Paying to ‘host’ your blog or website?

August 19, 2013

           

One of the most attractive aspects of blogging for income is that the overhead is minimal, if not zero.

By Marcela De Vivo

The main resource that you need to put into a blog is your own time, while the only thing required of your pocket book is a domain name, which is about US$10 a year. Paying a fee is optional as that will remove the “.wordpress” or “.blogger” extension that the two free blogging platforms provide you.

Other costs might include graphic design, templates or other forms of consulting, depending on your needs, but hosting your site doesn’t have to be part of that expense.

It’s optional, and there are pros and cons to both the free and paid options.

Essentially, if you set up your blog with a site like WordPress or Blogger, your blog is hosted for free and you are provided with a predefined set of customization options. When you buy a domain name, you simply forward your blog’s current address to the new domain and that becomes your URL.

The other side of the coin is that you pay a hosting company to host your blog. People who go with this route typically use something like Joomla (to create their blog) and then pay a hosting company, which is a monthly fee.

There’s pros and cons to both, so lets take a look.

Pros and cons of free hosting
The obvious attraction of free hosting is that it’s free and it is often easier to setup and maintain. Since everything is already there for you, you can start blogging quickly and avoid a lot of the work of getting setup with a hosting company and getting things squared away with Joomla.

You’ll also have a lot of templates to choose from, both within the sites themselves and from third party sites who provide thousands of different templates to choose from. These are all quite simple to install.

The downside is that you’re somewhat limited in terms of your features and customization options. Sure, you can customize your template, but you’re still at the mercy of the WordPress or Blogger features.

For some people, this makes them feel like their blog isn’t their own, and in a way, that’s true.

Pros and cons of paid hosting
Paid hosting, on the other hand, gives you complete and thorough control over how your blog is run and even though you do need to pay, hosting costs are usually pretty affordable. This option is typically more attractive to developers and people who want to create their own blog, so they can tune it exactly how they want to.

The downside here is that you do need to have more technical proficiency to go this route and it’s not always a straightforward process. If the cost bothers you, then that too will be a deterrent, but the main headache here is the technical hoops that you will need to jump through in order to get your site live.

Even if it all goes well, it can still be a lengthy process.

Things to consider when choosing
You need to consider the following questions when deciding whether to pay for a hosting service or use one of the free ones that are available:

Am I a casual or serious blogger? — If you’re just blogging for fun, it’s a no-brainer to go with the free option. That’s not to say that serious bloggers can’t use them, but they’re particularly friendly to the blogging newcomer.

Do I intend for my blog to make money? — If you don’t plan to make an income with your blog, paying a monthly fee to host it probably won’t be an attractive option.

Am I technically proficient? — The more technically inclined you are, the more likely you’ll be able to take advantage of the flexibilities afforded by paid hosting. Otherwise, you’d be fine to just go with one of the free options.

Take these all into account when you’re making your decision. You can even start out on a simple hosting site, like Blogger or WordPress, and eventually move them to a different hosting platform. If you blog for awhile and find that it’s not your thing, then you haven’t lost anything.

By the same token, if your blogging career seems to be taking off and you want to kick things up a notch, you can take the plunge and pay for your hosting.

It’s a win-win for everybody.
Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer and online marketing professional in California. Specializing in search marketing, social networking, web analytics and web hosting, she has helped many companies establish their online presence.

Buying your 1st property: Top 5 tips

August 19, 2013

           

In this two-part series, we want discuss the Top 5 Tips that you absolutely need to be aware of when buying your first property!

 By Shaun Lee

Buying your first property be it for own stay or for investment can be very intimidating yet exciting at the same time. This is not unusual for most of us as buying a house will probably be one of the single largest purchases you would make in your lifetime, and along with the mortgage required for it, getting the whole process right will be one of the biggest ways to Save Money.

Tip 1: Defining objectives
One must be crystal clear of your objectives when buying your property. The two main objectives are:

(a) For own stay
When it comes to buying your first home, it’s very easy to get carried away with finding the perfect home. Sorry to burst your bubble, but perfection does not exist. So be prepared to compromise. You need to be realistic with what you can afford given your budget.

