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6 Ways To Cushion The Impact Of a Fare Hike

With effect from 5 April 2015, public transport fare in Singapore will increase by 2.8 per cent. This is due to a roll over balance of 3.4 per cent in the 2014’s fare hike and after discounting the effect of lower oil prices, there would still be a net increase of 2 to 5 cents for most commuters. About 1.1 million commuters will not be affected as the PTC has decided to keep the fare of senior citizens, lower-wage workers and persons with disabilities, as well as the price of concessionary pass unchanged.

How will a 2 to 5 cents increase per journey affects an average commuter? Credits to the Ministry of Transport, they have done up a table to illustrate the impact on monthly transport expenditure of an average family.

(Image credit: Ministry of Transport)

As illustrated above, a working adult would expect their monthly transport expenditure to increase between $2 to $3 a month. That would probably cost you a cup of Starbucks’ latte a month or a decent meal for two in a restaurant if you add up the expenses for a year.

Although it may not be sizeable, a dollar saved is still a dollar earned. Here are 5 ways to cushion the impact of a fare hike:

*Updated 14 Apr 2015 to include a chance to win a $10 EZ-Link top up with the LINE app

1. Claim $10 travel credits with TransitLink Service Audit

You may or may not know of that you can claim a $10 travel credit from TransitLink every month by just participating in a short survey. This survey is aimed at improving the service level of TransitLink’s staff and your feedback is important for them to evaluate their level of customer service.

What you need to do:

Log on to the Facebook’s page of TransitLink: https://www.facebook.com/TransitLinkSG
Check out their latest updates on the list of designated offices and note the destination for which you will travel to in the next few weeks
Make a transaction in the designated Ticket Office or Concession Replacement Office during the service audit period
Submit your feedback of the selected office at http://transitlink.questionpro.com
Once verified, you will receive a SMS notification informing you of the $5 credit that you can redeem from any Add Value Machine Plus (AVM+)

How much can you save or earn a month?

You can do a maximum of one survey for two different Customer Service Officers per month. Each survey will earn you a $5 credit so you can get $10 credit in total a month.

2. Earn travel credits with Travel Smart Rewards

With increasing population comes increased public transport ridership and there is that much that you can achieve by increasing train frequency. The Land Transport Authority is conducting a research to find out if incentivising commuters through gamification can help change the behaviour of commuters. Previously known as Insinc, Travel Smart Rewards is a scheme that rewards commuters for their travel on public transport.

Each commuter can earn points when they take the MRT on Monday to Friday with a CEPAS registered card at a rate of 1 points for every 1 kilometre travelled. To encourage commuters to take train during off peak hours, there will be more points for taking designated decongesting hours from 6.15 am to 7.15am and 8.45am to 9:45am. You can also qualify for different badges such as Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum with every travel during the decongesting hours.

Every 10 points allow you to spin and play a “Snake and Ladder” game to win travel credits. There are different amount to be won and the highest being a $200 travel credit which you can use to top up your fare card. You can let the system auto-play the game for you and you would be surprised to see that you can actually win money (in the form of travel credits) after some time. Just go to another Add Value Machine (AVM) and select “TSR Rewards” to load the credits into your card.

What you need to do:

Register your Ez-Link/NETS FlashPay/Concession card at https://www.travelsmartrewards.sg
Verify your email address and it will take another 8 days for them to verify the card after you take at least 2 train trips
Start accumulating points with your train trips (Try to travel during the decongesting period to earn more points)
Spin the wheel or set it on auto-pilot
Check how much you win after some time
Load these credits you won onto your travel card at any AVM.

How much can you save or earn a month?

It depends. If Lady Luck is shining on you, you can earn a few hundred travel credits in the game. Otherwise, you should also be glad with a few extra dollars added to your account.

3.Travel free during pre-peak hours

In an effort to reduce congestion and packed trains in the morning peak hours, the LTA has extended the one year free pre-peak travel until 23 June 2015. That is to say early birds who make the effort to shift their daily travel routine and tap out of the 18 designated MRT stations will travel for free. Don’t fret if overslept by 5 to 10 minutes because you will still get a 50 cents off if you exit the stations between 7.45am to 8am. Like the saying goes: the early bird catches the worm.

