Search the Community

Bill gates divorced!

This is a thread asking how much do you spend on your utility bill monthly and how we can reduce it Dear friends I was in a chat with some friends over lunch and I was shocked to find the variation, so I hope everyone can share the amount they spend and also how they reduce it. Maybe everyone can post the total bill size (including gas, water and electricity if it is from different vendors) and the number of members in the household and any other info? Eg I have a friend in a four storey landed with 9 pax and two kids who use $900 plus a month - they have the aircon turned on in the living room most of the waking hours. Another young couple only use $30 a month and they spend most of their time at work and seldom eat at home. Here are some tips on saving electricity from Asiaone : https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/10-hacks-save-your-water-and-electricity-bill-home More tips: https://iswitch.com.sg/save-electricity-tips/ https://www.pub.gov.sg/savewater/athome/watersavinghabits

Just sharing my own experience with Circles after reading an article on Stomp. For those who are on Circles.life, please check ur month billing after deductions. Been using Circles for nearing 2 years. Past few months I've had extra deductions for overseas data usage. Usually just negligible few cents that many people may not find worth the hassle to contact them for refund etc... For the overseas data charges, during those period I was indeed in Malaysia but data roaming already set to off and also using msia sim card. Contacted Circles.Life via the app chat and was refunded without much issues. Recently signed mum up with Circles as she was complaining Starhub bill ex and only 3GB data (on starhub old contract plan). Some hiccups with the initial signup but all was resolved. Monthly bill was $18 and would be $18 for the next 1 year. All was good until this month she told me this month her bill $38. Found it strange why $18. Never exceed also. Upon checking her app, noticed that the unlimited data setting was turned on hence the extra $20. Contacted circles via the app again and was told we'll receive the rebate in the next billing. shall see. Just read this news on stomp also seems like not a one off. For my mum's case, it was automatically set to ON for the month of October. Glitch?? Mum doesn't use the app. As with all monthly auto deductions be it credit card, debit card or giro, please make it a habit to check your bank statement. https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore-seen/circleslife-gives-refund-after-stomper-finds-out-he-was-enrolled-in-unnecessary-add Circles.Life is performing a refund for a Stomper after he was automatically enrolled into an unnecessary add-on service that cost him an additional $20. Stomper Nautical said: "I terminated my line with another telco and ported over to Circles.Life. "Circles.Life has an $18 monthly subscription plan where I can get 20 gigabytes of data, so that got my attention and I subscribed to it on Oct 14. "Everything was great but after about three weeks, I received my bill. "I didn't select any of their Plus Options. The whole time I was subscribing and even before at the roadshows and websites, I never saw anything about this Plus Option. "Turns out, I was automatically enrolled in this service that gives me unlimited data. "Also, since my bill for the month of October should be pro-rated, I should be charged about $10 instead of $15. "I sent an email to Circles.Life on Nov 7 but didn't get a reply until yesterday (Nov 11). "They called me and apologised. They also said that they will waive the disputed charges. "I think they should be more transparent when it comes to billing. I was automatically enrolled and I don't even need that much data. "I only used about four gigabytes of data the previous month and my monthly subscription entitles me to 20, I don't need unlimited data at all. "What if other people were to be in a similar situation. "Some are not as tech-savvy or they may not have time to take note of these little details. Some people may find it troublesome to dispute these charges and would go ahead with paying for it. "I think it's unethical and Circles.Life should be more transparent in how they bill their customers." In response to a Stomp query, a Circles.Life spokesperson said: "We reached out to the customer via email and explained the situation. "We are also performing a refund for the disputed charge."

As you all know, i had a recent major surgery Nope, not the $8 as mentioned [laugh] but could hv been Invoice stated $33k. After the subsides, Medisave, and more important enhanced Medishield, payable out of pocket is $1049.8 Moral of story here is: 1. Healthcare can be affordable if you plan 2. Cover yourself appropriately and sufficiently accordingly. Premiums payable by Medisave. Could have been cheaper if i had riders 3. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail So, the resources are there...use it instead of kpkb here... Final word, ur funeral will be more ex....save for that cos 3M cannot use [laugh]

Starhub give this 4G Speed boost supposedly for free on my line. I didn't bother too much if it's for free. Suddenly this month, I noticed they charged me $2 for it, after I compared to my previous months bill. I didn't sign up for this. They thrust it to me and now quietly charged $2 bcuz I didn't say NO. This is really underhanded. Just to charge you $2 without you even knowing, if you have not checked. What stupid speed boost? I don't really care about it in the first place. Do check all your telco bills. They are all suckers and playing dirty tricks.

this is the software that will prevent virus but still not 100%

Gentleman please have your say now.