(b) For investment
If you are buying for investment, you then need to be clear if you are investing for Capital Appreciation (rising price of property) or for Rental Returns.

As a general rule of thumb, if you are still young with high future earnings potential, you should focus on properties which are likely to provide the highest Capital Appreciation. But if you are approaching retirement, you should be looking at properties which will preserve its value yet give good Rental Returns to fund your retirement.

If you are buying for Capital Appreciation, one would usually go for off-plan properties (Properties which are sold before they are complete). However, things have changed in the past few years especially in the Klang Valley where there is currently an oversupply situation therefore making it very tricky to ‘flip’ properties (Flipping is a common term used to describe buying a property on a short-term speculative basis) immediately on completion.

An advantage of buying properties off-plan is that developers usually have very attractive Developer Interest Bearing Schemes (DIBS), making it very affordable for buyers. Under the DIBS, the buyer only has to pay the 10% downpayment on signing of the Sale & Purchase Agreement (or 30% if you already have 2 outstanding loans), and nothing else until you get the keys to your unit. So you don’t have to make any progressive payments during the construction period (Progressive payments are payments made to finance a housing loan during the course of construction. Typically, you only pay the interest element of your loan during the construction period).

The public should be aware that although this scheme seems to be very attractive, never forget that the developer would have factored in their finance cost during the construction period into the pricing of the property. Other advantages of buying off-plan is that developers will usually give a lot of ‘freebies’ such as free legal costs for your Sale & Purchase Agreement and sometimes even for your Loan Agreements too. This will help reduce your initial capital outlay.

Tip 2: Loan application
Most people will look for property first, then seek financing. This is a major NO NO! One should always find out how much you are able to borrow from the bank FIRST before going out to look for property. If you don’t know what you can afford, you are more likely to screw up.

You can do this simply by walking in to most banks (we recommend you walk in to a few to build the relationship with several Loan Officers as they will come in handy when you need to check the valuation of your property. Also, spread the risk (in case one bank rejects your application), applying to many banks will help you get a more competitive rate.

Don’t be afraid to let your Loan Officers know what rates the other banks are offering you, because this keeps them competitive too. Some banks are known to undercut others but this has to be done before the formal Offer Letter is being issued.

Stay tuned next week for the rest of our top tips!

Shaun Lee is the Resident Property Expert at SaveMoney.my, Malaysia’s Number 1 Money Saving Community that helps you save RM1,000’s on Banking, Credit Cards, Loans, Phones, Travel, Shopping, Property and Taxes.

Retirement makes mum a happier person

Retirement makes mum a happier person

 

Tuesday, Aug 13, 2013

 

The Sunday Times

By Rachel Chang

 

SINGAPORE - In a premature twist of fate, I've become the only gainfully employed member of my family in Singapore.

 

A year ago, my father scaled back on his work as a freelance tour guide to study for a law diploma.

 

Last month, my mother lost the job she has had for the past 15 years.She saw it coming: The management had changed and were bringing in a slate of new, young, staffers.It was also a fairly painless parting since her own discomfort had been growing for months as her colleagues departed one by one. She was the last one standing and considered resigning, but my sister and I insisted that she wait to be fired.

 

What came as a surprise to us was her announcement, post-retrenchment, that she had no intention of getting another job.

 

Conditioned perhaps by capitalism and self-reliance, I had always thought of retirement as the moment dementia starts to set in.

 

At 58, she is sprightly. It would be one thing if she intended to turn her focus from work to another, deeply personal endeavour, like my father had done.

 

But it seemed like what my mother wanted was only to live a more indolent version of her current life of line dancing, housework and chit-chat.

 

Various unloving predictions sprung to my young-ish adult mind.

 

I would have to give her a lot more money every month.

 

 Her brain would turn to mush on Korean drama serials.

 

 She would always be around, fussing the way mothers fuss, but now at turbo level for a sheer lack of other things to do.I might be jinxing it by calling it early, but none of these things - save the first, pity my bank account - has come true.

