Alycia, our eldest daughter usually gets a Grab car to college. The Grab fare used to cost RM25 – RM30 for a one-way trip but the fare has increased by almost 50% since a month ago. When classes return to 100% in-person soon, we’re going to spend even more on her Grab fare. We estimate that we would have to fork out an average of RM1,400 per month just on Alycia’s Grab fare to university next year!
With this additional amount on our list of expenditures every month, we could buy another car and spend the money on car installments instead. With the global surge on fuel prices, it would cost us another RM300 – RM400 on petrol per month, just for Alycia’s car. Thus, If we were to buy another car, it would add a commitment of at least RM1,700 per month to our already super high monthly household and education expenses. I use online calculators such as Gas Budget Calculator to help me forecast how much petrol expenses I would be spending a month or a year.
I have always wanted to get a hybrid or an electric car to save on fuel and for a cleaner environment. But a hybrid car is out of our budget at the moment. A quick car loan calculation check at CarPaymentCalculator.net tells me how much we can afford to spend on car loan installments every month, the amount of loan we can comfortably pay per month as well as the cost of the car that we can afford to purchase.
Now that I know the budget for our next car purchase, we can start to window-shop for a car. But it won’t be in another year before we actually buy another car as Alycia still gives me the jitters whenever I sit next to her when she drives. Being a newbie driver, she still needs lots of practice on the road with me sitting next to her. I’d rather be playing Car Lightning Speed at a virtual game arcade than sit next to a fresh new driver who gives me heart palpitation, cold sweat, and panic attacks!
Sherilyn showed interest in cooking and baking when she was still a preschooler. She started to help me out in the kitchen when she was about 5 years old. She baked her first cake when she was 11 years old. It was a lovely strawberry cake for my mum’s birthday 70th birthday.
Since that strawberry cake, Sherilyn has baked hundreds of cakes and whipped up jillions of amazing restaurant-style dishes. Partly self-taught and party from observing her grand parents and me in the kitchen, Sherilyn is truly gifted in the kitchen. She could turn simple and cheap ingredients into mouth-watering dishes. She could turn chicken breast (that no one likes) into a juicy, tender and flavorful chicken dish that everyone in the family loves.
But there’s one area that this girl is lacking in and that’s her ingredients measurement. She’s still not well versed with the conversion of unit. For eg. from ounces to ml, from cup to tablespoons, pounds and kilograms, etc. She still needs to refer to an ingredient conversion tool whenever a recipe has measurement units that she’s not familiar with. So, when our chef is in the kitchen, her phone follows her. She checks out recipes, watches You Tube for tutorial and refers to several other websites for reference on her phone whenever she cooks.
Cass is recently under the culinary tutelage of Sherilyn. Cass gets instructions and guidance from her sister on what to do in the kitchen. Together, the two sisters whip up whimsical dishes to whet our appetite. It’s really a great way for the two sisters to bond in the kitchen. Both of them enjoy food and naturally, a love for cooking and baking. Thankfully they are also cautious with their weight and exercise everyday. Sherilyn dances almost every day while Cass watches fitness videos on You Tube, gets tips on workout calories , does Intermittent Fasting and does running and strength training every day.
The school holidays are almost coming to an end. When the girls go back to school, we can only savor their cooking on weekends. But I guess that they may be so exhausted by the time they get home from school that they only want to rest, play fun online games and chillax on weekends.
Moving into a new neighbourhood is perhaps one of the most complicated parts of life for many as there are many intricate processes. When you look around at all the belongings you need to take to your new home, you have no clue where to start and start to have a meltdown.
Besides packing and unpacking, your banks, credit card companies, insurers, utility companies and kids’ schools have to be notified of the change of address.
Don’t panic just yet. Moving home might seem like a daunting and colossal task, but there are proven ways to help make moving day easier – it doesn’t have to be super stressful and cause you heart palpitations. Get ready with the following handy tips!
1) Research moving services.
