tzlee.com/blog

  • Buying Mobile Phones in Singapore

    There’s been a piece of news recently where a Vietnamese tourist who made only $200/month had to kneel down to beg on his knees to get a refund of his money for an iPhone 6.

    I think a lot of people still do not understand the ins-and-outs of this trade. Being a victim of similar scams at mobile phone stores in the old days, I subsequently started a business of my own to prove that it is possible to make an honest living.

    There are few very common tricks that people fall into. The simple ones are these: –

    • Adding taxes to list price after the deal is made. Such sellers usually add an additional 7% GST to the listed price, but sometimes the seller is not a GST-registered business.
    • Missing parts, such as charger and earpiece, requiring a top up. This is the scam I fell for.
    • Not getting the device you wanted, i.e. a fake, or a used item instead of a new one.

    The more complex scams is seen in the news above, where a hidden contractual clause would require you to purchase additional items. There’s also another type of scam known as the swap-bait, where you would purchase a device, then test it and realise it is faulty, but have no choice but to pay extra for an upgrade because the faulty item was the “last piece”.

    How to avoid being scammed?

    Be sure to ask for nett pricing, i.e. tax inclusive price. Be sure to ask if all the items are included in the box, such as charger and earpiece. Also be sure to check the lifetime call timer on the item to ensure that it is 100% brand new (if you are buying a new device). Test the device before making payment. Finally, read any agreement carefully before you sign.

    Sometimes the products may not be sealed, and that is OK because it is common for mobile phone stores to buy from a consumer who has re-contracted with a telco (this is called “buy-back”), then resell it. These devices are still considered “brand new in box” (BNIB), but may have a lapsed warranty of several days. This is how these stores are able to offer good prices well below the recommended retail price (RRP).

    The Vietnamese tourist was unfortunate. These are definitely not normal business practices in Singapore. There are many stores around that make an honest living, and I suggest that people do their own research and go to stores that publish open pricing and have a large social following. The top two such independent stores in Singapore are WhyMobile and Mobile Square.

  • How to buy a used car in Singapore

    I have several friends asking me for advise on their car purchases — especially used ones because the process is more complicated, so I have decided to write a guide instead of having to repeat over and over again.

    Disclaimer: Buying a car is a big financial purchase, so there are many variables to consider. You must do your own due diligence regardless of my advices/recommendations.

    Know your needs

    Ask yourself these questions:

    • Do you really need a car?
    • What kind of mileage do you do every month? Are you a going to drive a lot?
    • Do you need a 7-seater for a big family?
    • Do you often carry large and tall items?
    • Will you drive into Malaysia?
    • Will you be sharing with your spouse or siblings?
    • What other uses do you need the car for?

    All these decisions will affect the type of car you purchase. For example:

    • A travelling salesman may want a fuel economical and reliable car to reduce running costs.
    • A recreational cyclist with foldable bikes may opt for a hatchback or an SUV to fit the bikes.
    • A big family of 7 may want an MPV instead.
    • A regular traveller to Malaysia may want to avoid cars popular for theft, like Hondas and Toyotas.
    • A person sharing with his/her spouse/siblings may need to consider their needs and budget.
    • A single and lonely man may want a convertible Mini Cooper to impress the ladies at the club.

    Know your budget

    Hint: At least $1,000/month.

    A car is a big purchase, so setting a budget is important. As a general rule, the overall expenses of car ownership in Singapore starts around a minimum of $1,000/month.

    Typical expenses breakdown

    Depreciation of a typical bread and butter car (as of 2014) $6,000/yr or $500/mth
    Insurance of a first time buyer with 0% no-claims discount (NCD) $2,400/yr or $200/mth
    Fuel cost of travelling approx 2,000km/month, 12km/l @ $1.75/l $292/mth
    Parking in HDB sheltered carparks $95/mth
    Road tax for a 1,500cc (1.5L) petrol car $686/yr or $57/mth
    General servicing of vehicle every 10,000 kms $600/yr or $50/mth
    ERP (tolls), parking at the office, etc. $100 to $400/mth
    Totals $1,294/mth onwards

    Other costs to consider

    It’s easy to forget that these are also daily costs of a driving a car in Singapore: –

    • Parking at home, at work, at shopping malls, at parent’s or friend’s
    • ERP in both directions of travel
    • Traffic and parking offenses
    • In-car camera — an almost mandatory accessory in cars these days
    • Battery and tyre replacement every 2-3 years or so (rubber gets hard, so do replace them even if they are not worn)
    • Other incidentals like tyre punctures, especially if you work near construction zones
    • Unfortunate incidents such as accidents, vandalism, hit-and-run and associated repair costs
    • Car wash/grooming/beautification/”zhng”

     

    Understand the tax structure

    Additional Registration Fee (ARF)

    Understanding how the ARF tax works is the key to understanding how to calculate the straight-line depreciation for a vehicle in Singapore.

