Ubah Gaya Hidup

(Image source: http://www.campusaccess.com) Medical bills are expensive these days and coupled with stressful lifestyle and poor eating habits, high medical bills are here to stay. Insurance.com lists out 10 ideas on how one can reduce medical bills:- 1. Practice prevention 2. Shop around for health insurance 3. Cut the cost of prescription drugs 4. Check your medical bills 5. Join your spouse's health plan 6. Keep track of your medical expenses 7. Negotiate a discount with your health-care provider 8. Contribute to a flexible spending account 9. Take advantage of free health screenings 10. Get to know your health insurance (Click here for more details) Whilst prevention is the best way to reduce medical bills but with the current lifestyle, prevention may not be possible all the time – so one need to look at alternative ways to reduce the bills. Read Also 5 Ways to Lower Your Medical Bills

(Image source: www.healthline.com) Water is a precious resource. It is estimated only 2.5% of the water source in the world is fresh water source. When the Selangor State Government announced that there will be a 20% waiver on the water bills, many cried foul. Not on the reduced water bill but rather on the anticipation of more water wastage. Whilst there are many ways water is leaked through old pipes, faulty pipe and improper water management, there is little an individual could do to reduce water wastages. However at home, there are many ways one can save water. Eartheasy listed 25 ways on how one can save at home. Some of the easy ones that one can practice at home is a follows:- 1. Check for hidden water leaks Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak. 2. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket Every time you flush a cigarette ...

(Image source: http://www.masternewmedia.org) Most of us already have Google Adsense up and running on our blogs. Sometimes we have no choice - we have to be creative to look for alternative source of income. But is there more than just Adsense (and other “variants” of it such as Nuffnang and more)? Microsoft’s Small Business listed a few more:- 1. Sell advertisement (obvious one) 2. Sell other’s product 3. Solicit contributions (it is a long shot but…) 4. Market your services (perhaps as a writer?) 5. Improve relationship with readers (Read the details here ) We have to change our lifestyles - which means more income, less expenses. That is the way to go. And making money from blog is one way of getting more income. More to come...

(Image source: http://www.blinman.com) We all have to buy clothes at one point at a time – some on monthly basis. Back home, I have a closet full of clothes but only half is worn on regular basis. The remaining clothes is “collecting dust”. We gave away plenty of clothes to charity and relatives but still there is plenty more. We still need to buy new ones – because of the wear & tear but also due to “enlargement” of our body size. But there are ways to save on clothing and here are some ways that I practice (from Garment care):- 1. Read Care Labels. Believe it or not, failure to follow the care instructions on clothing is the number one reason an item gets ruined in the wash. 2. Don't Wash Clean Clothes. If you wear a garment for a few hours only and it still appears clean and smells fresh, there's no need to wash it again. Wear an item a couple of times before washing to preserve its life. For example, a dress you only wear to church on Sundays might last longer if you...

(Having a balanced diet. Image source: http://www.diabetes.org) The fuel price goes up and with it, the price of food and household items goes up too. Roti Canai at one time used to be one of the cheapest foods around but now, it is among the high priced food item. What me and my friends did was this:- 1. Source for restaurant where the food is good but cheap. 2. We opt out from buying expensive items – squids, fish, chicken and perhaps less rice. 3. Bring cooked food from home – last night’s leftovers is the best option 4. Skip lunch altogether and instead have small meals (biscuits, oats or titbits) So, how else one can save money on food? From Wikihow:- 1. Share food. Usually at restaurants, food advertised for two people is sufficient for three. Don't pay for more than you need! 2. Learn how to make great-tasting dishes at lower cost staple food. Instead of roast beef sandwiches, eat peanut butter and jelly. Instead of steak, dine on macaroni and cheese. 3. Remember that while...

We all pump fuel for our vehicles and whilst we do that, here’s a chance to win free fuel. 700 winners will win 1,500 kilometres each, which is equivalent to RM300 3 Grand Prize Winners will receive cash prizes on top of a year’s worth of free petrol. All it takes is to purchase minimum RM30 worth of Shell Fuels and submit a contest form. For details, click here

(Image source: http://global-cooling.co.uk) Malaysia and the heat – we can’t get away from it My wife have been asking me to fix an air-conditioner in our room for some time now but what I did in the end was to get a bigger fan (there is no connectors for a ceiling fan). In a way, it satisfied her – it is “cooler” at night but still we can feel the heat if we are not near the fan. On the other hand, my friend has air conditioner for every room in his house. He even has one for the living room and he gets to sleep in a fairly cool room at night. Whilst comfort is good, he has one problem – exorbitant electricity bill! Every air conditioner easily cost him RM100 in electricity bills (that’s RM100 per room and he has 4 rooms). For the same reason, I have opted not to fix an air conditioner in my room – the rising electricity bills. Whilst I could switch it on at night and make sure that there are no “leakages” but in the long run, it is going to be an expensive endeavour. Just look at the...

(Image source: blogs.propertyfinder.com/) Is this sound very familiar to you? You received your salary on the dot and based on a rough calculation (some use only their 10 fingers), deducting estimated expenses for the month, you gather that there is a surplus of almost RM1,000. However, come middle of the month and you are at the ATM machine withdrawing cash, you soon realise that there is less than RM50 in the account. You start to panic. It is not enough to sustain you for the next pay day. You sheepishly walk away from the ATM machine, thinking what had happened? Did the bank have wrongly debited your saving account? No, you think again. Did you overspend your income? You think again and you realised that is it – you spend more than what you can earn. Every one of us has gone through this phase at one point of our life before. Like others, I used to complain that my income is just not enough for my expenses. That was a lame and cheap excuse indeed. So I started to a budget and keep...