Decide on how you want to move. Do you intend to do a DIY Move, hire a full-service professional mover, hire just labour or hire just a moving truck? If you have many huge items and belongings to move, engaging the services of professional movers will give you a total peace of mind. If you have the budget for it, you can even request your movers to assist you with the entire move from packing to re-assembling.
2) Research schools.
If you have school-age children, start researching schools in your new community as soon as you have confirmed the move.
3) Get To Know Your New Neighbours.
Getting to know your new neighbours will help you feel settled in your new surroundings and your new routine. Get ready to say hello to the people next door within the first days after moving to a new neighbourhood – introduce yourself and your family and tell them you’re new to the area.
4) Start early.
Packing always takes longer than you expect. Start to pack a little each day than pack everything at the eleventh hour. The sooner you begin the packing process the more time you’ll have to attend to other important matters and the lesser you’ll get stressed out.
5) Get involved in the new community life.
The best way to settle into your new neighbourhood is to partake in the local life, such as:
1. Join religious groups and other community organizations, depending on your personal interests, values, and skills. Search for the neighbourhood group on social media and be a member of the group.
2. Get involved with your child’s school (if applicable).
3. Visit local hot spots and hangouts (popular bars, restaurants, shopping centers, recreation centers, parks, entertainment venues, etc.) to meet people from the neighbourhood and feel as one of them.
If you are looking for a real estate in Toronto, check out Redfin.ca. Toronto has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world with many people calling the city “lively” and “full of unique neighbourhoods and charming, friendly locals.”
With the above checklist for moving into a new neighbourhood, we hope that you can embark on your relocation adventure in a breeze. Remember to plan ahead, stay focused and have fun!
Online games often get the bad rap as it involves sitting in front of a screen. However, online games have their advantages for young and old people. Unlike watching television which is more passive, games require a level of interaction, brain power and skill from the player. Games can be a concern for parents and teachers, but playing games can also have beneficial impacts for children and young people. In fact, older people may even benefit from playing online games like Solitaire, Mahjong and Sudoku. Research has shown that playing games like Mahjong improves short-term memory, attention and logical thinking in both middle-aged and elderly people.
If parents manage their children’s gaming time, these children can reap some benefits through online games such as:
1. Computer and simulation fluency.
2. Helps with fast strategic thinking and problem-solving.
3. Improves a child’s online social skills.
4. Helps your child with attention to details.
5. Creates problem-solving and planning skills.
6. Helps build resilience.
7. Games like Minecraft help kids to practice their visual-spatial skills, leading to a better understanding of distance and space.
8. Beneficial for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Alycia used to play PUBG Mobile with her high school classmates whenever they needed a break from online classes and in between revising for exams. She still plays this online game with her ertswhile classmates whenever the time is right for everyone to play together. There are many advantages of playing this game such as improves problem solving skills, enhances memory, improves social skills and improves brain speed.
Sometimes when I have too much on my mind, I escape from the harsh realities of life by jumping into the world of online games. My favourite online games are Super Tetris and Crossword Puzzle. Super Tetris is a brain exercise game. According to a study, brain imaging shows playing Tetris leads to a thicker cortex and may also increase brain efficiency.
Do you want to know where you can play online games like Super Tetris, Pacman, Crazy Eights, Tennis and many more for FREE? Check out Solitaire.org, a website where everyone can play fun online games for free and the best part is all the games can be quickly played from the browser on desktop computers, iPads, laptops, Kindle Fire and mobile devices.
Some of the online games that I find very engaging at Solitaire.org are crossword puzzle, Sudoku and Letter Scramble. Our 13-year old youngest daughter who plays Sudoku occasionally managed to complete a Sukodu game within 7 minutes and 55 seconds. She’s quite good at this game though she doesn’t play it regularly and I’m now getting tutorials from her! When I improve my Sudoku solving skill, I’m going to have a challenge with her! Sudoku improves one’s brain power, problem-solving and thinking skills.
Not bad for a beginner, eh?
Cass did well in Letter Scramble too. Letter Scramble is a great game to improve one’s vocab and spelling ability. She gets to learn many new words each time she plays Letter Scramble. This game also helps to develop one’s intellectual ability.