    • Cars less than 10 years old are usually called PARF cars because they carry a Preferential ARF (PARF) value. PARF value is a percentage of the ARF (right now it is 50%) that is given back to you if you dispose the car at the end of 10 years. This is to encourage purchase of newer and more green/efficient vehicles.
    • Cars that are 10 years or older are usually called COE cars because they no longer carry a PARF value and only carry a COE value.

    Certificate of Entitlement (COE)

    Most cars in Singapore are sold with COE unless stated by the seller. If you see the terms “body only” or “w/o COE” then it would mean the price does not include COE.

    Used Import Cars

    There are also used import cars where the registration date of the car starts before the COE hence have more complicated depreciation calculations; I would recommend a first time buyer to avoid these. Used Imports are typical with high-end sports cars, as the savings can be significant.

    There’s simply too much to cover here, so please Google and read up on these terms: OMV, ARF, PARF, PARF rebate and COE. A very detailed summary is available on LTA’s website but may be too confusing for a first timer.

    Work your sums

    Hopefully a table is easier to digest. Just add these all up.

    PARF cars COE cars
    Annual depreciation formula (Purchase Price – Min. PARF) / (No. of months of COE remaining / 12) Purchase Price / (No. of months of COE remaining / 12)
    Road tax
    		 Same every year Increases 10% every year, maxed out at 150% (at year 15)
    Insurance Comprehensive or 3rd party (only if not under loan) cover Mostly 3rd party cover only, i.e. does not cover your own car in an event of an accident; there are some insurers that will still provide comprehensive cover for cars between 10 to 15 years of age.
    Financing Max. 5 years, or up to remaining lifespan of COE; interest rates between 1.88-2.88% Only available for cars less than 15 years of age; otherwise usually financed using personal term loans with very high interest rates (4-5%)
    Maintenance costs Increases with car age; big ticket repairs usually starts above 5 years or 100,000 kms Same as PARF cars, increases with car age, but COE cars are even older, so will run a higher bill if anything breaks; parts may also be hard to find depending on the model of the car
    Fuel economy Similar to maintenance costs, fuel economy tends to get a little poorer when the car ages, especially if not maintained properly Similar to maintenance costs, fuel economy tends to get poorer with age, but cars built before 2000 have older engine technologies that yield even poorer fuel economy
     Safety Generally better since most cars built after 2004 should have at least an airbag and ABS Generally poorer as safety technologies improved rapidly only in the last decade

    Things to watch out for at the delaer

    Unlike new cars which usually come with a 3 or 5 year warranty, used cars dealers can be dodgy. Here’s some pointers when hunting for a used car: –

    • Don’t trust the mileage. Mileage tampering is possible and is prevalent.
    • Don’t trust the paintwork. Most dealers get a cheap single-coat respray done before cars hit the showroom.
    • Look beyond the paintwork. A car is a mechanical device and a beautiful car that doesn’t move belongs to the museum.
    • Take a careful look at the interior. Interiors are expensive to replace or repair, and will tell a story of its use/care/abuse.
    • Switch off the radio during a test drive. Pay attention to knocking, grinding, squealing or other weird noises when driving; red flag if dealer does not allow you to test drive.
    • Pay a “surprise” visit. Don’t inform the dealer that you are coming; sometimes vehicles may exhibit issues when cold (especially transmission issues), so if you tell the dealer in advance they may warm up the car before you arrive.
    • Minor issues are okay, but don’t count on the dealer making repairs for you. You will be better off asking for a discount and then getting a trusted mechanic to fix minor gremlins.
    • Be sure to ask about the loan rates, the financial institution, the payment process, admin fees (aheem, salesman commission), insurance and road tax; red flag if they offer high interest rates for “in-house” loans, high admin fees (above $500).
    • Have an experienced person help check the car for you, or at minimum have it inspected for accidents and visible issues at STA — they have laser chassis alignment measurement machines.
    • Usually the buyer pays for inspection and a deposit to the dealer should not be required; red flag if dealer insists you place a big deposit before sending the car for inspection.
    • Make sure you work your sums carefully, including the downpayment, financing, transfer fees, insurance, and even road tax.
    • Take your time and shop around, don’t be swayed by sweet talking dealers; a car is a big purchase and you should shop carefully.

