If so many dreams, then wait lor.

Just got my income tax notice of assessment today. Have to cough up my tax payable in a month's time. Sigh..

Thanks for the reminder. I just set it up online. DBS website didn't allow me to specify whether I want to pay lump sum or instalment. This means IRAS will automatically enrol me under the instalment plan, isn't it?

It's quite kau this time around. Our new HR lady in Singapore suddenly started including the capital gains on our US-based stock options as taxable income. I swear somebody's going to hire an assassin when they start seeing their assessments..

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Added on July 19, 2011, 6:14 pmFor DBS/POSB, can set it up online instead of using the form.


This post has been edited by seantang: Jul 19 2011, 06:14 PM

Should be okay kua. IRAS should send me a GIRO payment schedule in 2 weeks. If it's a lump sum, I'll just call them up and get them to change it.

Thanks. That's good to know.

I think IRAS does the assessments in batches. No way they can do everybody's all at one go.

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Added on July 19, 2011, 11:55 pmIf he's hired as a SG employee, and he is required to travel to KL, the company should be providing accommodation in KL.

If he chooses to stay at home, it could be that he forgoes the accommodation... but if I were him, I would negotiate with my boss. Give him 2 choices... I get my full business travel accommodation ie. hotel stay at RM300 per day or alternatively, the company gives me per diem... say RM200 per day - for a win-win compromise. But he should not simply forgo the accommodation empty handed... at least I wouldn't. I rather check into the hotel to spend the company's money and then go home to sleep.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jul 19 2011, 11:57 PM

My hero in negotiation is my previous supervisor, who moved from our KL office to SG as a local employee and after a while, was sent back to KL on a full expat package.

Wah... lucky never hit anyone. Or else sure balik balai one.

You can pay via NETS using a credit card that's linked to your savings account. It'll debit the savings account rather than the credit card account.

Go to a hardware store in your neighbourhood. They will usually deliver if you buy something unbaggable.

Then they will charge you the delivery cost lah.

Or else rexona will have to pegang 2 kayu and walk home lor.

I'm in Singapore to fund my early retirement back to Malaysia. According to my math when I initially moved here, I can retire with the same amount of savings if I retire in 10 years time in Singapore, vs 20+ years in Malaysia. The extra 10+ years to invest and compound the money will offset the extra 10+ no-income years which that savings will need to pay for.

And that "10 years to retirement" has been falling fast since I got here as the opportunities for promotion in SG are simply much more abundant than staying in KL.

However, as expected, I simply pushed up my savings target rather than lowering my retirement age. So another 10 years in SG it is.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jul 22 2011, 10:05 AM

I agree. Retail currency buyers like us are small fry in terms of moving forex rates.

If any slowdown is observed during CNY period, I reckon it's due to the fact that SG's mfg sector shuts down for a couple of weeks during that period, plus its slower leading and out of the period. Exports are down, demand for SGD also down. Same for service sector as people balik kampung. Lots of PRs leaving SG and Chinese / Taiwanese / HK / Malaysian tourists mostly stay away.

Anyway, even if it's not what I said, it's still not small timers like you and I moving the needle.

Your salary won't stay the same forever. If you keep your spending in check as you get promotions and higher salary, the "high" rental becomes a smaller and smaller % of your salary and therefore, more affordable.

When I initially came to SG, my rental was X% of my salary. My rental expense has increased 30% over the last 6 years, but as a % of my salary, it has actually decreased 25% (now 0.75*X%).

Ya, but in a spa, the lovely ladies there will help you out of those items quick smart and then proceed to clean all your dangly bits.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jul 23 2011, 12:02 AM

When it comes to marketing talk like this, you'd want to temper whatever info you get from that enquiry with some realism. Even if they tell you that you'll be given new clothing each day... given the amount you pay, is it realistic that they will do so?

Just to share, I installed an app called SG Buses from Android Market. I think this is also available for iPhone. Anyway, long story short... I've been using Mobile iRis for years to see 'next bus arrival time' but really hated the fact you have to memorise/bookmark individual bus stop numbers and pull a query for each bus/bus stop combo. SG Buses uses Google Location to show all bus stops around you and shows the arrival times of all buses arriving at those bus stops. Very convenient.

The data feed is from sbstransit's bus gps system. So it's the same data feed as mobile iris and the electronic arrival time signboards at certain bus stops. So it's as accurate (or inaccurate) as it can get. I heard the problem is with estimating accurately how traffic conditions will affect the time taken to travel between bus stops.

It works quite well for me. Maybe those people who complained, their phones have trouble providing a lock on for Google Location.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jul 24 2011, 08:13 PM