RaboDirect Online Banking Services

A friend told me that he is very unhappy with his bank because of various issues and wants to move his funds elsewhere. I thought that it's quite a hassle but the lesson to learn here is to do adequate research on a bank first before opening an account.

He said that once he has found another bank, he wants to open a term deposit account. Do you know that I found out that RaboDirect, an online banking arm of Rabobank Australia Limited is offering a high interest rate of 6.30% p.a. for a 9-month bank term deposit? And that is a lot higher than what we are getting! And the minimum placement is only AUD1,000!

What I like about RaboDirect is that it's run entirely online, which means that their operational cost is lower, which they then pass on the savings to their customers. In addition, deposits with RaboDirect are guaranteed. The Australian Government deposit guarantee scheme guarantees up to AUD1 million. Any amount more than that will be guaranteed by RaboDirect's parent bank, Rabobank.

The good news is that RaboDirect has recently be chosen as Australia's most trusted bank in a survey among consumers, and this should give us the confidence to bank with RaboDirect.

*** This post has been sponsored.

Lunch With Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan On eBay For Charity

Just like the lunch auctions that Warren Buffet offers, GiveIndia, an organization that raises money for philanthropy, will be auctioning a lunch with Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood A-lister, to raise money for charity. This will be Amitabh's first lunch auction. He will set the date of the lunch at a later time.

If you do not know, Amitabh Bachchan was named the “Greatest Star of the Millennium” in a BBC News online poll in 1999. He also hosted “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” from 2000 to 2005 on Indian TV.

At the time of writing, there are still six days to go for the auction; it has already garnered 39 bids, with a highest bid of Rs. 537,353.00. How much are you willing to pay to lunch for two hours with the Big B and your nine guests?

eBay auction: HERE

New Kitchen & Matching Cookware

My neighbor threw a housewarming party last weekend, even though they actually moved in this June. I asked my mother to get a housewarming gift but my mother said that because of the time gap between they day the family moved in and the party, she wouldn't consider it a housewarming party and hence, a gift wasn't necessary.

In the end, though, I managed to convince her that it's appropriate to get a gift and we came up with the idea to get ruffoni copper cookware, even though we don't know for sure if the family cooks. However, we felt that even though they may eat out most of them time, this is something every household needs.

My mother is a fan of copper cookware and of course ruffoni is her first choice. I was very glad to know that RuffoniCookware.com carries these at extremely competitive prices. In addition to a current discount of 15% on all ruffoni cookware, RuffoniCookware.com is also offering free shipping. That's extra savings for us!

Breakfast With Akshay Kumar at JW Marriot in Mumbai, India

Just like Salman Khan, Bollywood actor is also doing his bit for charity in India, with the help of eBay, putting up an auction to have breakfast with him one Sunday morning at the JW Marriot Hotel in Mumbai, India.

Celebrating the ‘Joy of Giving Week’, proceeds from this auction will go towards The Research Society, a non-profit organization that provides care and counselling to children in India with special needs.

This charity auction started on 22nd Sept, 2010 and will end on 29th Sept, 2010. How much are you willing to pay to breakfast with Akshay Kumar?

DIY Tiling

My friend, Terrence, recently indulged in a new venture where he would acquire an apartment, renovate and furnish it and rent it out. He said he loves the massive DIY involved in each apartment and at the end of it, when there is a tenant and monthly rental, he feels tremendous satisfaction in his handiwork.

According to Terrence, he has been experimenting with tiles and playing with the different material and color arrangements, especially since he discovered Subway tiles. GlassTileStore.com carries the most comprehensive range of tiles that I have ever seen so much so that I too now have the urge to replace my kitchen tiles. The stark white tiles are no longer white and I am thinking of replacing them with glass Tiles.

If you are in the market for tiles, whether for your kitchen, bathroom or pool, you should take a look at GlassTileStore.com where you will have plenty quality Tiles to choose from to suit your decorating needs. I love the fact that these tiles are suitable for indoor and outdoor use and the colors are painted on the back of the tiles so they never wear out by chemicals or the weather.

If you worry about the cost of tiling a wide surface, I don't think it should be a concern with the competitive prices offered by GlassTileStore.com.

Romanian Phisher Arrested

A Romanian, who is accused for massive phishing attempt against eBay in 2009, has been arrested by Romanian police with assistance of U.S. Secret Service officers in Romania and Italy.

In this said attempt to phish against eBay, Liviu Mihail Concioiu, is said to have gained, or attempted to gain access to database of eBay employees, stealing company documents and files and other applications within the eBay system. Liviu Mihail Concioiu is also accused of fraudulently used ATM cards to withdraw EUR300,000 from banks in Italy.

Using the internet is never save. A friend once told me that if you want to be save from all these frauds, viruses and Trojans, unplug the computer but that's just not the real solution. As a user of the computer, we just need to be extremely careful. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Saving Money On Printer Ink

I run a home-based business where I use the printer a lot. I have an EPSON color printer which I actually regret buying. I thought that I am the most discerning shopper and have done thorough research but after buying it, a lot of friends told me that I have fallen into the trap of buying a cheap printer but have to pay too much for ink. OOPS!

