Google Chrome Bookmarks Hack

With everything is online now including banking, reading newspaper, watching your favorite show, connecting with friends etc., we spend more time than ever in the virtual world. You might have a selected websites that you visit regularly and so you have bookmarked it. Me too, but it could be messy and out of hand sometimes. Here is the 5 minutes work that will save you hours browsing the bookmarks.

This is what I do:
1. Open Bookmark Manager by Control+Shirt+O
2. Group those websites that you visit regularly into the Bookmarks Bar folder
3. Delete the name of the bookmarks (not deleting the bookmarks!)
4. Your bookmarks bar will only have the logos remain

With the condensed bookmarks bar, you can easily see all of your favorite websites without browsing through the bookmark folder.

If you want to add new bookmark into the condensed bookmarks bar:
1. Click on the "star" appeared at the right most of your website link as shown

2. A "Bookmark Added" box will pop out with the Name and Folder on it
3. Let the Name empty and make sure the Folder is Bookmarks bar
4. Click done and the new bookmark will appear into the bar

[Tip 1] You can manually arrange your bookmarks by simply dragging your bookmarks to arrange them.

[Tip 2] Right click the bookmarked website logo and choose Delete if you want to delete that bookmark.

[Tip 3] Websites that are usually bookmarked are Facebook, Gmail/Hotmail, Youtube, News, Dropbox, Online Banking, Twitter, Google Drive, and our blog too!

How to Change WhatsApp Phone Number

One of the challenges then you will meet when coming back from overseas is to switch overseas phone number to local phone number. The biggest implication might be losing contacts from the overseas friends and acquaintances. But it's not such a big deal with Facebook, Line and Email which is email-based but how about WhatsApp? It is phone number based and if you have a new number, you probably have to lose the existing contacts and group chats. Sounds daunting?

Luckily with the new updates from WhatsApp, you can switch the phone number ID now with 3 simple steps.

1. In WhatsApp, go to Settings>Account>Change Number>Next

2. Type in your old Country Code and old phone number

3. Type in your new Country Code and new phone number

[Tip 1] All your Group Chat will be still maintained automatically. Basically, they will just remove your old number and add your new number in the Group Chat. Because of this, your mobile will have a long buzz upon successful switch.

[Tip 2] Before changing the number, you might want to change the WhatsApp status of your old phone number to something like "Changed my number and WhatsApp to XXXXX" (remember to add in the country code too). This is good for those friends who are still holding your old number and want to contact you again later in future. Or you might opt to broadcast a message to everyone.

[Tip 3] Some of the contacts might not be recognized by WhatApps now and hence showing you a string of numbers. This is because you have changed your phone number country code and so WhatApps could not recognize it. What you can do is to add the overseas country code into the overseas contact numbers in "Contacts". For example, Australian phone numbers should be entered as +61411223344 instead of 04 1122 3344.

For more information, you can have a look at Whatsapp FAQ

40 Questions to Ask during Room Inspection

After I got a job offer from a consulting firm, I immediately started looking for a room. The process is full of anxiety as I would most probably settle in for more than half a year. So, finding the perfect room is important to avoid complications in the future. Nobody wants the "Oh, I should check that out before I move in!", so we would want to ask every possible question during inspection. With multiple room inspection experiences, the following list is quite comprehensive to be ticked off during room inspections.

Cost
1. How much is the monthly rental fee?
2. Is the rental fee including utilities such as water, electricity and Wi-Fi?
3. If they are not included, what is the average monthly cost for heat, gas, electricity, etc?
4. How to pay rental?
5. How much deposit/ upfront payment is needed?
6. How long is the lease and how much fine for breaking the lease?

The Room
7. Is the room bright enough and exposed to sunlight?
8. Is the room airy?
9. Is the room large enough to fit at least a desk, a mattress and a wardrobe?
10. Is the room fully furnish or partially furnish?
11. Is the room too near to the kitchen/bathroom?
12. Is the room sound-proof?
13. Can the room be locked?

