise you to park near the boundary of the lot, where it is clear without obstruction. This is the same for both reverse parking lots and parallel parking lots. I know it may be difficult to visualise in front of your computer or mobile devices, let me further reinforce my point with simple illustration.
This is how most drivers will park their cars. Most drivers will park their vehicles right in the middle of the parking lot as taught by driving schools. While this is better than parking near the boundary of the parking lot and encroaching adjacent parking lot, I have something better to offer.
If you were parking at the extreme lots and the the adjacent space is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should park as near to the boundary of your own lot as possible. This would give more space to car parking adjacent to you. By parking defensively, you also minimise the risk of your own vehicle getting "dings" and "dents" from careless or simply care less drivers and passengers.
You can also practise defensive parking while parking at parallel parking lots.
This is how most drivers will park their vehicles at parallel parking lots. However, with vehicles getting longer and bigger, you run the risk of careless drivers reversing into your parked vehicle or knocking the rear of your parked vehicle. The risk multiplies if you have lorries or old vehicles without front or reverse sensors fitted, parking in front of or behind your vehicle. Practising defensive parking will minimise your risk.
If you happen to be the first or last car and your front or back is CLEAR WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION, you should be parking near to the boundary of the parking lot. This will create more space for vehicles parking in front or behind your vehicle. In this way, you minimise your risk of vehicle reversing into your vehicle or vehicle knocking into the rear of your vehicle.
Personally, I try to park at extreme lots as far as possible and I would park very near to the boundary of my lot when the space beside is free from obstruction. This minimises the risk of unintended "dings" and "dents" due to careless or care less drivers and passengers.
Now do practise DEFENSIVE PARKING and keep your car free from "dings" and "dents". I can assure you that by practising DEFENSIVE PARKING, your car will still be gleaming after many years!
Do share this with your fellow drivers!
Tags: driving in Singapore, car park, parking etiquette, reverse, parallel parking, defensive parking
Wednesday 4 March 2015
ANZ Optimum World Mastercard
ANZ has recently introduced a new credit card.
ANZ Optimum World Mastercard
Q: What is the so special about this card?
A: This card allows you to earn up to 5% in cash rebate for the category that you choose and 1% for all other spends. And you can change the category every quarter (Jan - Mar, Apr - Jun, Jul - Sep, Oct - Dec)!
Q: What are the categories that I can choose?
A: There are 4 categories that you can choose from:
* For the avoidance of doubt, spend incurred for wedding banquets are not eligible for Optimum$.
Q: Any catch with this 5% cash rebate?
A: There is indeed.
You earn 0.1 Optimum$ for every $10 spent outside the category that you choose and 0.5 Optimum$ for every $10 spent within the category that you choose. This means if you charged $19 for a purchase in the category that you have chosen, you still get 0.5 Optimum$! You only get 1 Optimum$ if you charged $20!
1 Optimum$ = $1 cash rebate
There is a maximum of $30, equivalent to 30 Optimum$ or $600 charged, for a retail spend (I interpret it as in a transaction). However, there is no limit on the amount Optimum$ that you can earn.
Optimum$ are computed based on posting date and will be rounded down to the nearest 0.1 Optimum$.
Hence, if you charge $9 to the card, you get 0. If you charged $19 to the card at your chosen category, you only get 0.5 Optimum$ (or $0.50), or 2.63%, which is still quite decent in my opinion.
Note: The % increases as the amount charged increase in $10s. E.g. for $25 charged you get 1 Optimum$ which is 4%, for $45 charged you get 2 Optimum$ which is 4.44%. In other words, you "lose" lesser if the charged amount (which is not multiple of 10) is higher.
Q: So which is the best catugory for this ANZ Optimum World Mastercard?
A: Let me show you some analysis:
1) You have to know that the Optimum$ earned has a validity of 3 years.
2) You have to know that the Optimum$ can only be redeemed in multiples of $50, minimum $50.