Well, I couldn't do anything anymore except to look for cheap compatible EPSON printer cartridge. I remember a friend telling me about Printer-Cartridges.com some time back; she was very happy with her purchase of toner refill.

If you browse the website, I am sure you will be delighted to find an extensive range of laser printer cartridges, laser toner cartridges, ink and toner refill kits and bulk ink and toner for all major printer brands currently in the market.

What I really like, besides the convenience of shopping for my printer is the competitive prices. In my search for compatible printer cartridges, I have been to quite a few websites but I would have to say that Printer-Cartridges.com offers value for money.

And that's not all. Purchases are covered by a full one year money back guarantee and this should give customers the peace of mind they deserve, especially when they buy in bulk.

Beefing Up Credit Score

A friend tells me that he is using his credit cards every opportunity he has, even for smaller purchases, even for groceries. He said that he is doing so to beef up his credit score but for this friend, it's fine with him because he settles his credit card balances every month, sometimes even twice a month because if he continued using his credit cards before settling previous charges, they would have exceeded his credit limit.

I understand that they are many people who also charge their credit cards often just to make their credit record look good but unlike this friend, many are really living on credit. My friend has the cash in his bank account to pay off his bills when the arrive but this cannot be said for many other credit card users who only pay off the minimum on their credit cards.

I feel that it's rather foolish to live dangerously financially like this just for the sake of a good credit score. Sure it's good to have a healthy score but if you could use cash and not live in debt why choose to be in debt? Nothing is more real than cold hard cash.

Preparing For The Holiday Shopping Season

A good friend just invited me to be his joint venture partner in a luxury watch business. While I have no product experience in brand name watches, I do have experience in online retail. However, at this point, I have too much on my plate and had to turn this opportunity down, to my regret.

I told him that being in business, even an online one, is a full time job. I think we put in more time to our work compared to people who are employed full time. And we don't even have any 13th month bonus or annual leave, unless we reward ourselves at the end of the year.

I have already started to prepare my business to welcome to holiday season where people come out in droves to shop online and offline and I have to catch the moment. As a matter of fact, I will be sending out holiday cards at the end of this month so as to remind my customers that I am still in business and they should drop by my Store to have a look.

My friend accepts my decision but told me that if I ever change my mind or if my circumstances change, he would welcome me anytime. I believe that if we could find the right product, online retail is a very viable business. We just need to put in a lot of human hours, especially when it is a new start up.

Receiving Credit Card Personally

A reader wrote in to ask me if he would have to sign for receipt of his credit card. if so, it would be inconvenient for him as he would not be home. And in fact, even if there is someone at home, only he can receive the card himself, as the delivery guy would ask for MyKad verification.

Recently, a Singaporean was convicted to four weeks imprisonment for buying a pair of Rolex watches worth SGD12,000 when his neighbour's credit card was mistakenly delivered to him. Instead of reporting the matter, he shopped with the card. How smart.

This man, Fabian Michael Chiu Toh Hui, 48, is unemployed and an undischarged bankrupt. Perhaps he thought that he could buy something really expensive with the credit card and then sells the watches off, pocketing the cash. If only life is this straightforward!

Gift For Baby & Mother

My good friend will be welcoming a new baby at the end of the month. She is a first time parent so she has to buy everything but I told her that I am planning to get her some gifts that would be very useful in this new phase of her life.

Frankly, I don't really know what to get her since I have not bought gifts for new mothers before, though I have bought a personalized baby blanket before for a baby shower but that was a long time ago. Yes, she would still need a baby blanket but since it's not expensive, I think I'd let her get it herself.

My sister suggested I get a baby carrier. I think it's an excellent gift. My friend may not like using one at first but there are many health and emotional benefits promoted by the physical closeness of using baby carriers for both baby and adult. Yes, the more I think of it, the more I like it.

Musician Sells Himself On eBay

A musician, Sam Duckworth, who goes by the moniker "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly" from the UK auctioned himself on eBay and instead of giving himself to the winning bidder, he will be performing at the home of the winner.

At the same time, because this was a fund raising effort for Pakistan flood, he has been offered to play somewhere else, for the same price. This means that he has doubled the money he raised.

I find that his effort is very commendable and since he has the skills to help raise some funds, why not, right? I believe that after this, he would become even more popular! Well, he already is.

Gold and Its Appeal

I read an article about the appeal of gold and was quite shocked to learn that the price of gold was only US$35 per ounce in 1971. Gold is currently trading at approximately US$1200 per ounce. As you can see, it is not surprising that people continue to see gold as THE precious metal to buy and keep for the long term, whether in the form of gold coins or bullion.

I have actually contemplated opening a "gold account" with my bank but I changed my mind later because I would not be given any physical gold. I prefer to buy gold through United States Gold Bureau where arrangements could be made for personal delivery or stored in a depository according to the wishes of the client.