The House
14. Is the Wi-Fi set up? Is the Wi-Fi unlimited or with limited usage?
15. Do they provide washing machine?
16. Is there any area for drying the clothes?
17. Is the toilet clean?
18. Can you cook in the kitchen? (Optional)
19. Is the house airy and bright?
20. Is the house clean in overall?
21. Is there any roaster or cleaning services provided?
22. Is there any security facilities around the house? For example, security guards and CCTVs.
23. Is there any amenities such as swimming pool and gym provided?
24. Is there car free parking with the room? Otherwise, how much is the monthly parking fee?

The Housemates
25. How many housemates?
26. Are they working or studying?
27. Is it likely to have toilet-jam in the morning?
28. Is there any noise control/agreement?
29. Is bringing outside guests acceptable?

The Location
30. Is the public transport such as light rails and buses within walking distance?
31. Is there any grocery shops nearby?
32. Is there any food stalls/ restaurants nearby?
33. Is it within safe area or crime-prone area?
34. Is the location within severe traffic-jam area?

The House-Owner
35. Is the house owner friendly and reliable?
36. How fast maintenance concerns will be handled?
37. Is the house owner easily contactable?
38. Will the house owner too peculiar or is a control-freak?
39. Did the house owner impose many rules in the house?
40. How long prior notice needed before terminating the leasing?

If you have no idea where to start looking for rooms, you might find this iBilik website useful. Good Luck!

How to read UMobile Bill

You would have known that Black and I changed to UMobile Unlimited 50 in the previous post. While receiving the first bill is not very exciting, it is more frustrated if you could not decipher the bill! It takes us very long time to understand the bill statement and we will share with you here.

1. Monthly Charges is the total mobile usage by Black and I.

2. Other Charges here is the one off payment of RM 10 stamp duty.

3. The Service Tax charges 6% on monthly and usage charges only, ie excluding other charges.

4. Access Fee of RM50 is prorate to RM 38.33 since we signed up on 8th September (i.e 50/30*23)

5. Advance Access Fee is the deposit fee RM 50 paid in advance upon registration.

The above excerpt shows the mobile usage by Black.

1. Domestic SMS are the charges of text messages to UMobile and other operators.

2. VAS are the charges of SMS sent to 28118 for balance checking. Each SMS costs 5 cents.

3. Domestic Data Service shows the amount of data used by Black.

4.  IDD (International Direct Dialing) are charges related international calls. Although we did not dial to overseas, we still incur small charges on IDD. Upon clarification with the helpline, it is related to iPhone usage. We still could not identify exactly what cost is it.

This excerpt shows the mobile usage by me.

1. There is a Member U50 charge of RM 10 which is the cost of the sub-line to Black's line.

To avoid billing surprises, we recommend:

1. Avoid SMS and use social apps such as Whatsapp, Line, WeChat etc.

2. Call to UMobile helpline for balance enquiry (FOC) instead of sending checking through 28118.

3.  Communicate with each other to avoid over-usage.



Constant monitoring the billing will save you pennies in long term. Be a smart consumer!

Start an Investment - Mutual Funds

Through reading any financial book or blog, they will say the same thing; "Start saving and investing when you are young". But the million-dollar question is "How to start investing?"

To answer that question, one will require experience, skills and knowledge before start putting the money to work for you. But it seems so difficult and time-consuming that people always put it away until future unknown date. 

Every thing starts with a baby step and this is what I do. I put aside a fixed proportion of my salary for saving and investment purposes. Half of it goes into fixed deposit and the remaining into a mutual fund by auto direct transfer. In long term, I would have accumulated sufficient fund to achieve my financial goals. How does that sound?

Why I started with mutual funds

1. Diversification
Given a limited amount of capital, it is hard to diversify properly of the investments thus inducing specific risk into the investments. Mutual funds provide a well-diversified portfolios in unit.

2. Expertise and management skills 
Investment managers of the funds are skilled and experienced ensuring your money is invested in well-mannered.

3. Easy
With a professional investment manager, you don't have to track the stock prices everyday. This is suitable for busy people who wouldn't have much extra time.

4.Access to investments that otherwise not available
With the pooling of funds, individual can now access small and big, domestic and overseas investments.

The drawbacks that you need to consider

1. Management fee
Your investment will be charged for the management fees depending on the funds

2. Low return
Mutual funds are for long term investments. If you looking for high risk and high return, mutual fund might not be suitable.