 

Instead, my mother has made retirement look a lot better than I ever thought it could.I think what a lot of people my age don't realise is just how much our parents have on their plates, and how exhausting it becomes, as energies wane and bones start to ache, to hold it all together.

 

Now that my mother has time for her full life and sufficient sleep, she has become a much happier person - and a much nicer one.This reverberated in several spheres.

 

The nastiness of a mother's fussing, I believe, is directly proportionate to how harried they feel.

 

So, if they barely have time for a conversation with their children, those five minutes can get sucked into a black hole of nagging and criticism.

 

I think of it as anxiety infecting every aspect of their lives.

 

And so it has been that with every new day now blooming before her, unencumbered, my mother's fussing has become exponentially more pleasant.

 

She's always bringing me drinks. She reads the newspapers and talks to me about articles. She asks about my friends and is inordinately interested in the twisting, tortured tales of their relationships.

 

She is indeed always around, but it's actually improved our relationship.

 

Conversation is a habit with momentum of its own. When we barely saw each other, communication was often terse and transactional.

 

Now, I chat with my mother all the time, so much so that when something ridiculous happens to me or a development occurs in something I've told her about, I feel a tug of impatience to get home to update her on it.

 

She seems to enjoy her life so much more now, too.

 

Once, after sending me to work (another child-of-retiree perk), she ambled over to Toa Payoh market and texted me gleefully about encountering all the food stalls she remembered from youth.

 

She's built a mountain of baby goods to await my niece's return from East Africa in a few months.

 

It's early days yet, and perhaps boredom, or financial vulnerability, will set in, and she has to look for work.

 

But I can't help but think all of this as the reward for a tough, oft-grinding life of working motherhood.Her middle age has not been marked by empty-nest syndrome; all this space and time has instead been a revelation, a rediscovery of life's simple pleasures.

 

Chief among them is not having to rush everywhere all the time, but instead to have the freedom and the bandwidth to linger, to reflect, to notice.

 

If this is what retirement is, then sign me up.Too bad there's 40 years of drudgery, heartbreak and sleep deprivation to get through before I get there.

 

For now, I'm just glad that after years of enjoying the fruits of my mother's labour, I get to see her enjoy the fruits of rest.

Know your cashback credit cards

August 13, 2013

           

Here are some things to take note of when applying for a cashback credit card.

 

By Brendon Lee
Cashback credit cards have proven to be very popular among Malaysians. Next to the reward point system, cash rebates are a great way to save on spending. However, not all cashback cards are created alike; each one has its own cashback rate and is limited to specific spending categories.

To get the most savings from your cash back card, it’s important to choose the right one for your spending habits.

Here are some things to take note of when applying for a cashback credit card.

#1: Rates and categories Cashback rates and spending categories are interrelated as most cards limit their cashback to specific categories. The most popular categories are petrol, groceries, dining and utility bill payment. There are three mechanisms on which cashback cards operate:

• High cashback rates (5%-10%) limited to 2-4 categories and lower rates (0.5%-2%) for residuary categories.

• Blanket rate for all categories with a median rate (3-5%).

• User selected categories with fixed rates for each category set by the bank (0.5%-5%).

Depending on your spending habits – choose the card with categories that suit you.

#2: Caps Most cashback credit cards come with a monthly or annual cap, that is, a maximum amount of cashback that you can receive in a billing cycle. The most competitive products available usually have caps that fall in the range of RM50 – RM100 a month. It’s important to know what your card cashback cap is to ensure you don’t spend more under the false impression that you are earning cashback.

Usually, principal and supplementary cards contribute to the same cashback cap every month but some products calculate the spending separately and allow individual caps for the principal and supplementary cards.

#3: Fees and charges A cashback credit card, like any other will be subject to the usual fees and charges such as annual fees, cash advance fees, and late payment fees. However, if a cashback credit card allows you to select categories of spending, do note that every time you switch categories, there may be a fee involved. If you add on a category (if the card allows you to do this) you will have to pay a fee on this extra category as well.