Although jewelry makes the bulk of physical demand for gold, smarter gold investors usually opt of rare gold coins or gold bullion because jewelry gets out of fashion which causes its value to drop.

US Payment Providers To Report income To IRS Beginning 2011

I got to know that payment providers in the United States are obligated, under a new legislation, to report the income of American users beginning 2011, where reporting will be done beginning 2010. The following users will be affected:

1. Receive more than $20,000 in gross payment volume in a single year, AND
2. Receive 200 or more payments in a single year.

These users will have to upgrade their accounts to Business, if they are still using Personal or Premier Accounts and besides providing business registration information, will have to also include SSN/TIN/EIN in their accounts.

This is rather disconcerting. Although people do report their income that come sin through PayPal, with all these new policy and rules, it just doesn't sit well with some of my friends who are affected by this.

Fat Burners That Actually Work

My friend told me that she recently started on a fat burner but has not seen much change to her waistline or in her weight. She is now wondering do fat burners work? I couldn't answer her directly because I have never tried fat burners before but I have read that there are many fat burner products in the market, some are just imitators with no real value, and some are very effective.

So this basically means that my friend has to buy fat burners that really work to see a difference in her waistline and body weight and not get duped by marketers into buying fat burners that have no real weight loss properties. From what I understand, real fat burners work fast on our body fat and we do not have to wait to see results only after having taken a bottle or two of fat burners. No, that's not how effective fat burners work.

Anyway, with this new found knowledge, my friend is now looking for legitimate fat burning products. She wants to get into shape before the New Year rolls around. She can do it!

Using Credit Card Responsibly

When we are young, whether still in college or just into the work force, getting a credit card seems like a big step into adulthood. However, using a credit card is not just a matter of swiping it at the point of purchase.

Below I outline a few steps that would help us use our credit card more responsibly and manage our finances better.

1. Only apply for the number of cards that we need. Two is still fine but more than that is excessive. We may find a credit card terms too good to turn down but look on the long term. Does it save you money in the long run?

2. Pay off your credit card balance on time in full. This way, you will never have to pay more than the amount you paid for your purchases in bank charges and interests.

3. Keep in mind when your bill is due. If you didn't receive it in the mail, find out from the bank so that you can pay your balance on time. The onus is on the credit card holder to make sure it is paid, not on the bank or the mail delivery service.

4. Don't use cash advance. This is very tempting for people who think that here's some money they can use if they need it but then interest is charge the moment money is drawn from the machine. Granted, interest charged may not be as high as loan sharks but it all adds up.

5. if you have a credit card, a lot of telemarketing companies will be calling you up with lots of offers for products and services and all you need to do is say you want it, hand over your credit card number and you will be charged monthly. Be firm to decline these if they are not what you need.

Having said these, these are only a handful of steps to take. Credit cards are not all evil as there are many opportunities for us to save money too but from what I see, there are more people misusing and abusing it than using it to their advantage.

Keeping Ever So Slim

I have a friend who, even after giving birth to two children is still so slim, she said that she is the luckiest woman on each. She says that it's her genes and it could be true. Perhaps it is her metabolism, but she is the most envied person among her friends because she could eat whatever she likes anytime of the day and not ruin her body shape.

On the other hand, most of us have to rely on the most popular diet pills or we wouldn't dare to eat as liberally as her. The end of the year is a time where we have to do our obligatory social rounds. I expect to put on some weight but I think that as long as I am well prepared, I should be able to cope with the extra social gatherings and dinners.

Using An Escrow Service

A friend was wondering how we can trade online for big ticket items if we are so scared of being scammed. Don' get me wrong. Scams can happen both ways and it is not only the buyers who should be afraid of parting with their money and not receive the goods, just like the US$9K motorcycle that was never delivered. Sellers could also be victims, and there have been cases where sellers parted with their goods and then had a payment chargeback forced upon them.

To me, the best solution for an online trade that provides peace of mind to both parties is using an escrow service. Sure, this is a paid service and usually, the fee is borne by the party that suggests it but it is well worth paying a legit escrow company this small fee so that both parties will get the deal across smoothly.

Sometimes, dealing online needs more that just trust or good faith. For expensive items, even with these two, we still need to take steps to ensure that nobody is cheated of cash or goods.

Abating Energy

I am a little worried to see my mother lacks energy recently. This has been a gradual process and she is always complaining of tiredness, even though she does nothing the whole day. I think that she is tired because she is not active but she thinks that she cannot be active because she is tired all the time.

I took my mother to consult a few doctors and they all could not find anything wrong with my mother. Is this all in the mind? From what I read on the internet, the culprit could be the lack of hgh human growth hormone. This deficiency is actually very common in older people and is treated with HGH supplements.

I am not 100% sure if this is what's affecting my mother but I will surely speak to one of her doctors so that he could do further investigations into her health and hormone levels. Perhaps, with this lead, he could give us a more informed solution.