To start investing in mutual funds

1. Decide on the purpose of your investments. Is it for your marriage fund, first home fund, child schooling fund or retirement?

2. Decide on how much risk you can tolerate. This  is affected by your age, nature of income (steady or uncertain), number of dependents and existing wealth.

3. Research on which provider that you wanted to join.

4. Decide on which fund you would like to join. 

5. Read the prospectus of the fund to ensure that you are aware of what risk you are exposed to.

6. Invest in the fund. Decide on whether you wanted to invest in lump sum or regular investment.

7. Put it aside and check it once in awhile. 

It would not happen if you are not starting. Take the first step now by reading more about investments!

Groupon: KL Tower One Day Trip

As a KL people, have you visited the majestic KL Tower? Since I started work, I have always wanted to bring my family to somewhere memorable (but within my budget, of course!). Then, I came across Groupon that offers Hi-Tea Buffet + Blue Coral Aquarium + Observation Deck for RM 69 per person. Yay, combo!

[Tip 1] Groupon Malaysia do offer the deal quite frequently in a year. Also, there are options of Lunch and Dinner options as well.

The hi-tea starts at 3.30pm, so we arrived around 2.45pm. One thing to note that, there is limited parking in KL Tower and it’s likely to be not shaded. The parking fee is $3 per hour and it could be quite expensive in overall. So, you might want to take other alternatives such as taking KL Hop-On Hop-Off bus.

[Tip 2] If you arrive early, you can have a stroll in the reserve park nearby to enjoy the cool air and green lush which is FOC.

Upon arrival, “check in” with the registration deck and they will give you the admission tickets to the Blue Coral Aquarium but they will only give you the tickets to hi-tea at 3.30pm sharp. So, we made our way to Blue Coral Aquarium which is just opposite the main entrance. The aquarium is quite small and we finished it less than 30 minutes.

[Tip 3] Make sure you printed all your Groupon vouchers and made reservations at least 2 days prior.

Then, I had to go to the reservation desk to collect the hi-tea coupons and queued for the lift. There are 4 lifts and there are operators to help with you the directory. The lift took around 54 seconds to reach the top.

[Tip 4] Have some candies or chewing gums to reduce 'pop-ing' in your ears.

“Restoran berputar” or revolving restaurant gives you 360 degree view of Kuala Lumpur. A complete rotation takes around 2 hour which is just right with the time slot. The food served is mostly Malaysian delicacies such as roti canai, yong tao foo, banana fritters, mee goreng, chicken curry, etc.. It’s good news for foreigners who want to try everything in one go but maybe not so attractive to locals. But what make the deal worth it is the borderless view presented in front of you.

[Tip 5] Celebrating birthday in KL Tower is a good idea, the staffs can arrange for you

After having a good time in the restaurant, we went down a floor to the observation deck. There is no limited time there, so you can stay however long you want it to be.

[Tip 6] Avoid visiting the tower during hazy day

Overall, it is an pocket-friendly short trip and meaningful to locals who have not the chance to visit the national symbolic building. Thanks Groupon for beating the old saying of having to tie belts for several months to enjoy a meal in KL Tower!

Reschedule Groupon Reservation Date

If you are looking to save a few pennies while not leaving the luxuries, Groupon often is a good choice. Regardless of what you wanted to buy, Groupon is always being checked first if you could benefit from the massive discount offered for the same products or services. No harm checking for discounts, right? 

I bought two Groupons of KL Tower Hi-Tea Buffet at Atmosphere 360 + Blue Coral Aquarium + Observation Deck to bring my family a short visit to the KL Tower. On the a day prior to the reservation, my niece fell sick and so I have to reschedule the reservations to another weekend. So I called the Groupon support number given in the booking form to request rescheduling. While I am pretty confident that I would be able to (the fine print stated that I can reschedule one day prior to the booking), I was told that I couldn't.

So, this is how the "1 day prior" works:
Original booked date: 5/10/2014
Latest date to change the booked date: 3/10/2014 (Not 4/10/2014) 

However then, she recommended me to try writing an email to Groupon request but it will be 50:50 chance. Without providing any other alternatives, the call was ended. This call was not helpful at all. 