Now i know why they say can die but not fall sick in SG. Asiaone

From CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1189919/1/.html Personal Data Protection Bill to be introduced in Parliament Posted: 19 March 2012 1710 hrs

http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/amendments-to-road-traffic-bill-proposed-in-parliament SINGAPORE: Multitasking drivers beware - under a new bill proposed in Parliament on Monday (Aug 4), it may soon be an offence to use any communicative function of your phone while driving. This includes not just calling and texting a person which were an offence in the original bill, but surfing the internet and downloading material. Drivers guilty of such an offence may be fined a maximum of S$1,000, imprisoned for up to six months, or both. Repeat offenders will receive a fine not exceeding S$2,000, imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both. The new rules would apply to tablet computers, not just mobile phones. However, the proposed law only applies if the driver is holding the device in at least one hand, and does not cover the use of such devices while driving, should they be mounted on the dashboard or windscreen of vehicles. Drivers Channel NewsAsia spoke to were in favour of the changes, but felt that it should be further expanded. "If you're playing with your phone regardless whether you're talking on the phone or searching for something, it's still very hazardous. Like me, I don't touch my phone while driving. I just put it aside," one driver shared. "I can just have it mounted and still type on the phone. It defeats the whole purpose of having the law in the first place," noted another. "It's just like looking at your GPS - you'll lose concentration. So I think it's best to totally not use it," concluded another driver. Other proposed changes to the bill include allowing drivers to attend a voluntary corrective training course called the Safe Driving Course. Drivers who have half or more of their maximum allowable demerit points will get to remove three demerit points should they pass the Course. Foreigners holding work passes who need to drive as part of their job must also obtain a local driving licence, within six months of the pass being issued. Drivers will also be held responsible for providing particulars to the owner of any vehicle or structure damaged, following an accident. - CNA/kk

guys, saw front page of new paper this morning, VW diesel 28K repair bill.. wonder what is wrong

SINGAPORE - The MediShield Life Scheme Bill tabled in Parliament on Monday gives wide-ranging powers to the administrator to access people's income and health status without explicit consent from them. Those who object to having such information accessed have the choice of opting out. However, those who do so will not be eligible for income-related subsidies for their premiums, nor can they be automatically given a clean bill of health. The Bill also gives the national insurance administrator the same powers as that of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to recover unpaid premiums, such as through employers or banks. Such powers are needed because defaults on premiums by people who can afford to pay them will mean a heavier load on other policy holders. Full premiums are payable even by Singaporeans and permanent residents living overseas for long periods. MediShield Life, which will replace the current MediShield when it starts at the end of this year, will cover everyone regardless of whether they are healthy or sick, for their entire life. Coverage will be higher with lower co-payments and no lifetime claim caps but premiums will be higher than the current scheme. Massive government aid, to the tune of $4 billion over five years, will make it highly affordable, the Government has assured. This includes the transitional subsidies which will be given to everyone, rich or poor, for the first four years. On top of that, two in three people will also get 15-50 per cent permanent subsidies on their premiums. The need to access incomes is to make it easy to identify people who qualify and the amount of subsidy they are entitled to. Additional help will be given to those who still can't afford the premiums. For the majority, the higher premiums will be entirely covered by Medisave, with the extra 1 per cent in Medisave contribution from employers that takes effect this month. People who are currently not covered by MediShield and have pre-existing illness will need to pay 30 per cent additional premiums per year for 10 years, after which they revert to paying the normal premiums for their age band. To simplify the procedure of identifying people with existing serious illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease, the administrator will have access to hospital data on all Singaporeans and permanent residents. The Bill also sets out the various penalties for defaulting on payments, providing false information, or wrongfully disclosing information obtained under the authority of the MediShield Life Scheme. For example, a defaulter who tries to leave the country without paying or providing security, as well as officials who wrongfully disclose information, can be fined $5,000, jailed for up to a year or both. The penalty for obstructing investigation into offences under the Bill is heavier with a maximum of $20,000 fine and a year's jail. The Bill also provides for a MediShield Life Council which can review the policy and parameters and recommend changes to the Health Minister to ensure that it continues to provide effective protection to citizens. The Council, which will likely comprise experts from people, private and public sectors, also has overview of the administration of the scheme. Dr Chia Shi Lu, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said he supports the implied consent to verify personal details, as there is provision to refuse access. He said: "There has been quite a lot of feedback from Singaporeans, and particularly from the elderly, who are unhappy with government agencies repeatedly requesting personal and financial information from them in order to qualify for any number of government schemes." He and his parliamentary colleagues have often been asked why government agencies do not share information - as will now be done with MediShield Life. - See more at: Parliament: MediShield Life Scheme Bill gives wide-ranging powers to administrator - Singapore Health News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - All they wanted was a way to send their 92-year-old mother to the hospital. The Chngs called the 1-777 Non-Emergency Ambulance Service (NEAS) last month. An ambulance operator quoted them $180 and some additional charges for the trip. But at the end of the 30-minute ride from their home in Choa Chu Kang to Singapore General Hospital, the family was hit with an $800 bill. Some of the add-ons on the bill included $150 for oxygen, $80 for bandages and $200 for painkillers. The private ambulance operator, Singapore Medical Care Training and Services (SMCT), has since been suspended by the NEAS Quality Committee. The Ministry of Health said it had received eight complaints, including the Chngs', since SMCT joined the NEAS network on Feb 8. It is understood that most of the complaints were about overcharging. The Chngs' mother, Madam Lim Soon Oh, had a fall at home the day before and the pain was causing her to skip her meals and medicine. Worried, her three sons decided to send her to the hospital for a checkup on May 10. Mr Edwin Chng, 56, an engineer, needed an ambulance as his mother could not get into a car or taxi as her fall prevented her from bending her knees. When the vehicle arrived, the paramedic told the family that the mother needed painkillers. On the ride to the hospital, paramedics put her on an intravenous (IV) drip and administered oxygen. They also placed two bandages on her knees. One of her sons, Mr Jason Chng, 53, said he did not think of questioning the ambulance attendant or to find out the cost of the various treatments. Their brother, Mr David Chng, 66, a chauffeur, went along with the ambulance. He said: "They showed me a list, everything was a minimum of $10, $20. We thought that since they are professionals, they should know what they are doing. We didn't want to stop them... After all, we want the best for our mother. I thought that at most, it would cost $400." Despite the shock of the bill, they decided to pay up because Mr Edwin Chng's and his mother's identity cards were with the ambulance staff. "All we wanted was to transport my mum to the hospital, any additional treatment she needed could be provided by our family doctor, or even the hospital," said Mr Jason Chng. When The New Paper contacted SMCT in early June, its spokesman said: "We are a private emergency ambulance operator with no subsidy or third party support or funding. Our charges may appear to be high as they are non-subsidised... In our view the charges are most reasonable. "Other operators may be cheaper as they have low overheads and low expenses." Besides ambulance services, SMCT provides home nursing services and is an accredited training centre, which provides first aid and medical training for medical personnel and the public, according to its website. They have a total of five ambulances, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) website. The 1-777 scheme was started in 1998 for those who require ambulances for non-emergency cases. There are 20 private ambulance operators registered in the scheme. There is a list of the operators and charges on the SCDF website. Mr Jason Chng felt that his family has been penalised for being considerate. "We saw our case as non-urgent and called 1-777. The price is ridiculous for a transport of a non-emergency patient to the hospital." The Chngs' $800 bill Emergency call $180 Oxygen $170 IV drip $150 Bandages $80 Painkillers $200 Miscellaneous $20