Hence, my advice is: Redeem everytime you hit $50.
First of all, let's use the elimination method.
It does not make sense to choose Travel because you typically charge more than $600/transaction for travel packages with agencies. However, if the agency allows you to make payment of $600/transaction, then go for it! For online purchases for hotels and air tickets, you are better off with using OCBC Frank and BOC SHOP which give you 6%! Unless, you have max out the rebates for both Frank and SHOP!.
For those who frequent supermarkets, but cannot meet the monthly minimum requirement for most of the cards up listed or you frequently make purchases below $50, it may be viable to choose this category. But do note that you probably will get closer to 4% than 5% using the ANZ Optimum World MC because it is very unlike to hit exactly in multiples of $10s in supermarkets based on my experience. So it may be better to purchase vouchers using these cards to meet the monthly requirement for 5% or 6%. Or simply use the Citibank Dividend for grocery purchases above $50.
From the table above, it makes MUCH sense to choose Shopping because of the lower % you can get now with ANZ Travel VS and Citibank Rewards. However, if you do not shop frequently (especially for men), you should give this category a miss. Perhaps you can activate this category for your CNY shopping next year!
The most probable category to choose is Dining and Leisure. This is probably the category that I would choose as well. Let me tell you why.
First of all, I do not use the OCBC 365 because
1) The minimum $600/month requirement for maximum benefits.
2) I use Citibank Dividend for my petrol at Esso.
3) I pay my Telco bills online for 6% (recurring for OCBC 365 only gives me 3%)
Hence, I do not use the OCBC 365 for dining. This is why I would apply for the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard and choose Dining and Leisure as my preferred category! It is a godsend for me since I usually use the ANZ Travel VS for my dining expenses unless there are discount/promotions with other credit cards.
The ANZ Optimum World Mastercard will give me the highest % in terms of cash rebate for my expense in dining and leisure!
This is only my opinion and I am sure you will figure out which category suits you best!
Memory short-cuts:
1) Up to 5% cash rebate in either Dining & Leisure, Travel, Shopping or Groceries, 1% for the rest.
2) Points awarded for spendings in multiple of $10, expires in 3 years.
3) Redemption of points in multiples of $50.
And apply now to get $88 if you are new ANZ credit cardmembers!
Click here to apply for the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard.
Click here for more terms and conditions pertaining to the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard.
Latest Update on 17 March 2015
Ok, there are many netizens lamenting about the redemption in blocks of S$50.00.
Let me teach you how to get around this. My method requires diligent monitoring of your Optimum$ earned.
First of all, let me bring your attention to this clause in the T&C:
Optimum$ will be computed and accumulated daily. Optimum$ will be computed based on transaction posting date and will be rounded down to the nearest 0.1 Optimum$.
This clause is very important to consumers and we should make use of this clause to our advantage.
Lets say after 3 quarters, and you have accumulated 27.5 Optimum$ which is 22.5 Optimum$ short of the redemption. So what do you do?
As we all know by now, $10 will earn you 0.5 Optimum$ in the category that you have chosen. Hence, before the start of the last quarter, be sure to select the category that allows you to buy vouchers. For instance, you can choose Shopping and buy vouchers from some retail outlets like Mphosis. Or you can choose Grocery and buy vouchers from supermarkets.
For the example above, you will need to buy $450 worth of vouchers to earn 22.5 Optimum$. Then in a few days time, quickly redeem the $50 in order to offset your next statement of $450.
NOTE: I do not know how long it will take for the Optimum$ redemption, but I am assuming it to be as fast as the redemption of Travel$ which typically took 1 day from the day I redeemed to be reflected in my statement.
After that, keep the card until ANZ decides to bill you for the annual fee. If they refused to waive the annual fee, simply cancel the card and use other cards. If they decided to waive the annual fee for you, you are in luck! repeat the process and earn your rebates!