    Direct owner sale

    I personally prefer direct owner sales, since I will get to really know the car’s history from the owner. Be wary though, there are many dealers masquerading as direct owners to circumvent the Lemon Law introduced in 2012. One way to tell is that they are selling on behalf of friends/family member/relatives, do not have maintenance records of the vehicle and that they also offer to help with the loan and insurance paperwork. It may be a sign that the car has some serious issue(s).

    The buyer will have to source their own insurance and loan in a typical direct owner sale, but it is not difficult these days as there are insurers and banks that offer direct applications online. The whole process may be too much cover here, and I hope to cover it in a separate article someday.

    Final words

    You’ll see that a car will cost over $1,000 a month to run in Singapore. I’m sure this will turn many potential car buyers away, but if you really need a car and you can well afford it, then do consider one as it brings significant improvement to your quality of life but do not rush into the purchase.

  • Why status fields must die

    I’m sure we have seen this happen: A programmer forgets to add a status = 1 condition/check to an SQL query and the app disintegrates.

    Status fields can be useful in some ways especially if the range of values are large, e.g. to track order status. But the most common use I’ve seen is data retention, i.e. keeping a deleted record. The status field is an ancient way of archiving a record, and this design exists in almost every application I’ve seen, because back in those days schools told us to normalize tables. Some companies even make it a mandatory design requirement to have this field in every table — even in many-to-many join tables.

    We should avoid designing tables with record deletion status fields. Why? There’s many reasons why, and the common accidental omission of the status check is one of those reasons. There are also different data types being used, sometimes highly inefficient for indexing — for example INT, a 32-bit signed integer is very commonly used for storing values 0 and 1. The ambiguity is also a common problem: What does 0, 1 and 2 stand for? Where are these defined? In constants, or cross-referenced to another table? The status check is also an additional condition that the database needs index/filter. What’s worse is that sometimes the check is done at the model layer, while other times the check is done at the controller layer… or maybe both… or maybe none.

    So what’s a better way of dealing with record archival? If there’s really no reason to keep the record, delete it.

    If the record should be kept for some reason, archive it into another table, a technique known as partitioning. It would also be more efficient to search a table containing only records you need to query.

    Partitioning also allows you to tier by storage performance, e.g. place “live” tables on high performance storage, and “archive” tables on slower storage devices. You can also tweak indexing to cater to different search patterns on both sets of data.

    Archiving data is very easy, and is not much more complicated than a delete: If the two tables are identical (in column definition), simply use INSERT INTO … SELECT, then DELETE.

    If you are worried about deletes being I/O intensive, then consider batching the deletes or having a cache. This will depend on how your application is designed.

    (Side note: MySQL 5.1 has a new partition feature that can be used to automagically partition tables, but that is more for performance purposes. This article is discussing a design issue to remove common errors in programming.)

    Edit: Updated Oct 19. Friend asked about status fields that may have a large range of values, such as transaction statuses. These are OK to remain as fields. I was primarily targeting record archival.

  • Is it possible to have $100k by 30?

    Is it possible to have $100k by 30?

    Oh yes, another controversial article by The Straits Times. I like such articles, because it gives me an opportunity to write.

    Read: Is it possible to have $100k by 30?

    It’s easy to say that we should save 20%, or even 50% and I must say: I’ve been there and done that.

    The way for a fresh graduate to achieve $100K in savings within five years (saving ~$1,666/mth) is, unfortunately, to make more money and I really mean going quickly from a $3K base salary to $5K with a pretty boring lifestyle. I ain’t going to eat $2 carrot cake and $3 chicken rice for 2 meals a day just to scrimp and save because at the end of the day I’ll really have to pay the price of medical fees from eating crappy, oily, salty hawker food when I’m old and grey.