I was thinking to give up on the vouchers when I am reading the fine prints. Then, I discovered that they do provide the KL Tower number for reservations. I called the number embracing very little hopes, but it turns out that the KL Tower receptionist is so friendly and willing to reschedule my booking without hesitation. Finally, I am able to postpone the booking to another date.

Lesson learnt:
Try calling the direct provider instead of calling the Groupon support helpline. Groupon helpline might not be helpful.

Hope the following number will be helpful to you if you need to reschedule/booking for the KL Tower visit date:

Phone:    +603-2022 1724

Website: http://atmosphere360.com.my/

Address:  Menara Kuala Lumpur, 
                 No 2 Jalan Punchak Off Jalan P. Ramlee
                 50250 Kuala Lumpur

4 Steps to Set Up Monthly Budget

A good budget is just as good as a pair of fit jeans. Too loose, you spend more than you have but too tight, you suffocate yourself and you won't follow it at all. So, the key is to set a realistic budget that you can stick to it.

Step 1: Identify your income

This should take into account the SOCSO, EPF and tax to get your net income that you can use every month. RM 3000 is not RM 3000 at all, you only have RM 2600 to use after all those little suckers.

Step 2: Identify your necessities

Necessities do not include Starbucks and movie tickets. Necessities refer to savings, funds for investment, monthly debt repayments such as car loan or mortgages, petrol, rental, bills and utilities.

Step 3: Backward calculate how much you have daily

The remaining is the money that you can spend without feeling guilty. Divide it by the number of day in a month, you shall get a picture of how much money you can use per day. This money should be able to cover your two meals and miscellaneous buying that you want. Having said that, if you really wanted to buy yourself something expensive or to indulge in luxuries, you will have to plan which days you will spend less.

Step 4: Track every spending

Tracking where your money go is important as it tells you which spending is not necessary and to prevent over spending. Tracking is not difficult with the help of apps in mobile phone or just a simple excel worksheet.

Be in control of your own finance  is the first step to become rich.

iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program

Black is so happy because he just received a brand new replacement iPhone for his faulty iPhone5 sleep/wake button. Apple has launched a replacement program for a specific batch of iPhone5 that has been identified to have problem on the Sleep/Wake button. If your iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake button is not functioning or functioning intermittently, you might find the following interesting.

Before you storm into nearby Apple store, make sure your eligibility by popping in your serial number in the Apple site. To get your serial number, go to Settings > General > About.

Eligible

Not eligible

You eligible? Hooray, now back up your phone in iTunes because you are going to drop your iPhone at one of the participating Apple Machines in Malaysia listed at the bottom.

The Machines staff will create a Case ID for your replacement request. They will then turn off your "Find my iPhone" and erase your data. Apple's policy require approximately 2-3 business days to diagnose the phone and if successful, it will take around 7 business days for the new phone to be delivered to Malaysia.



[Tip 1] The above merely act as a guideline and might not always adhered to. Some gently phone calls to nudge them might be useful if they are not responding after the required period.

[Tip 2] Make sure your phone did not drop into water previously or cracked or faulty. Most likely they will reject your request if they found your phone having other problems during the diagnosis.

[Tip 3] If you bought your iPhone overseas, you might encounter some obstacles during the process. They might ask you to call to Apple in the country you purchased the iPhone or simply reject your request. Do not give up! You absolutely have the right to exchange it even though you bought it overseas, as long as you are eligible to the program. That's what Black experienced too.

 And finally, good luck to you!

List of Participating Apple Machines in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

MACHINES@NORTHPOINT BY MACHINES SERVICE SDN BHD

NORTHPOINT OFFICES MID VALLEY
BLOCK B-G-2,
GROUND FLOOR,
NO.1 MEDAN SYED PUTRA UTARA KUALA LUMPUR, 

KUALA LUMPUR 59200

+603 2289 5388

QCD@BTS BY QCD TECHNOLOGY (M) SDN BHD

BERJAYA TIMES SQUARE,
NO. 1, JALAN IMBI, #08-45/47 LEVEL 8

KUALA LUMPUR, KUALA LUMPUR 55100

+603 2141 4840

MACHINES@KLCC BY MACHINES SERVICE SDN BHD

SURIA KLCC, KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE,
LOT 316B & 316C, 3RD FLR