Adult Ad Listings Dropped From Craigslist US

In a landmark move, Craigslist removed permanently adult ad listings from its US classifieds site, bowing to pressure from law enforcement and Congress. Craigslist has been the target of lawmakers these past few years because of its massive listings of adult ads, which law enforcers also say promoted trafficking of women and children and prostitution. Some people became murder victims after making contact through Craigslist.

To address this, Craigslist started charging users of its Adults section a fee, where they collected credit card information which allowed them to hand over such user information to the police if necessary. Craigslist also used part of such money collected for charity. This year, Craigslist has so far earned about US$30 million from this section alone. The rest of its classifieds site remains free.

Even though the Adults section has dropped in the US site, people are still free to list such Adults services on Craigslist's other global sister sites and have no plans to remove those. And even as Craigslist removed the Adults section from the US site, they are not fully agreeable to the action, saying that this will only drive people who use such services to go to other smaller sites.

Building Self Confidence

I recently met a young lady who has very good complexion. And she is very fair too. Standing next to her made me feel very self-conscious about my own skin. This is also one reason why I do not like to shop for beauty products at the cosmetics counter.

I know that I would carry myself better if I have perfect skin but the problem is that even though I suffer from milder acne now compared to a few years ago, I still suffer from scars. Maybe my skin is just too sensitive, which I find strange because my mother and sister both have good skin too. Why do I have to be the odd one out?

I have been reading up on acne scar cream recently at www.acnescarcreams.org and find that some acne treatment products actually cause more harm than good to our skin. Luckily, there are a few acne treatment creams that prevent scarring and they are not expensive! I think I'll have one handy at home in case I am struck with acne at the wrong time. It happens all the time, doesn't it?

eBay Dot MY

I recently registered a dot MY TLD even though I have not thought out what to do with the site. As you can see, a lot of major companies have changed their web addresses from .com.my to .my but eBay is still using .com.my, even though they have already registered .my with the domain registrar a few years ago.

Even so, eBay have yet to do anything with their website, and didn't even adopt the new domain name and redirecting the old URL to the new one. I find it is wasteful that they are not putting their stamp in the Malaysian online world. Sure, there are other Malaysian sites that are still using .com.my suffix but then these are mostly not "dot com" companies.

With the registration of eBay.my under their name, it shows that eBay recognizes the value in a shorter domain name but I don't see what's so difficult for them to make it into a full-fledged website, redirecting traffic from its original .com.my domain.

Switching Work Hours

I have a friend who works from home but strangely, like me, she works more productively late at night. Because of her age, i told her that he should work in the day and go to bed earlier, at more "normal" hours. We are all worried about her health, especially after she suffered from a heart attack scare in April.

This friend said that after adopting such work hours for so many years, she cannot change. She tried to at first but subconsciously slipped back to her old ways soon after. LOL I told her that if this goes on, she wouldn't only need eye wrinkle cream but more heart medication. I am sure we all know that being deprived of sleep at night, even though we may have rested in the day, would raise our blood pressure.

So once again, we are all encouraging her to work in the day and be in bed at night, like almost everyone else!

Malaysians Still Prefer Offline Shopping

A few weeks ago, I attended an exhibition that brought together online retailers to showcase their merchandise to shoppers in an offline environment. I thought that Malaysians are ready for eCommerce and open to more shopping opportunities in the world wide web but I am not totally correct.

From the number of people that attended this exhibition, I can say that Malaysians still prefer to shop online, possibly because of the chance to have a look at something in its real form, to hold and touch it and even to try it on, before making a purchase.

For some products, I am like that too, especially for clothes and shoes. And I find that recently, while shopping for bags, I prefer to shop offline as opposed to online too. That's because I want a bag that could fit some specific items and even with measurements stated on a website, I couldn't "visualize" how well my items would fit in.

Having said this, I feel that there are still plenty of opportunities to make people more receptive towards eCommerce in the country.

Supplements For Good Health

In the quest for better health, I don't think we can run away from a diet of supplements. We can never tell if we are getting enough of nutrients in natural food, can we? I have to admit that I have yet again succumbed to an additional supplement, this time it's Anti-FR that purportedly promotes good health and safeguard against free radical damage. I don't know how effective it is but after two weeks on it, I haven't seen or felt a difference.

Another friend told me that she is also looking for a supplement that would burn fat. She said she checked www.bestfatburningsupplement.com as they have the current top four products in the market so it's easier for her to narrow down which one to buy. I couldn't give her an opinion as I have never tried any of them.

Truth be told, if I could, I don't even want to take any supplements because I am just so forgetful. I tend to skip on some days. Maybe this is why I'm not seeing the desired results.

eBay My Favourite Charity Campaign

eBay UK has a new eBay for Charity feature that allows eBay users to support their favourite charitable organization every time they buy or sell on eBay. This month of September, to celebrate the launch of 'My Favourite Charity', eBay is awarding grants of up to £5,000 to top three charities that receive the most votes from eBay users as their favourite charities in the month of September. This feature is only open to UK residents who are at least 18 years old and are registered with eBay UK.