What you need to do:

Reschedule your routine earlier
Have your breakfast near your workplace

How much can you save or earn?

The cost of an entire trip or 50 cents a day.

4. Make use of rebates

Rebate is one of the most straightforward way to offset your travel expenses. Whether you are using NETS FlashPay or EZ-Link to take the trains or buses, there are different rebate schemes out there for the savvy commuters to make full use of.

For the NETS FlashPay, you can earn a 6 per cent rebates for using Auto Top-Ups if you meet a minimum spend of $500 a month.

If you are using the EZ-Link card, you can earn up to 7% cash rebate with the Imagine American Express Prepaid Card. This card acts as a two-in-one and you can use it either for shopping with merchants that accepts AMEX card or using it simply as a Ez-Link card to commute. You will earn a 2% rebates by taking the buses or trains with the Ez-Link purse and 5% rebates on all other spends with the AMEX purse. (Tip: You can set up EZ-Reload where your Ez-Link purse will be topped up by the AMEX purse) You can also earn further rebates and rewards by topping up your Imagine Card with another credit card of your choice. For example, you can use the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa Card or the DBS Woman’s Card for 10X points.

What you need to do:

Decide if you want to use Ez-Link or NETS FlashPay as your primary card for public transport
NET FlashPay: go sign up for a OCBC Frank Card and register for auto top-ups on Nets FlashPay’s website here: http://bit.ly/1y8LSJe
Ez-Link: Sign up for a AMEX Imagine Card, then activate, register and reload it on the Imaginecard’s website here: http://www.imaginecard.com.sg

How much can you save or earn?

6% rebates for NETS FlashPay or 7% rebates + X* for Ez-Link (where X* is arbitrary – can be miles, rebates or points)

5. Use Off Peak Monthly Concession Pass

To further reduce bottlenecks during peak hours, the government will roll out a new Off-Peak Monthly Travel Pass (OMTP) on 5 July 2015 which will allow unlimited travel outside the weekday morning peak period (6.30am – 9am), evening peak period (5 – 7.30pm) and all days on weekends and public holidays. Instead of costing $120 for the current Adult Monthly Travel Pass, the OMTP will cost just $80 for adults and $40 for senior citizens and person with disabilities.

If you work out the maths, there are about 22 weekdays in a month so assuming a one way trip cost $1.80, if would have cost you close to $80 a month. (which is about the cost of an OMTP) The difference is you can now make additional trip on weekdays (say, a lunch break that is a few stations away) and weekends without paying the extra dollar.

What you need to do:

Work out your monthly travel expenses and see if it exceeds the cost of an OMTP of $80.

If it does, check if you can reschedule your daily routine

Make sure you tap IN outside the peak period timing (before 6.30am or after 9am for morning) and (before 5pm or after 7.30pm for evening)

How much can you save or earn?

If you travel twice a day with an average trip cost of $2, it would have cost you $120. Purchasing the card will allow you to save $40.

Now that you have learnt how to reduce your travel expenses, start to implement these tips so that you can better manage your travel expenses. You might even reduce your overall expenses on transport!

6. Get a free EZ-Link $10 top up with LINE (Updated 14 Apr 2015)

EZ-Link has just collaborated with LINE in a recent news release on 13 Apr 2015, commuters can now stand a chance to win a $10 free top-up and other attractive prizes when they use LINE.

What you need to do:

Download the LINE App from your Google Play or your Apple’s app store
Add “EZ-Link” as your friend
Send a message “EZ-Link EZ-Reload” daily from now till 31st May 2015.
Stand a chance to win EZ-Link $10 top-up values, LINE merchandises, electronic gadgets, jewelries and many more

How much can you save or earn?

If you are lucky, you can win a $10 top up to your EZ-Link or other attractive prizes such as a ASUS phone, Swarovski jewellery, Krispy Kreme treats, Mi Powerbank, etc

Do not be disappointed if you do not win as you can attempt this daily until 31st May 2015 and i’m sure you could win something!

