I am not my car (Part 2)

I posted “I am not my car” almost 3 years ago.

http://meepoktah.blogdrive.com/archive/cm-05_cy-2005_m-05_d-30_y-2005_o-0.html

I still think buying car in Singapore is a bloody waste of money.
A depreciating asset that lines gahmen coffers only to be lost in ridiculous / mindless investments like Shincorp, UBS, Citigroup etc…….
I also continue to believe that, unlike many Singaporeans, my self worth is not pegged to the make of my car.

But recently, I’ve been visiting car showrooms.
Yep, looking for a new car.
Just in case you’re wondering if I’ve lost my way in this materialistic world……

Reasons for buying new car:

1. Mazda 3 is too small to fit Meekia’s booster seat, pram and bags of barang (maciam going for war like that) + 4 adults.

2. Traffic jams in Singapore have become so bad that I get butt ache sitting in my car.  Age is catching up……. I need something more cushy to support my butt and my back.

I’ve narrowed my choices down to 3 cars.
The finalists are…..

Honda Accord 2008 (2.4 litres)

Toyota Camry 2007(2.4 litres)

Mazda 6 2008 (2.5 litres)

They were chosen for the space they afford and the dependability of their engines + lower cost of maintenance.
Also for their price range at about $100k.

Again, my mum asked me to buy a BMW when I told her I was looking for a new car.
Again, I said “no”.
Again, she’s asked me where my money went.
Again, I chose not to answer.

Wonder what she’d have said if she knew the money I’ve tithed @ church and given to charities in the past 6 years could have bought a brand new …..

 

I’d encourage you, my friends, to give generously to good causes.
The impact you make with your money is permanent and may last generations.
Money spent on a car, well, has a lifespan of a blood sucking COE.

Meepok and Meekia …..

Took this pic over the weekend.
Do you guys think Meekia looks like me?

Meekia has MHAF’s eyes  (luckily)….. so me blocking my eyes out doesn’t make a diff 🙂

Have they tried looking for him here …..

Came across this pic.

Maybe our friend is in Batu Pahat.
This place is in Malaysia and should ring a bell.
It’s the hometown for the Health Minister sex VCD scandal a few months back.

Financial Traps In Singapore

Folks,

I wrote to ST Forum in response to their article on Sunday re people who kena or run the risk of kena-ing bankrupted because they spent on stuff they can ill afford.

Hope none of the readers of my blog fall into this category.

Read on…..

======================================================

I refer to your Sunday Times article “Trapped by lure of the high life”.

 

I am disturbed yet not surprised by the prevalence of financial problems caused by over-stretching of credit amongst Singaporeans.

 

Perhaps the relevant authorities should review policies that may have created “financial traps” for those who are financially less savvy and hence less prudent.

 

One example is hire purchase schemes. 

It has been advertised that one can hire purchase up to 10 times of one’s monthly salary.

Such installment schemes create an artificial sense of affordability of high priced items like large screen high definition LCD TVs. 

Worse still, the interest rates for these schemes range from 6-12%, depending on the purchase value and length of payment.

For a person earning $2,000 per month, taking a $20,000 hire purchase could cripple him financially if he loses his job.

 

Other financial traps include “zero dollar down” car loans, deferred payment schemes for houses and “easy credit” facilities offered by banks.

 

For starters, maybe it is time for the government to step in to protect those of the lower income group.

Based on one’s NRIC number, set limits of personal credit lines and hire purchase based on say, 4 times, of monthly salary.

For car loans, for those earning less than $2,000 per month, a guarantor is needed.

This may deter these people from over-stretching themselves financially and stem a growing social problem.

 

Words of financial wisdom from my grandpa: “If you don’t have enough cash in the bank to pay for one-third of the item you want to buy, you will still not be able to afford it even if you take a long term loan.”

 

Cliché but true.

Corrupt driving testers…… in Singapore !!

Meepok friends,

This makes my blood boil.
Malaysian style corruption has seeped into the Singaporean system !!I used to laugh when my Malaysian dorm mates told me they had to pay RM1,000 to guarantee that they pass their driving tests in Lian3 bang1.
No need to even start the engine.
Just sit in the car, pay up and wait 10 minutes.
And hey presto, your driving license is ready for collection.

That’s Malaysia, I thought.
Will never happen in Singapore.
I can’t be more wrong …. read on.

My friend, let’s call him Hero, took 2 driving tests recently at a Singapore test centre.
Both times he failed.
Some may think Hero is a cock-up driver.
But Hero has at least 15 years of driving experience.
Excellent driver but got his license suspended a few years back for err…. hero driving.
See 3 to 4 images still ngeh ngeh lai.

Anyway, each time he drove up to the driving centre at the end of his test, he was asked to pay a bride to ensure he passed.
At the 1st test, the tester asked for $3,000.
At the 2nd, a different tester asked for $1,500.
On both occasions, Hero refused to pay.
Not that he can’t afford it….. it is against his principles.
His guess is that the 3rd tester will be asking him for $750….. see the pattern here?

For the drivers out there, you’d notice that there are a lot of cock-up drivers on the roads nowadays.
Also a lot of liu3 lian3 kia4 (young punks) buang-ing their cars and killing others in the process.
I wonder if these guys paid  bribes to their testers.

If so, our system has allowed incompetent drivers on the roads to endanger us.
Worse still, palms were greased and pockets of those who are supposed to uphold the law were lined.

My friends, spread this word and stop the rot.
It stinks….. PUI!!

Meepok

Ah Pek conspiracy theories about Mas Selamat

I like to hang-out at Kopitiams.

Food is typically better and cheaper compared to foodcourts and restaurants.
The conversations you’ll overhear tend to be more interesting too.

Most of this is due to the bigger presence of Ah Peks and Taxi drivers.
Demographically, kopitiams are hotspots for conspiracy theorists.

This was what I overhead this morning.

Taxi driver: “Wa piang, this Selamat, gahmen say eelang (missing) liao lah.  How can? How can he jump over 3 high walls with a limp leg?  If really jump wall, both legs also bai1 kar1 (limp).”

Ah Pek: ” You no know lah…… my old friend who knows people in high places say they pang seh (released) him.  They probably shoved something up his kar1chng1 (backside) and let him run.  When he meets his kakis, police sui2 sui4 one shot napshot all of them.”

Taxi driver: “Really, ah?  I thought GPS tracking needs to see sky one (ie. have line of sight to the sky).  In backside, no light. Lagi no sky. If Mas Selamat lau4sai4 how?  Sure lau4 out one.”

Ah Pek: “Oh really, ah.  Didn’t know that.  Another powerful friend of mine told me another version.  This one lagi tekong.  He say, hor, they accidentally killed Mas Selamat while interrogating him.  Die liao, police commissioner sipeh terok.  So they say he run away and body cannot find.”

Taxi driver: “Oi, die liao also got body.  Put where? ”

Ah Pek: “Cook curry. Feed the teng4 lian3 (imprisoned) ones.  Maciam  龙门客站 like that ………… you don’t know meh?”

This is why I love kopitiams J

Intensive training (Part 2)

Meekia sleeps like a log…… Just like me

Papa is trying to recover years of lost  Chinese new year red packet  $$ from the little one. 
Meekia came in the 8th year of my marriage ….. I LuGhee 7 years liao leh…..This is what she looks like now ……

She has MHAF’s eyes and my temperament ….

When she is hungry, she can’t wait for her milk.

After 2 minutes, she’ll wail so loudly until all the neighborhood dogs get scared and start barking…… 

(I wail loudly when I don’t get my beer in 2 minutes too…..) 

Wonder it will be a case of like father, like daughter ……………..