I think this is a great feature as eBay users get to support their favourite charities while doing their usual shopping or trading on eBay, without additional effort or extra expenses. I hope that eBay will introduce something similar in all eBay marketplaces, including eBay Malaysia. Charities around the world certainly needs financial support but we need the to do so through proper channels.

Adopting Web Conference In Business

At the time of writing this, my father is at the airport waiting for his associate to arrive from Indonesia. My father is a businessman with international dealings but he's old fashioned and still believes in meeting face to face. I have told my father that this is no longer necessary since modern businesses are adopting Web conferencing for convenient face to face meetings across the globe, albeit online and separated by the computer screen. And modern businessmen have no qualms signing agreements online because digital signatures are valid too.

I think a lot of people, especially of my father's generation, do not know that Video conference is highly effective to conduct meetings over the internet, especially with companies that have branch offices in other states or countries and those that have international business contacts.

Having said this, it is very important to find a reliable company that offers Web conference services. The Conference Group is a company with years of experience offering web conferencing solutions to businesses at a very low rate. Of course, there are also other similar companies that offer rates that are just as competitive but as a business outfit, you surely would want clarity is video and audio and I dare not say that other low-rate companies offer these. In short, with The Conference Group, you are assured that even with their low rates, quality is never compromised.

I like the fact that with The Conference Group, we are able to easily schedule our conferences and best of all, set up a podcast or listen to our recorded conferences. If necessary, we can also order a CD of it without hassle.

The US$9K Motorcycle That Never Arrived

I read an article about a woman who bought a motorcycle for US$9,000 through an online advertisement. Although she did not deal through a marketplace like eBay, she made payment through PayPal or what looked like PayPal to her. According to the article, not only did the motorcycle not delivered, the buyer later found out that the same motorcycle has been advertised again. Imagine the shock!

Readers of the article said that the advertisement was published in a few metro classifieds before the woman paid for it. While that is not wrong to try to spread the word about the sale of a big item like a motorcycle, readers also say that the motorcycle is worth a whole lot more than US$9K and that alone should raise the red flag.

To me, even though I am an online seller and encourage people to shop more online, I never agree with purchasing a big ticket item without dealing face to face and that also, not one to one. Seriously, I do want to look at the good side of people but we can never be too certain, especially when it involves money.

Carrying Out Mold Test At Home

Although people are living longer because of advancement in science and medicine, I don't know if you noticed, people are getting sick with all kinds of illnesses as well. A friend, who is a doctor, told me that a lot of these illnesses could be avoided since many such illnesses stem from the home environment. I read that the main culprit is mold contamination at home or workplace.

Do you know that some of the more common health problems that we suffer from and think that these are something that we have to live with, like allergies, asthma, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and chronic fatigue syndrome are usually caused by mold contamination? Of course, whether an environment is contaminated, we cannot tell with the naked eye. We have to use a mold test kit to do that.

ImmunoLytics help us test for mold very easily with their simple to use test kits. The difference between ImmunoLytics and other similar companies is that in addition to the test kit, ImmunoLytics also provide comprehensive analysis for our mold test and expert consultation with every mold test carried out.

While mold contamination is not something that we usually think about, it is a major concern for people who were affected by Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans five years ago. Till today, victims for Hurricane Katrina not only have to deal with mental anguish but also health problems, including children with asthma who are found to suffer from increased sensitivity to mold.

Shopping For Shoes Online

I have been shopping for shoes recently, or maybe I should say, I have tried to shop for shoes, but have not been successful. I am size 6.5 and find it extremely difficult to buy shoes because either they shoes are too small at size 6 or too large at size 7. It's really not easy to find shoes that come in half sizes.

With my awful experience in shoe shopping, and I am sure it is obvious that I don't own too many pairs of shoes, I cannot understand how people could buy shoes online, especially when shoes are something that have to be worn very comfortably, unlike, say t-shirt or something.

I know of many friends who have no problems shopping online. They tell me that the key is to stick to brand name shoes because the sizes are standard and once they know the size they wear, they can continue to buy the same size if the shoes are from the same line. Oh well, maybe I should start shopping for shoes online too. There definitely is a wider selection to choose from online.

Understanding VA Loans

I have a friend who served in the armed forces and when he retired early, it was very difficult for him to reenter civilian life. It was a major change as he had all his needs taken care of when he was serving the country but when he retired, he felt that he had to do everything himself and felt lost, actually.

The first thing that he wanted to do was to buy a house. It was a very difficult process as he didn't have a job yet and he even felt regretful that he gave up a chance to a higher paying career in the private sector because he wanted the honor to serve the country. Truly, at that point, owning a home seemed almost impossible.

For this friend and people like him, they should know that there are loans for eligible veterans who served the country to consider as these are loans especially tailored for them with very low va loan rates and other benefits, including no payment down options.

If my friend had known of MyVARefinance.net back then, he would have a lot of his home ownership concerns solved. This is a website that has comprehensive information on va home loans not only for the purchase of a new home but also for people seeking to refinance their property. Did you know that because va loans are backed by the Federal Government, banks have no problems offering 100% financing to veterans?