Best Credit Cards For Frequent Flyers

Visualize beautiful and serene sandy beaches of Boracay, Philippines or the bountiful shopping escapades in New York City, USA. Your everyday spending using your frequent flyer or air mileage credit card can turn your dreams into reality. Bringing the world closer to you, here are the best credit cards in Singapore that you shall consider:

4. DBS ALTITUDE AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

DBS Altitude American Express Card offers rewards for air mileage and dinner deals. Dinner deals include discounts at over 1, 000 places nationwide with the DBS Indulge program. For example, cardholders get 1-for-1 Buffet Dinner at Hotel Jen Singapore.

With a fee of S$180 every year (waived for 1 year), and a minimum annual income of S$80, 000 for Singaporean, PR, and Foreigners, you can earn 3 miles for every dollar spent on online flight and hotel transactions. Earn 2 miles for every dollar spent overseas and 1.2 miles for every dollar spent locally. The best thing about this is that your accumulated miles will never expire! Use it at your convenience.

3. ANZ TRAVEL VISA SIGNATURE CARD

ANZ Travel Visa Signature Credit Card’s minimum annual income eligibility for Singaporeans/PR is S$60, 000 while its S$90, 000 for Foreigners. With ANZ Travel Visa Signature, you may indulge on the complimentary access to airport limousine at departure or to airport lounges around the world. Earn 2.8 miles per S$1 spent on direct flight booking with Qantas and Jetstar airlines and 1.4 miles per S$1 for local spending. Aside from giving you rewards on air mileage, this card lets you convert your Travel$ to Cash Credit. The annual fee of S$200 is waived for a year.

2. CITI PREMIERMILES CARD

I cannot begin to enumerate the wide selection of rewards, Citi PremierMiles Card can gives to its faithful cardholders. You earn 2 Citi Miles for every dollar spent overseas and 1.2 Citi Miles for every dollar spent locally. These miles are redeemable in 70 airlines worldwide!

By signing on to S$193 fee a year (waived in the first year) and a minimum annual income of S$60, 000 for Singaporean, PR, and Foreigners, you are entitled to not just milage rewards but also dining and petrol deals. Enjoy up to 14% discount at Esso stations and 13.6% discount at Shell stations. Exclusive dining deals to Wooloomooloo Steakhouse, Yan Ting, LaBrezza, Tiffin Room, Long Bar Steakhouse, Bar & Billiard Room and more, are courtesy of Citi Gourmet Pleasures. What’s more? REceive 10, 000 Citi Miles upon annual membership renewal and round-trip ticket to Bali on Singapore Airlines with S$12, 500 (15, 000 miles) spending.

1. AMERICAN EXPRESS SINGAPORE AIRLINES KRISFLYER GOLD CREDIT CARD

With the lowest minimum annual income eligibility among these 4 cards…American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card requires S$30, 000 annual income for Singaporean/PR and S$60, 000 for Foreigners. Enjoy 1 KrisFlyer mile for every S$1.60 spent. Earn 50% more KrisFlyer miles when you charge S$5, 000 or more to your card in a year and 50% additional KrisFlyer bonus miles for a minimum spend of S$12, 000 in a year. Not only is the first year waived but you also get a welcome bonus of KrisFlyer miles.

Worry not about the accumulation process since miles are credited directly to your KrisFlyer account.

Read Also: Best Credit Cards for Travel

How To Minimize Food Leftovers And Save Money

Food leftover or food waste consists of numerous discarded materials. Over the last decade, the amount of food waste generated in Singapore had elevated by 45%. In fact, in 2013, the food waste rate reached its peak of 796, 000 tones and with only 13% of it recycled.

1. SHOP ONLY WHAT IS NECESSARY

Shopping for groceries? Make sure you buy what is realistically necessary for your whole family. Even though the produce is enticing, avoid being greedy with it, as you certainly cannot consume all of it. Plan out your meals and make a detailed shopping list of the ingredients you need. Stick to the list. If you live far away from the grocery store, be careful about your purchases.