    You see, many of these financial advises are usually too generic and flawed. First of all to really save 50% of a $3K/mth salary means having only $1,200/mth to spend on average. That is possible only when somebody else is paying for a large part of your life, and that applies if you are living with parents OR leeching off a boyfriend, i.e. you don’t need to pay for a house mortgage, education loans, dinner at home, electrical and water bills, Internet, TV, insurance, taxes, and for stuff that randomly breaks down at home. And that also means the person bearing the bulk of this unfortunate unbalance in earnings-to-savings ratio would be the parents who are hopefully scheduled to retire sooner than the young teen trying to save $100K.

    Articles like these need to take into account the entire household’s income to make a proper judgement. If an under-30 shares the cost of household expenses, $1,200 is probably way too low a figure for monthly expenses per capita — I’m talking about a healthy middle income family and lifestyle here, with occasional movies, maybe an annual trip, dinners and drinks with friends, taxi rides to work on rainy days and shopping for new clothes and shoes. If they (The Straits Times) did instead consider the scenario of a young couple financing their own home then they’ll realize that even trying to cook at home doesn’t make sense because the economics of cooking for 1 or 2 persons just sucks; it’s just cheaper to eat $3 chicken rice out.

    So how is it possible to spend only $734/mth ($2,400 take home minus $1,666 savings)? This guy must be a monk! Besides that, not many graduates even earn $3,000/mth.

    I would say everybody needs to strike a balance, but a for a young person under 30 sure, save some money — as much as you possibly can in fact, but just don’t forget to spend some of those earnings on what makes your life better. I’m not talking about an LV bag, or a brand new iPhone 6 the moment it launches, but things such as traveling, meeting people, trying or learning new things essentially shouldn’t take a backseat because you may not know when you’ll be on an unfortunate flight across a de-militarized zone. There must be a balance between living in the now or saving for the future, and this is the hardest part to get right.

    My final word on this is that while we are all here happily reading and discussing issues like these on blogs and Facebook with our iPad or MacBooks, we need to acknowledge that we are in a social group that is likely to be already spending beyond $1,000/mth so this discussion is almost completely irrelevant to start with, but irregardless I must emphasize that many young people especially in Asian countries like Singapore spend too much money on luxury goods and are not spending enough to get themselves better educated and/or acquainted to social settings that is the saddest thing about where money is going to waste. People can get terribly upset about a $0.10 increase in their Kopi-C but will buy a $2,000 bag in a blink of an eye. I’m not sure what to make sense of that; while everybody had their pound foolish days (that’s why we call ’em “young and foolish”) it’s only helpful if there’s people (“old and wise”) around young teens to help guide them along so they’ll learn from their mistakes. It doesn’t help if their parents and teachers are buying these expensive luxury goods themselves. It all starts by leading by example.

  • The truth about power banks

    The truth about power banks

    Ever wondered why your 4,000mAh may not even charge your 1,570mAh iPhone 5S twice? Here’s why: –

    Devices consume power (“P”) and that is measured in watts. To derive watts, we need to multiply the amperage (“I”) by voltage (“V”).

    P = I x V

    * Also note: 1A = 1,000mA

    The 4,000mAh rating of the power bank refers to the charge capacity of Lithium-ion cells in the power bank, and that is different from what comes out of the USB port because both operate at different voltages.

    Lithium-ion batteries operate between 3.2-4.2V (stable at 3.7V) while USB devices operate at 5V.

    This means that: –

    • The power bank can only deliver 4Ah x 3.7V = 14.8Wh
    • It will only charge a 5V USB device to 14.8Wh / 5V = 2.96Ah or 2,960Ah

    Now, you must be thinking: “Hey, my phone also uses a lithium-ion cell, so it should convert (back) to the same”.

    It is partially correct to assume that, but power reduction process will likely result in losses (usually in the form of heat) so it is not a 100% efficient process.

    The power bank itself would also be stepping down (or stepping up, depending on  design) its voltage. If it’s cells are wired in 2 series, it would need to step down from 3.7V x 2 = 7.4V to the USB output voltage of 5V before you can use it to charge your phone.

    With two devices stepping down power (Power bank > USB > Phone > Phone Battery) the efficiency can be as low as 64% (80% x 80%).

    So as an example, to charge a 1,570mAh battery in the iPhone 5S, we will need a constant 1.57A x 4.2V (charging voltage of li-ion) = 6.594 watts.