While some people are afraid of the red tape involved in applying for a VA loan, MyVARefinance.net has made application for VA loan or refinance a simple process, starting with answering a short questionnaire to request for a quote for a VA loan.

Charged RM50 For Credit Card Not Received

I read about a woman who lodged a complaint that she was charged by EON Bank for the RM50 government tax on principal credit cards even though she did not receive the credit card that she has applied for a month ago. For new credit cards, the RM50 has to be paid in the first month while those old credit cards issued before this new ruling will be charged on the anniversary month.

EON Bank has already cancelled her credit card as requested and also wrote off the RM50. Still, I think that it;s a big blunder and besides, a lot of banks and credit card issuers are now absorbing the government tax on credit cards as long as the card holders meet a certain low requirement; for example, a certain number of swipes a year or a low total amount of charges a year.

Deals In Major Sporting Event Tickets

Although I enjoy horse betting, I have never stepped foot into the turf club before. I tell myself that I really should go one day, especially Ladies Day which is held once a year where the focus jumps from beautiful horses to beautiful ladies.

While browsing the website of Sportevents.com, I realize that the ultimate horse racing event is Kentucky Derby. Can you imagine, the event will only be held on 7th May next year in Louisville, Kentucky but Kentucky derby tickets are already on sale now! If you are serious about watching the world’s finest three-year olds live, you should buy your ticket now.

If horse racing is not your cup of tea and you would rather watch a good football match, perhaps you would be happy to know that Colts tickets are sold on Sportevents.com also but of course, ultimate Colts fans should really take up their Ultimate Colts V.I.P. Tailgate where VIP Tailgate admission is only $75 per game.

Looking at the many Sporting event tickets available on Sport Events, I can say that no matter what sports you are a fan of, you would be able to get tickets from Sport Events, even premium tickets that are so difficult to get our hands on. Buying through Sportevents.com, no longer do we have to queue up for tickets at ungoldly hours in the harsh weather. It’s so convenient and gives us peace of mind.

Air Asia 20% Off All Seats All Flights

I just received news that Air Asia is running a promotion in conjunction with Malaysia Day which falls on 16th September to mark the day when East Malaysian states are included in the Federation of Malayan states and then the country is known as Malaysia.

This promotion, which starts from now until 19th September, 2010, will see all Air Asia seats enjoying 20% discount. Travel period will be from 20th Sept to 15th Nov, 2010. I think that this promotion is really not bad.

Although 20% discount is not as cheap as Air Asia seats could sometimes go, at least it is a lot cheaper for people who would like to travel almost instantly. You know, usually the cheap tickets could only be bought way in advance and it is so difficult to plan a trip like that.

Air Asia may have had its share of negative feedback but let's admit it. Because of their no-frills concept and the competition they give to other airlines, air travel is now a lot more affordable!

Superbowl Tickets & Packages

My sister told me that if there's one vice her husband has, it's his overindulgence in sports. No, he's not a sportsman but an armchair sportsman. I don't think that's bad but my sister says that not only is he wasting a lot of time traveling to sporting events, he's paying good money for the tickets too, in particular Superbowl tickets, which could be pretty expensive.

Well, Superbowl is extremely popular so it's not surprising that some people would pay a lot for a ticket but sometimes, it's not even easy to Buy superbowl tickets because they are always sold out!

Sportevents.com is a reliable sports and event ticketing broker with years of experience behind them, bringing us tickets to all major sports, concerts, theater and live entertainment events, both locally and internationally.

Although I am not like my brother-in-law who would follow almost all sports events, when I want to watch something, I really want it bad and would be extremely disappointed if I am not able to secure my ticket. With Sportevents.com, I know that this is where I can always get my hands on the ticket I want.

For people who would be traveling to an event, they would surely prefer to buy a package. For example, Sportevents.com offers very attractive Super bowl packages that include ticket to the game, accommodation, transportation and best of all, invitation to the pre-game Super Bowl party!

Besides packages to Super Bowl catering to individuals or corporate clients, similar sports packages for tennis, golf, basketball and even motor sports are also available. You can safely say that no matter which event you would like to attend, you can depend on Sport Events to get you your ticket.

Hop Shop Go

PayPal has collaborated with comGateway to offer better international shopping for Asians where shoppers will be provided with a US mailing address for shipping, and the packages will then be redirected to our local address. This will certainly help us shop at stores that do not ship internationally. Payment is by credit card or PayPal and those who use PayPal will enjoy further discounts.

I have browsed through the list of merchants participating in this Hop Shop Go portal and all of them offer additional discount for purchases above a certain amount and/or free shipping. I didn't compare the price difference between shopping at these online stores directly and via Hop Shop Go but I figure that if the prices are not competitive enough, they will not survive.

One thing that would certainly help shoppers is the price conversion to local currency which is not available right now. It's rather confusing to keep calculating how much an item is in my own currency. I know that one shouldn't do that when shopping outside of the country but then that's the only way to see if something is worth buying. We must always bear in mind to keep within budget, anyway.