Cass learned a new word today – annihilate.
Another game that I’ve tried at Solitaire.org and like is Hidden Object Games. This game is good at keeping me awake whenever I feel sleepy. Although it’s a game more suited for kids, I find that it helps me to destress while boosting my grey matter and awareness to details. This game has 10 levels which are timed. You may think that this is a kiddo’s game but it is not easy to locate some of the hidden things even at Level 1. Cass and I spent quite a bit of time finding the last hidden object, which is a piece of Chinese paper cutting and after a closer look and more thorough scan at the picture, she finally found the item hidden on top of a red Chinese lantern. This is one game that’s great for parent-child bonding.
Solitaire.org has over 100 browser-based games which you can easily find from their user-friendly website. There is a catalog which is located at the bottom of the website where all the games are listed, such as Solitaire, Mahjong, Card Games, Hidden Object Games and much more. And there’s no annoying advertisements on this gaming website. Another plus point!
If you’re a fan of online games and are looking for some free fun games to play, Solitaire.org is the place to go to. But play with caution as the games can be quite addictive 😉
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the already muted real estate market in Malaysia upside down. 2020 went down as an unprecedented year as countries around the world are faced with a global pandemic with restrictions in movements.
The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected project development in the real estate sector, sales operations of existing real estate, values and rates of return of existing real estate sector in general not only in Malaysia but all over the world. Stay-at-home orders by the authorities and the inception of new policy and precautionary measures, travel bans and restrictions on domestic and foreign tourists have adversely affected the tourism sector which has a causative ripple effect on other industries, including the real estate such as retail facilities, office and residence transactions, increased vacancy rate in hotels and much more.
My Sil who lives overseas owns a fully furnished cozy apartment unit at the opposite block of ours. Ever since the previous tenant moved out, we have not been able to help her get a new tenant albeit she lowered the rental rate and renovated her unit. She used to rent out the unit to Japanese expatriates but with borders closed and companies cutting down on staff, we do not foresee anyone renting the unit for at least another half a year.
According to the National Property and Information Centre (NAPIC), the property market contracted sharply in March and April 2020 due to the implementation of the MCO before picking up again in May as restrictions were eased during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) period.
NAPIC’s first half of 2020 data showed that the volume of property transaction declined 27.9% with 115,476 units compared to 160,165 units during the same period last year. Out of this, 75,318 units were those in the residential property sector which recorded a decline of 24.6%. The steepest decline was recorded in the commercial property sector which saw a 37.4% drop followed by the industrial, agricultural and development land and others at 36.9%t, 32.8 per cent and 28.6% respectively.
According to The Edge Markets, the overall property market in 2021 is expected to be flat or record a slightly better performance than 2020 as the start of the vaccination programme in the country would help in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and start the economy on a recovery path. However, with the recent rise in infections and the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) 2.0 and the declaration of emergency, the hoped-for recovery may be delayed until 2022.
On a positive note, with the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme which has already started, the economy and subsequently the property market will be able to stage a sustained recovery once herd immunity is achieved. Property buyers may take advantage of the current low interest rates to buy their dream homes and housing developers are expected to intensify their marketing efforts to push sales before the Home Ownership Campaign 2020 ends on 31 May 2021.
If you’re in the midst of house hunting or know of someone who’s looking for one, now is the best time to consider in order to take advantage of the current low interest rates and Home Ownership Campaign. To find out how much you have to pay for your monthly repayment for different home price, deposit, mortgage amount, interest rates and term, check out this mortgage calculator for a quick and easy answer. Also check out this remortgage calculator if you’re planning to remortgage or refinance your home loan and would like to know the revised monthly payment and other details.
For starters, homebuyers will be able to enjoy full stamp duty exemption on the Instrument of Transfer for residential properties up to RM1 million, and a partial stamp duty exemption (3%) for those priced between RM1 million to RM2.5 million. In addition, the stamp duty on the Instrument of Securing Loan will also be exempted for residential properties up to RM2.5 million. And best of all, every homebuyer will enjoy a minimum of 10% discount off the purchasing price!
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