Also, it is important to note that not all cashback cards have the same annual fee. Annual fees range from RM70-RM190 for mid-level credit cards and up to RM1000 for premium credit cards.

#4: Special terms and conditions
The terms and conditions of a new credit card commonly goes unread. But if you’re keen on making the most of your card’s cashback feature; it’s vital that you understand the special requirements that qualify you for a cashback card each time you swipe. For instance some cards advertise high cashback rates but are only available during the weekends while others require minimum amount of spend.

Others will only recognise transactions that conducted online or via standing instruction. Some banks are known to have tie-ins with specific merchants and offer bonus cashback if you do business with them.

A cashback credit card can save a few hundred ringgit a year. However, it can also be complicated. The key to finding the right credit card is to first evaluate your spending habits and pay attention to the fine print.

This was brought you by Brendon Lee from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, debit cards, balance transfers and personal loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.

China's online population rises to 591 million

China's online population rises to 591 million

BEIJING (AP) - China's population of Internet users has risen to 591 million, driven by a 20 per cent rise over the past year in the number of people who surf the internet from smartphones and other wireless devices.

The figures reported on Wednesday by an industry group, the China Internet Network Information Centre, represented a 10 per cent rise in total internet use. The number of wireless users rose to 464 million.

China's communist government encourages internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material considered subversive or obscene.

Internet companies are scrambling to expand wireless service.

 This week, the operator of China's most popular search engine, Baidu Inc., announced it will pay US$1.9 billion (S$2.38 billion) to acquire a distributor of smartphone apps, 91 Wireless Websoft.

Businessman and investor...at 18

Businessman and investor...at 18



The Straits Times
Monday, Jul 15, 2013

The idea of just leaving money in passive investments in hopes of it growing cuts no ice with teen entrepreneur Wong Li Hong.

 The Year 6 Raffles Institution student feels his money should work hard for him. This led him to start an online business with pal Lemuel Low, 18, early this year.

Their site, WhatsNext.sg, aims to be a one-stop guide outlining what locals and tourists can do in Singapore. "Lemuel and I noticed the lack of real guides for events and service providers in Singapore, as opposed to the large number of business directories which feature shop addresses but little else," says Li Hong, 18.

They put $1,000 into the project at first. It took a year to set up before they launched the online platform that allows two-way communication between shop owners and users.

They have now invested about $3,000 in total. Instead of asking their parents for extra money, Li Hong and Lemuel dug into their savings to ensure they were responsible for the project. Li Hong gets $450 a month as pocket money and said that it was more than enough to cover his expenses - mainly food, transport, half his monthly mobile phone bill and books.

His allowance also covers new gadgets, such as computers or mobile phones. The site makes money through advertisements and recently broke even. Li Hong's parents, who are in their 50s, run their own businesses in real estate, food and beverage, and packaging. His 20-year-old brother is studying overseas.

He said his entrepreneurial spirit grew and was influenced by his parents, who started a business together over 20 years ago.

They were conscious about not wanting him to follow in their footsteps and hoped he would take on a less risky career path such as being a lawyer.

But he developed a keen interest in running his own business as he got interested in what they were doing throughout his growing-up years.

The teenager added that his parents have been supportive of his venture.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?
Rather than following a rigid budget, I believe in being flexible but always making sensible purchases. I believe that good businessmen should be both wise spenders and savers.

Q: How much do you charge to your debit or credit cards every month?
I own two debit cards, one for personal expenditure and the other for the joint account which I have with my friend for our business. I use my cards whenever possible because the online records make it easy to log my monthly spending. I typically charge $200 to my personal card every month.

Q: What do you invest in? I have invested in gold since 2010, when I was looking for a first alternative outlet for my savings.

This was largely influenced by my parents who advised me against leaving my savings in the bank.

But instead of speculating in the commodity, they told me to keep it for a longer term. I invested an initial $250 through an account my parents set up for me and have gradually added to that amount since. I've about $2,000 in gold now. Even though gold prices have fallen recently, I view this as a long-term investment and will continue this in the future. Today, I invest mainly in my own business.