Tags: ANZ Optimum World Mastercard, 5% cash rebate, 1% cash rebate, Dining and Leisure, Travel, Shopping, Groceries, Optimum$
ANZ Optimum World Mastercard
Q: What is the so special about this card?
A: This card allows you to earn up to 5% in cash rebate for the category that you choose and 1% for all other spends. And you can change the category every quarter (Jan - Mar, Apr - Jun, Jul - Sep, Oct - Dec)!
Q: What are the categories that I can choose?
A: There are 4 categories that you can choose from:
5% Category for Selection
|
Merchants with main business activity classified as
follows:
|
Groceries
|
Groceries and Supermarkets
|
Travel
|
Airlines and Travel Agencies
|
Shopping
|
Clothing, Shoes and Bags (Departmental Stores excluded)
|
Dining & Leisure*
|
Dining & Bars, Hotels and Movies
|
* For the avoidance of doubt, spend incurred for wedding banquets are not eligible for Optimum$.
Q: Any catch with this 5% cash rebate?
A: There is indeed.
You earn 0.1 Optimum$ for every $10 spent outside the category that you choose and 0.5 Optimum$ for every $10 spent within the category that you choose. This means if you charged $19 for a purchase in the category that you have chosen, you still get 0.5 Optimum$! You only get 1 Optimum$ if you charged $20!
1 Optimum$ = $1 cash rebate
There is a maximum of $30, equivalent to 30 Optimum$ or $600 charged, for a retail spend (I interpret it as in a transaction). However, there is no limit on the amount Optimum$ that you can earn.
Optimum$ are computed based on posting date and will be rounded down to the nearest 0.1 Optimum$.
Hence, if you charge $9 to the card, you get 0. If you charged $19 to the card at your chosen category, you only get 0.5 Optimum$ (or $0.50), or 2.63%, which is still quite decent in my opinion.
Amount
charged at chosen category (0.5 Optimum$ for every $10 spent
|
% in cash
rebate
|
$11
|
4.55%
|
$12
|
4.17%
|
$13
|
3.85%
|
$14
|
3.57%
|
$15
|
3.33%
|
$16
|
3.13%
|
$17
|
2.94%
|
$18
|
2.78%
|
$19
|
2.63%
|
Note: The % increases as the amount charged increase in $10s. E.g. for $25 charged you get 1 Optimum$ which is 4%, for $45 charged you get 2 Optimum$ which is 4.44%. In other words, you "lose" lesser if the charged amount (which is not multiple of 10) is higher.
Q: So which is the best catugory for this ANZ Optimum World Mastercard?
A: Let me show you some analysis:
1) You have to know that the Optimum$ earned has a validity of 3 years.
2) You have to know that the Optimum$ can only be redeemed in multiples of $50, minimum $50.
Hence, my advice is: Redeem everytime you hit $50.
5% Category for Selection
|
Merchants with main business activity classified as
follows:
|
Current cards & % in cash rebate
(General)
|
Groceries
|
Groceries and Supermarkets
|
5%
Maybank F&F (Min $600/mth)
Citibank Dividend (Min $50/trans)
Citibank SMRT (Min $600/mth)
POSB Everyday
BOC Family (Min $500/mth)
6%
SC Singpost (Min $600/mth)
|
Travel
|
Airlines and Travel Agencies
|
6%
OCBC Frank (if online)
BOC SHOP! (if online)
7%
SC Singpost (if online)
|
Shopping
|
Clothing, Shoes and Bags (Departmental Stores excluded)
|
2.56%
ANZ Travel VS
2.78%
Citi Rewards
|
Dining & Leisure*
|
Dining & Bars, Hotels and Movies
|
3% (weekdays)
6% (Weekends)
OCBC 365 (Min $600/mth)
|
* For the avoidance of doubt, spend incurred for wedding
banquets are not eligible for Optimum$.
First of all, let's use the elimination method.