2. COOK THE RIGHT PROPORTION

Mouth-watering massive proportions of food in restaurants sound tempting but you only generate more leftovers once you adapt this culture to your home. Avoid cooking more food than your family can consume. Over-serving your friends and family especially during special occasions will only generate more monetary and food waste.

3. EAT THE LEFTOVERS

Save the unconsumed food when you either ordered too much restaurant food or when you cooked excessively. Regularly label these leftovers so you can keep track of how long it has been in your refrigerator.

4. MORE THAN THE EXPIRATION DATES, TRUST YOUR SENSE

Milk, bread, and other grocery products have expiration dates that you can use as guidelines. But, do not solely rely on it. Trust your senses to prevent medical expenses in the event you had a stomach flu or food poisoning. Use your sense of smell, sight, and taste to test the condition of the food.

5. PRESERVE YOUR FOOD BY CANNING

Canning, a method that applies heat to food in a closed container, helps to preserve food and stop its natural spoilage. Lengthen the shelf life of your favorite fruits by following the steps on this video:

What’s more? You can decorate the containers or jars by using paint that you already have.

6 Tips That Every Intern Should Know To Succeed

More and more business establishments are willing to hire interns especially because of their youthful digital-savvy nature. If you are preparing for an internship, you want to be as irreplaceable and knowledgeable as possible. Once you get in, you seek respect from your co-workers and employers. Here are some good tips to help your succeed as an intern…

PREPARATION

1. RESEARCH ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

Applying for an internship for advertising? Read Advertising Week or to Google the Heineken commercials as these companies are innovative and creative. Aside that, you must be knowledgeable about the existing advertising agencies in the country. Here are the Top 10 Advertising Agencies in Singapore, research further on what brought their success.

While if you are a planning to intern in finance then, read the Wall Street Journal. Again, here are the Top 10 Finance Companies in Singapore. Focus on the overall industry and a specific topic too. Be the wittiest person in the room on that certain topic.

2. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY

Most interns are from the younger generation; hence, some employers expect that technology is second nature to you. If not, there is still time to change. You need to understand how social media works or if it is relevant to your industry, study SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools. Observe what the public wants through media data and recognize the form of medium that is of value to you.

3. SAY THANKS

Always send a gratitude email to the person who assisted you or your interviewer. If you want to take the extra mile then write “Thank You” notes that you can pass onto these people. And when your internship comes to a close end, thank everyone for their help and include what you had learned from them.

DURING

4. ALWAYS SAY YES

Say “YES” to work tasks given to you (although some may be tedious) as they are part of your learning experience. Have tricks up your sleeve by learning how to make a good cup of coffee or tea by searching for it in YouTube or by mastering simple things. Occasionally, ask your boss if he/she needs any help from you. Do your best and do your work quickly. Someday, it will all be worth it.

5. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, ASK

Ask honest questions rather than making assumptions. It is better to ask your boss or superior on how issues are managed. Everybody makes mistakes; the good news is that everything is fixable. If you were respectful enough, people would want to help you and see you improve. But, make sure that you never make that mistake again.

6. BLEND IN TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Adapt to the company’s ideal work clothing. If you are in a corporate environment then, it is better to wear long skirts or slacks. While, if you work inn a boutique where you stand and look for product stocks then, it is better to wear flats.

Image Credits: Juhan Sonin via Flickr

There is no right or wrong way to dress for an internship except if the company provides the uniforms. Nonetheless, the best thing for you to do is to wear conservative or non-revealing clothes in the first few days then adjust from there – depending on how your co-workers dresses.

Isn’t Investing Just Buying And Selling?

What is investment? Isn’t it just buying and selling an asset? That was what I thought so too when I first began investing. Along the way, I learnt a great deal about what investment is about. It goes beyond just buying and selling. I remember when I first begun investing, the questions that went through my head were questions like “What stocks should I buy?” or “How much does it cost?”. It was simple as that. Perhaps like me, you asked yourself these two questions and found your answers. Subsequently, the ‘Buy’ button was clicked and now you own your very own stock. You were happy, with emphasis on the word ‘were’. Maybe you got lucky, things went your way for awhile, and suddenly it happened. Your stocks went from profit to loss. You’re not alone and it’s not uncommon. When losing, you begin to enter the denial phase and convince yourself that it’ll go back up again. Weeks passed, and you suddenly realise that you’re holding onto a 20% loss. What now? Now, you learn that investing is not just buying and selling.