KUALA LUMPUR, KUALA LUMPUR 50088

+603 2181 5866

MACCITY@1UTAMA BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

1UTAMA SHOPPING CENTRE(NEW WING) BANDAR UTAMA,
LOT S330, 2ND FLOOR

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR 47800

+603 7726 2880

SWITCH@LEISUREMALL BY CG COMPUTERS SDN BHD

CHERAS LEISURE MALL,
L2-51& 51A, JALAN MANIS 6,
TAMAN SEGAR, CHERAS

KUALA LUMPUR, KUALA LUMPUR 56100

+603 9134 6993

MACCITY@FESTIVALCITY BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

KL FESTIVAL CITY,
NO.67 JALAN TAMAN IBU KOTA,
2ND FLR S48-S, TAMAN DANAU KOTA, SETAPAK

KUALA LUMPUR, KUALA LUMPUR 53300

+603 4143 9880

MACCITY@CEMPAKA

C-1-40, 1ST FLOOR,
BLOCK C 10 BOULEVARD,
JALAN CEMPAKA KAMPUNG SUNGAI KAYU ARA

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR 47400

+603 7725 6680

MACCITY@CHERAS BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

AEON CHERAS,
LOT F39, 1ST FLOOR,
ARAS SATU, LEBUH TUN HUSSEIN ONN, BALAKONG

KAJANG, SELANGOR 43200

+603 9075 2880

Kedah

SWITCH@ALORSETAR BY CG COMPUTERS SDN BHD

2-888, G06, ALOR STAR MALL,
KAWASAN PERUSAHAAN TANDOP BARU,
5400 KEDAH, ALOR SETAR

ALOR SETAR, KEDAH 05400

+604 772 5591

Penang

SWITCH@BAYANLEPAS BY CG COMPUTERS SDN BHD

A-10-2, BAY AVENUE,
LORONG BAYAN INDAH 4 BAYAN LEPAS

PENANG, PENANG 11900

+604 645 1591 / +604 644 3580

Perak

ITWORLD@IPOH BY SNS NETWORK (M) SDN BHD

ITWORLD, GREENTOWN BUSINESS CENTRE, 

18A, PERSIARAN GREENTOWN 1, 

IPOH, PERAK 30450

1700 81 9616

Malacca

MACCITY@MELAKA BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

AEON BANDARAYA MELAKA SHOPPING CTR,
NO.2 JALAN LEGENDA, TAMAN 1-LEGENDA, S-03 2ND FLR

MELAKA, MELAKA 75400

+606 284 8880

Johor

MACCITY@BATUPAHAT BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

SQUARE ONE MALL, LOT NGT8 & NGT9 LEVEL 1,
JALAN FLORA UTAMA 4 FLORA UTAMA

BATU PAHAT, JOHOR 83000

QCD@IFIX-BATUPAHAT BY ASCENTOUCH RESOURCES SDN BHD

LG-42, GROUND FLOOR, BATU PAHAT MALL, JALAN KLUANG

BATU PAHAT, JOHOR 83000

+607 434 5100

MACCITY@KLUANG BY MAC CITY SDN BHD

KLUANG MALL,LOT NO.G-33A & G-35 (GROUND FLOOR),
JALAN RAMBUTAN BANDAR KLUANG

KLUANG, JOHOR 86000

+607 776 6653

SWITCH@AEONBUKITINDAH BY CG COMPUTERS SDN BHD

AEON BUKIT INDAH SHOPPING CENTRE,
LOT NO. S18, 2ND FLOOR

JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR 81200

+607 235 5591

QCD@IFIX-SUTERAMALL BY ASCENTOUCH RESOURCES SDN BHD

SUTERA MALL SKUDAI, 

1 JALAN SUTERA TANJUNG 8/4, L3 648-653

JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR 81300

+607 562 6678

QCD@IFIX-JB BY QCD TECHNOLOGY (M) SDN BHD

DANGA CITY MALL (IFIX@ASCENTOUCH), 

L2-88, LEVEL 2, JALAN TUN ABDUL RAZAK

JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR 80000

+607 562 6678

MACCITY@KSLCITYMALL

KSL CITY MALL, G41, GROUND FLOOR,
33 JALAN SELADANG TAMAN ABAD, 

JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR 80250

+607 289 1121

Kelantan

SWITCH@KOTABHARU

KOTA BHARU TRADE CENTRE,
LOT NO.G-15, JALAN BULUH KUBU

KOTA BHARU, KELANTAN 15000

+609 743 5591

Sabah

MACHANICS@KK BY DIGITAL FORTRESS SDN BHD

DAMAI PLAZA PHASE 3, 1ST FLOOR, 

LOT 7, BLOCK B, WISMA CTF

KOTA KINABALU, SABAH 88300

+6012 827 2841

Sarawak

SWITCH@KUCHING BY CG COMPUTERS SDN BHD

THE SPRING MALL, UNIT 112 1ST FLOOR,
JALAN SIMPANG TIGA

KUCHING, SARAWAK 93350

+608 223 4728

U Mobile Unlimited Postpaid Plan

Recently, White and I are thinking to finally commit to a mobile plan with data. We mainly use Internet for Whatapps and Line and are not heavy users on phone and SMS. We are looking for a minimal plan that could provide us with just-right amount of data and could make some phone calls and SMS without worry. If we could call each other free of charge, that would be a super plus.