Building A Home Cost Effectively

My colleague informed me excitedly that she has just bought a plot of land which she will be building her dream house on. However, because the land was a big purchase, it will take her some time to save enough to pay an architect to draw up the house that she has in mind.

Although I have four personal friends who are architects, I don't think that I could help her get discounts from them since she would still have to pay professional fees. I think that a better option for her would be to buy a home plan from HousePlansandMore.com. This will save her a lot of money and she could even start planning to build her dream home now once she has picked out a plan from the thousands available on the website of HDA, Inc.

I have visited HousePlansandMore.com numerous times over the past few months because I am planning to build my own house cost effectively. Although I have narrowed down a few plans, I like to do a quick search occasionally to look at the newly added home plans. The search filter makes the website very easy to navigate. Even with thousands of floor plans available, I could just select my requirements and plans will be narrowed down for me.

HousePlansandMore.com is currently running a promotion where buyers will receive $100 off purchase of any home plan. The coupon code to use is FALL and is valid until 6th October, 2010.

I may not have money to build my home right now since I’m still waiting for my home loan to be approved but looking at the garage plans, it's a good idea to get one for my parents' house since we have sufficient space. My dad would certainly like it.

Justin Bieber's Autographed Stratford Yearbook Hits $3500 one eBay

16-year-old teen sensation from Canada, Justin Bieber is so hot, an autographed Stratford Yearbook has hit $3500 on eBay. I am assuming that this is Canadian dollars and the eBay portal is Canadian as well. According to news reports, there are only five copies of these yearbooks that Justin Bieber autographed and the highest asking price of one of these is more than $5000 with a Buy It Now (BIN) price of $20,000. One Stratford yearbook with Justin Bieber's photo but without his autograph is also on eBay and has a top bid of $50.

Although I am not a fan of Justin Bieber, I can certainly understand fandom and why any fan would want to fork out thousands of dollars to get her hands on a celebrity's autograph. It's also going to be an investment opportunity but the stakes are high. Will Justin Bieber have staying power ten or twenty years down the line? That remains to be seen.

Better Option In Gold Coins

When I told my friend that the USD dollar is so much weaker now compared to a couple of years ago, he asked me if it's better to just spend the USD outside of the country instead of bringing it into the country and converting the cash into local currency. Although I am sill happy to get three times the amount, what he says is not without merit.

According to my friend, I should really consider this point and maybe it's better for me to buy gold coins online. At the rate that USD is weakening and the price of gold rising in the world commodity market, it is no longer wise to keep cash because of the many external forces that put pressure on the currency.

Gold, on the other hand, even gold coins, rarely gets affected in such manner and compared to other investment options, has one of the lowest risks. I'll have to think over my friend's suggestion.

Shopping On Credit

While out shopping at a mall recently, I saw an advertisement that we can now purchase shopping vouchers with our credit card and then pay off the purchase with a 0% interest 12 month installment.

Although this sounds like a good idea especially for people who would like to make a big purchase without using cash, I think it's a bad habit to rely on the credit card just because of the convenience of 0% interest and payment by installments through one year.

It's such habits that are making people unable to pay off their credit card balance monthly and hence accumulate on interest that snowballs way too quickly. And credit card debt is the number one factor that turns people into bankrupts.

Although I personally think that this shopping facility is an ingenious idea, we, consumers, should not fall into the trap that makes us overspend.

Business As Usual This Long Weekend Holiday

CyberPartyGal's WebStore would like to wish all friends and supporters Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin. Let's hope that this festival will help us accept the fact that people should live harmoniously together, no matter our race or religion.

Greetings aside, CyberPartyGal's WebStore is still open for business this long weekend holiday. A lof of people have wondered if I have already closed my store but no, I am still running it though it's unfortunate that I don't have much time to devote to it because of other work commitments. Besides, I have been travelling too much this year!

If you are travelling this Hari Raya, do take care on the roads. Your safety and those of other road users are in your hands. Stay safe.

Collect Rare Gold Coins

My sister told me that she has started to collect rare gold coins. Actually, we are all not new to collecting coins since our mother is an avid collector but her collection is rather common, unfortunately, or we could fetch a pretty good price for it now, after so many years.

Unlike me, my sister is not a collector and has never collected anything before but it looks like this time, she is serious in her new found hobby. She says it's a hobby because she actually enjoys collecting these coins and not merely as an investment.

The funny thing is that although I love collecting things, I have never been big in collecting coins. Maybe I will soon be influenced by her seeing how much joy she has found in her collection of rare coins.

Underestimating Time Required To Run An Online Store

A few of my friends who plan to run their own online store, whether a real webstore or a blog shop, told me that they have underestimated the time required to run an online store. I guess they have seen how many hours I put in, especially in the early days. I wanted to create trust among my buyers since I was one of the first to set up an online store in Malaysia before blogshops came about.