Q: Moneywise, what have your growing-up years been like? I developed an outlook on money management under my parents' influence. When I was eight or nine, I used to spend all my pocket money at the toy shop near my old house. I wasn't conscious of my spending and thought that whatever money they gave me could be spent.

It was around that time that they made me keep track of all my purchases and jot down what I spent in a book.

Despite their belief in the virtue of saving, my parents never dictated how my allowance ought to be spent.

After I turned 12, my parents also made it clear that I would not be getting anything above my monthly allowance. T

hey pay for my school fees and holidays. Other expenses come out of my own pocket. That taught me, albeit by force, that if I wanted more to spend, I needed to earn it on my own.

 Q: How did you get interested in investing? I believe in two types of investment - investment in passive income sources, and investment in personal projects which we build ourselves.

The former is only a method for financing the latter, which has always been far more appealing to me. I have always been fascinated by functional systems - from cars to computers to well-crafted novels.

Successful businesses are the most fascinating of systems because they function by interacting with humans and interpreting their behaviour. I thus developed a passion for investing in and building personal businesses, which has largely shaped my path since.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought? Extravagance lies not in price but in value, so that would have to be the suit I had tailored last year for about $1,000.

Q: Home is now... A four-room condominium unit in the Keppel Bay area where I live with my family.

Drink more water, lose more weight?

Drink more water, lose more weight?

July 4, 2013
A study by Davy's group found that middle aged and older adults who drank two cups before a meal lost about four pounds more than a group that didn't drink the extra water.
                      

                
NEW YORK: Dieters who drink more water have greater weight loss, according to a new review of several prior studies. In one study that asked dieters to drink water before a meal, for instance, “the water enhanced the weight loss,” said Brenda Davy, a professor at Virginia Tech who led some of the work included in the review. Researchers said there is not yet enough evidence, however, to say for sure that drinking more water will help people shed the pounds. Rebecca Muckelbauer, a researcher at the Berlin School of Public Health, Charité University Medical Center Berlin in Germany, led the new review of the water studies. She said that, as a nutrition researcher, people had often asked her about whether they should drink water to lose weight, and she didn’t know the answer. She and her colleagues decided to examine all of the studies on weight and water consumption. Eleven studies fit their criteria.

Three of them showed that increased water intake among dieters was tied to greater weight loss. A study by Davy’s group found that middle aged and older adults who drank two cups before a meal lost about four pounds more than a group that didn’t drink the extra water. Yet another study found that women who increased their water consumption while they dieted lost more weight than those who kept it below one liter a day. It’s not clear how water might help people shed pounds.

One possibility, said Davy, is that water could squelch feelings of hunger.

 “This may have helped them reduce their calorie intake,” she told Reuters Health. Muckelbauer agreed that increased fullness is the most likely explanation, but another possibility is something called “water-induced thermogenesis.” The idea is that “drinking water itself increases energy expenditure of your body. It has an energy consuming effect. This is not very well studied,” Muckelbauer told Reuters Health.




The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume between 91 ounces of water for women and 125 ounces for men (2.7 – 3.7 liters) each day, but this total can come through food, plain water or other beverages.

While the experimental studies suggest that drinking water may aid in weight loss, the surveys Muckelbauer examined don’t always show that people who drink more water are slimmer.

In fact, some found that obese or overweight adults drank more water than people of normal size, while others did not find such a link, Muckelbauer’s team reports in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 “We don’t have conclusive evidence that increasing water intake reduces weight, but there are certainly other benefits to increasing our intake,” said Davy. She said people in the US typically drink about 400 to 500 calories a day from other beverages, and replacing them with water is not a bad idea.

One study found that women who drink water, rather than sweet drinks, had a slightly lower chance of developing diabetes (see Reuters Health story of May 31, 2012 here:).

And women who don’t drink plenty of water have greater odds of getting kidney stones (see Reuters Health report of March 29, 2012 here:).

“There’s not a lot of risk for recommending (increased water intake) for individuals,” Davy said. Muckelbauer said it will be helpful to have larger experiments looking at the potential weight loss benefits of adding more water to the diet.
 ----- Reuters