And what we found is... ta-daaa....... "U Mobile Unlimited 50 Postpaid Plan"!

The reasons we chose this plan are:

1. The package comes in a RM 50 principal with a RM 10 sub-line. But it is really just RM30 data package in disguise! Read on to find out why.
2. Internet and Free Calls sharing
   Although I am under the principal line while White is my sub-line, we share 2GBs high-speed internet and 100 minutes free calls. This is the beauty of the plan. I can hardly use up the 2GBs data and 100 free calls alone. With White's sub-line, we both can utilise the internet and free calls to its maximum. One excellent thing to note is that we both can still use the internet data after exceeding the 2GBs data, just that the internet will not be in high speed after exceeding the quota. How cool!
3. Free unlimited calls to sub-line and U Mobile lines
   The free unlimited calls feature is designed to all U Mobile users. In other words, since principal and sub-line must be under U Mobile operator, I can call White anytime and anywhere without limits. Now we don't have to be upset with poor connections in Line, Skype or Viber.
4. Not contract based
   This is not a contract-based plan, you can just terminate it if you think it is not worthy anymore.

But, we still feel a bit upset about these:

1. RM50 advanced payment needed
   This is considered as a deposit and will be refunded back to you at the end of termination.
2. No free SMS
   If you use Whatsapp or other apps most of the time, then this shouldn't be a big deal.
3. Higher call rates once quota is being consumed
   This suggests you should not register this plan if you are a heavy user.
4. Miscellaneous expenses
   The bill isn't RM 5o at the end of the month. You will have to add up small expenses such as 6% tax or over-quota charges.
5. Balance enquiries
   You can only check your balance by calling the U Mobile Call Centre (FOC) or you can send sms 28118 to enquire but it will incur 5 cents per SMS.

Steps to switch and sign up U Mobile

I would say this really depends on case basis but I reckon our case is considered as a tedious case indeed. I was Celcom user while White was Digi user. After getting advice from U Mobile, the following shows steps to change to U Mobile plan without changing our current phone numbers.

1. Ensure both the numbers do not have any outstanding amount and currently still active.
2. White has to go to Digi Centre to change her numbers to be under my name. This can be done in 10 minutes. Just need our IC and both of us must present.
3. Then, go to U Mobile centre and U Mobile will inform Celcom about the switch and request for termination. This depends on your current operator and usually can be done in maximum 3 days. U Mobile will then provide two new sim cards (for White and I respectively).
4. A message about the termination of Celcom will be sent to my phone number.
5. When my Celcom number shows no network, the  new sim card can be put into the phone.
6. Another message about the successful registration under U Mobile will be sent to my phone number again. At this stage, I am under U Mobile Unlimited 50 Postpaid Plan.
7. Step 4-6 will then be repeated for the sub-line.
8. Done!

To know about location of U Mobile service center, you can have a look at U Mobile Store Locate

For more information, you can have a look at U Mobile FAQ

Have been using the plan for 2 months now and still love it.