Actually, they are not the only people to think so. Many people think that it's just a matter of a few clicks but it defonitely is more than that. You'd need to do thorough market research first, then procurement, then setting up an online store and that requires some comparison work between webhosts, and then you'd need to put everything online then only start promoting. With promotion comes sales, hopefully, and they would mean even more work, this time they would have to take into account demands of customers.

Oh well, the list of tasks to do is endless, actually, but if you love your job, it wouldn't be a chore, right?

eBay Box

eBay has announced they will be giving 100,000 reusable green shipping boxes to sellers, with the hope that when sellers ship items out with these boxes, the buyers will continue using these green boxes by shipping them to someone else, creating a chain of opportunities to use these boxes until the life of them.

I applaud this idea and think that it's great that at least eBay is doing something for the environment. However, I wonder how many times these green boxes could be used and what happens if the box disintegrates in transit when it is close to the end of its lifespan? I know I am over imaginative but hey, such a scenario could happen, couldn't it?

Too Frequent Server Downtime

My friend told me that she is experience server downtime way too often, she is finding it hard to run her online store. I can certainly understand her frustrations and I feel the same when the server is down, when there is a glitch with my online store or when my computer acts up, like it is now.

But I always tell myself that money can solve a lot of problems. If a problem can be solved with money, it isn't a problem. In my friend's case, I told her to subscribe to dedicated hosting and enjoy almost 100% server uptime. In addition, she would get to enjoy 24/7 technical support and customer service because she would be a premium customer.

I don't have dedicated hosting myself but if I experience what she is going through right now, i definitely would consider buying it. I know that it would increase my monthly operating cost but then to bear with all the down times which will then affect sales and revenue is like playing a zero sum game.

I told my friend that complaining daily is not going to help. She needs to make a decision soon to end all these frustrations and I know that once she has migrated to dedicated hosting, she would see the difference and this would be like a bad dream.

CIMB Basic Savings Account 1 and 2

I have a CIMB savings account 1 which I have to pay RM8 per year for the use of the ATM card. I understand from a friend that if I wanted to save on RM8 annually, I have to convert my Savings Account 1 to Savings Account 2. And to do so, I would have to wait for at least 6 months since the date of the opening of the account.

So, after a lapse of almost a year, before yet another deduction of RM8 from my account, I went to my CIMB home branch and requested for a conversion from Savings Account 1 to Savings Account 2. However, the customer service girl told me that in order to do so, I would be given a NEW account number because it essentially mean that I am closing my Savings Account 1 and opening a new Savings Account 2.

Now, that made me pause for a second because I have other things link to my CIMB Savings Account and it would be a hassle to inform everyone involved of the change. But what made me change my mind is that I was told that for this free account, I would only be given 8 free transactions at the ATM and 6 free transactions at the counter FOR THE LIFE OF MY ACCOUNT!

That gave me a shock. Isn't that ridiculous? I thought that these free transactions are given every monthly cycle? I am fine with that since most of my transactions are done online. Anyway, I went away from CIMB branch without getting anything done and it looks like I would have to pay RM8 annually. SIGH!

Luxury Timepieces Through Generations

My friend told me that he would like to invest in a fine timepiece. He said that he wants to pass the watch to his son, if and when he has one. Although my friend is single, he is already thinking so far ahead. He says that when he turned 18 years old, his father gave him his watch and my friend cherishes it even till today.

A luxury watch like Ulysse Nardin Macho Palladium could be a watch that a man can use to pass on to his son. The quality, elegance and class can last through generations of fathers and sons.

Luxury timepieces, are for fathers what fine jewelry is for mothers, passing them down to their children as family heirloom.

Getting The Bank To Absorb Annual Govt. Tax On Credit Card

My friend went to the credit card department of his bank this afternoon to try to get them to absorb the RM50 annual government tax on credit cards. Almost a year ago, when my friend applied for his credit cards, the government tax was already announced and IO told him that he only needs one credit card so why apply for two?

Now, despite having made charges of more than RM50,000 over the past year, he still has to pay the government tax for one card. The other one will be absorbed by his bank. This is of course quite ridiculous. I don't care that the annual fee is waived but Citibank is offering free annual fee PLUS RM0 government tax as long as there are three charges made on the card over the entire year.

Three is all that is required, without any stipulated amount to be charged. This means that one could charge RM10 or RM30. As long as there are three times, the government annual tax is absorbed by them. What a huge difference between these two banks!

Losing Money Through A Phone Call

I read with disbelieve a Malay gossip paper, Kosmo, about a man who was put in a trance through a phone call, headed to the ATM and transferred almost MYR3000 to another person.

I don't know how true this is, though a police report has been made, but previously, my aunt did tell me about stories like this, where people would do something in trance-like just from receiving a phone call, which she has read in Chinese papers. You know how exaggerating Chinese vernacular papers could be.

In this case that was reported in Kosmo, the victim lost MYR2999 (odd amount) to the caller, a woman who identified as a staff of Bank Negara. She explained that his credit card had been swiped in Singapore for a charge of MYR7500 and told him to change the PIN, guiding him on what to press at the machine.

Before he knew it, he has lost money. How strange!