I’ve been there and done that, but most importantly, I’ve learnt from it and I want to share with you the lessons I’ve learnt so you don’t have to go through it yourself. But just like investing, easy to understand, hard to apply. However, I will still attempt to offer some practical tips that I use in my investment process. “Investment process”? You mean it’s not just buying and selling? Plainly speaking, it is, but there’s more to it. There’s a whole lot of thought process going on before the ‘Buy’ button is clicked.

The Plan

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” – The overused quote indeed. But it’s only because indeed, it works. Here are some of the questions that go through my mind before I click that ‘Buy’ button.

What is this company that I am about to buy involved in? What is its business like and is it profitable? – This is your fundamental analysis phase.
What’s the price now, can it fall further or should I take action now? – This is your technical analysis phase.
What price am I going to buy at, and why? – Based on the above two analyses.
If I buy at $X, when do I take profit and when do I stop my losses? – Contigency plan: Setting profit targets and stop losses.
Why am I buying this stock? – Are you in for the long-run or a quick bite off the market?

If you can answer these questions, you’ve already answered “What”, “When”, “Why” and that should be almost good enough. Feel free to add on more questions to this list. The more you plan, the better prepared you are when emotions try to block out your rational thinking. When you plan well, you’re setting up barricades against emotions that confuse the rational mind after the ‘Buy’ is clicked. It will be useful to know that it has served me very well and I am confident that it will serve you well also.

The Execution

“Plan your trade, trade your plan” – So after you’ve done your planning and have convinced yourselves that this is a good and profitable company, you click the ‘Buy’ button. Congratulations, you’re now an official stockholder! The real challenge of investing starts now – “Trade your plan”. Anyone can plan, but how many can execute without allowing emotions to get in the way? When things go your way, you pat yourself on the back and say to yourself “Good job!”. Perhaps like myself, you were 20% up, and before you know it, it became 20% down and you feel the pinch. Now, what would you do? As good as my plan was, I found out that my emotions blocked out rational thinking and I started creating false beliefs and adopting a whole new plan(that’s based on emotions) to make myself feel better. Check if you’re saying or doing the same things to yourself.

From a short-term trade, you turned it into a “long-term investment”. – You’re suddenly trading for a whole new reason which doesn’t make sense.
Cut your profits and let your losses grow – Don’t get mixed up! It should be the other way around.
“It’s cheaper now, maybe I should buy more?” – It’s not a bad plan, but it only works if you’ve got deep pockets. Do you? And is it deep enough? Remember, you are adding to a losing position, why not add to a winning position?
Ignored your stop losses and allowed it to be breached.

If you’re saying or doing these things, sit down and reflect for awhile. Think about what your game plan was and if you are still following your plan. If you’re no longer trading the same plan based on rational thinking, you’re likely to be trading based on emotions. If you allowed yourself to trade on emotions, be prepared to see yourself wiped out of the market. It’s okay to lose a few battles, but win the war. Don’t get wiped out in one bad hand because you allowed your emotions to run wild.

The Review

After all is said and done, it’s always good to look back and ask yourself these two questions:

What went right, and what could I do to make it better?
What went wrong, and what could I have done instead?

Two simple questions, yet packed with so much wisdom and knowledge that will guide you on your next investment.

Hope this helps you realise that there’s more to investment than just buying and selling. When you have a comprehensive plan and discipline to carry out your plan, you immediately become a successful investor just based on that two criteria. Keep working on it with undying persistence and improve the accuracy of your trade plan. All the best in your investments!

1. Claim $10 travel credits with TransitLink Service Audit

2. Earn travel credits with Travel Smart Rewards

3.Travel free during pre-peak hours

4. Make use of rebates

5. Use Off Peak Monthly Concession Pass

6. Get a free EZ-Link $10 top up with LINE (Updated 14 Apr 2015)

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