    Assuming both the power bank and phone are only 80% efficient at converting the power, this would mean that the power bank must deliver at least:

    6.594W x 1/(0.8 x 0.8) = 10.3W

    10.3W / 3.7V = 2,784mAh power bank is required to charge an iPhone 5S

    Also remember that while charging your phone, the phone is likely to consume some power during the process even if it is completely powered off because it has to regulate the charging process, alternating between charging and measuring the charge state of the battery. This is required to protect the battery in your phone from over-charging.

    Another thing to know about is charge rate (“C”). The higher the charge rate, the faster it charges. At 1C, a battery will be fully charged in an hour. At 2C, it will be charged in half an hour.

    Most phones are designed to charge between 0.5C to 1C to ensure maximum lifespan of the battery. This means it will take between 1 to 2 hours to charge. Charging lithium-ion batteries above 1C may shorten its lifespan (and that’s why you should not use cheap docking chargers or avoid “quick” chargers.)

    Why should you care since the phone is already regulating the charge rate for you? That’s because the charge rate affects the current draw on the power bank.

    If a 4,000mAh power bank claims to provide a 1A USB charging port, it means it should deliver 1A x 5V = 10W of power constantly.

    To charge an iPhone 5S @ 1C would require at least 1.57A x 4.2V = 6.59W (before efficiency losses). If we factor in efficiency losses @ 80% for both the power bank and the phone then 6.59W / (0.8 x 0.8) = 10.3W. That’s approximately 1A!

    For a bigger device like a Samsung Note 3 with a 3,200mAh battery, it is likely to be charged at 0.5C. Quick calculation yields (3.2A x 4.2V x 0.5C) / (0.8 x 0.8) = 10.5W which is also just above 1A.

    As you can see most devices require around 1A to charge, but if you are going to be using your phone while charging then the current draw may well exceed 1A and you will need a power bank capable of delivering more. If you use an underrated power bank you may damage (overheat) its internal voltage regulators.

    Lastly, if you are charging your phone, try not to use it at the same time as doing so might also put too much current through the phone’s voltage regulator causing it to fail prematurely. This is especially common on bigger phones. If you feel your phone getting hot, it’s a sign to stop. Depending on phone design, you may have to change the entire logic board.

  • What to do with old computers

    What to do with old computers

    The staffs in the office got new laptops last year (thanks to the government’s PIC grant) but the stockpile of old hardware became an eyesore. What should I do with them?

    I found out that one of my friend’s a volunteer worker and needed computers for needy families, so I decided to spend my NDP weekend sorting out them out. I thought it was going to be an easy job, but turned out it burned my entire weekend.

    Me and my wife started late Saturday afternoon and missed the National Day Parade. We worked till 12:30am and decided to continue again on Sunday (today), and it’s still not yet done. There’s still two more computers in the queue.

    donation1
    Piecing together parts from an old “beige box” 2U server and desktop to make a working computer.

    The problem was that the computers left sitting started to degrade — CD/DVD drives, hard drives, motherboards, graphic cards all started to fail. So the tip here is that if you have a computer you do not want any more, wipe it ASAP and donate. Some of these computers are over 10 years old (Pentium 3!), so it was amazing to see them still working.

    The inside of a 14 year old HP desktop (manufactured in 2000). Not a speck of rust.
    The inside of a 14 year old HP desktop (manufactured in 2000). Not a speck of rust.

    I was also impressed by how well the old HP desktops held up after 14 years. These thick, sturdy steel cases must have been galvanized because there’s not a single speck of rust on them. Machines (including servers) these days are no longer made to such high standards and feel flimsy.

    There were also old networking equipment up for grabs, but I could not see how a needy family would need a 24-port switch, so I found another friend who might have a use for it by sending it to schools in Cambodia.

    Old 3Com Superstack switches, hopefully to be donated to schools in Cambodia.
    Old 3Com Superstack switches, hopefully to be donated to schools in Cambodia.

    The last problem I need to solve would be to get working software into these machines. Some of the PCs had OEM Windows XP (luckily we kept all the original CDs).

    —

    Update: The list of hardware to be donated have been distributed and they have been collected, albeit slowly. But it definitely feels good to know that it is going to somebody who needs it, rather than a karang-guni man who will probably just scrap it for parts.