It does not make sense to choose Travel because you typically charge more than $600/transaction for travel packages with agencies. However, if the agency allows you to make payment of $600/transaction, then go for it! For online purchases for hotels and air tickets, you are better off with using OCBC Frank and BOC SHOP which give you 6%! Unless, you have max out the rebates for both Frank and SHOP!.
For those who frequent supermarkets, but cannot meet the monthly minimum requirement for most of the cards up listed or you frequently make purchases below $50, it may be viable to choose this category. But do note that you probably will get closer to 4% than 5% using the ANZ Optimum World MC because it is very unlike to hit exactly in multiples of $10s in supermarkets based on my experience. So it may be better to purchase vouchers using these cards to meet the monthly requirement for 5% or 6%. Or simply use the Citibank Dividend for grocery purchases above $50.
From the table above, it makes MUCH sense to choose Shopping because of the lower % you can get now with ANZ Travel VS and Citibank Rewards. However, if you do not shop frequently (especially for men), you should give this category a miss. Perhaps you can activate this category for your CNY shopping next year!
The most probable category to choose is Dining and Leisure. This is probably the category that I would choose as well. Let me tell you why.
First of all, I do not use the OCBC 365 because
1) The minimum $600/month requirement for maximum benefits.
2) I use Citibank Dividend for my petrol at Esso.
3) I pay my Telco bills online for 6% (recurring for OCBC 365 only gives me 3%)
Hence, I do not use the OCBC 365 for dining. This is why I would apply for the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard and choose Dining and Leisure as my preferred category! It is a godsend for me since I usually use the ANZ Travel VS for my dining expenses unless there are discount/promotions with other credit cards.
The ANZ Optimum World Mastercard will give me the highest % in terms of cash rebate for my expense in dining and leisure!
This is only my opinion and I am sure you will figure out which category suits you best!
Memory short-cuts:
1) Up to 5% cash rebate in either Dining & Leisure, Travel, Shopping or Groceries, 1% for the rest.
2) Points awarded for spendings in multiple of $10, expires in 3 years.
3) Redemption of points in multiples of $50.
And apply now to get $88 if you are new ANZ credit cardmembers!
Click here to apply for the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard.
Click here for more terms and conditions pertaining to the ANZ Optimum World Mastercard.
Latest Update on 17 March 2015
Ok, there are many netizens lamenting about the redemption in blocks of S$50.00.
Let me teach you how to get around this. My method requires diligent monitoring of your Optimum$ earned.
First of all, let me bring your attention to this clause in the T&C:
Optimum$ will be computed and accumulated daily. Optimum$ will be computed based on transaction posting date and will be rounded down to the nearest 0.1 Optimum$.
This clause is very important to consumers and we should make use of this clause to our advantage.
Lets say after 3 quarters, and you have accumulated 27.5 Optimum$ which is 22.5 Optimum$ short of the redemption. So what do you do?
As we all know by now, $10 will earn you 0.5 Optimum$ in the category that you have chosen. Hence, before the start of the last quarter, be sure to select the category that allows you to buy vouchers. For instance, you can choose Shopping and buy vouchers from some retail outlets like Mphosis. Or you can choose Grocery and buy vouchers from supermarkets.
For the example above, you will need to buy $450 worth of vouchers to earn 22.5 Optimum$. Then in a few days time, quickly redeem the $50 in order to offset your next statement of $450.
NOTE: I do not know how long it will take for the Optimum$ redemption, but I am assuming it to be as fast as the redemption of Travel$ which typically took 1 day from the day I redeemed to be reflected in my statement.
After that, keep the card until ANZ decides to bill you for the annual fee. If they refused to waive the annual fee, simply cancel the card and use other cards. If they decided to waive the annual fee for you, you are in luck! repeat the process and earn your rebates!
Tags: ANZ Optimum World Mastercard, 5% cash rebate, 1% cash rebate, Dining and Leisure, Travel, Shopping, Groceries, Optimum$
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