My bills are always seems to be above national average every month. electricity alone cost as high as 600units monthly ! water and gas are still acceptable. we used 2 inverter aircon and 1 window casement unit everynight. instant water heater. cold water washing machine daily and a fridge, that's all.... the rest of the appliances consumption are quite negligible... I've started to monitor 24hrs usage because the bill has been climbing monthly and I really can't narrow down to what's really going on.. I heard my friend staying in 3-room, with daily aircon usage only pays like less than $100 for monthly overall bill what's you 3-room utilities bill like?

From Yahoo : Frenchwoman's alarm at trillion-euro phone bill AFP News

Received a mail with regards to Bill Gates dialog with US High school students..... I think for once Bill Gates has said something that is very true. Admirable. Very interesting, please read it and have a deep thought .. Quote : Bill Gates Message to the younger generation A true friend walks in When the rest of the world walks out Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it! Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity. Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. Keep yourself clean. Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. *Do that on your own time. Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. If you can read this.... Thank a Teacher. If you can read this in English.... Thank a Soldier! And for life and everything else you have.... Thank Your Parents!! Only puzzle is why thank a soldier ..

It is common knowledge that visits to private hospitals will cost more than those made at public hospitals, unless you register as private patients at the latter then maybe the rates will be on par. So do make an informed decision before heading down to the respective hospital according to what you can afford. 一分钱一分货。 From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/...ory_814982.html PRIVATE V PUBLIC HOSPITALS Bill comparisons may not reflect true cost differences Published on Jun 26, 2012 I CONCEDE that costs in private hospitals are higher than those in public hospitals for private patients ('Private versus public hospitals: More than twice as costly'; last Friday). However, there were a few omissions in the report:

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/te...-165517099.html

Let me see... Convenience near home? - checked Private hospital? - checked Location of hospital in city? - checked Sunday? - checked With all the above, Ms Lim ought to know what was the deal. Not that I agree to the charges but let's face it, medical treatment here is never in the cheap category. Just last week when I brought my little gal for the same cough & throat consultation at my HDB estate's family clinic on a weekday afternoon already set me back almost 4 red notes. From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Online...ory_813591.html $123 bill for cough and throat consultation Published on Jun 22, 2012 LAST month, I visited the Raffles Hospital Outpatient Clinic to treat a cough and sore throat because it was closest to home, and open on Sundays. Prior to making the visit, I checked and received confirmation that it was an outpatient clinic, and not an accident and emergency department. As such, I assumed that the billing would fall within the norms. But I was shocked by the $123.70 bill for a five-minute consultation with the doctor. I quickly e-mailed the hospital for a clarification. A month later and to date, I have not received a reply. Why are patients at an outpatient clinic charged fees that one would only expect for accident and emergency services? Agnes Lim (Ms)

My electric bills hit historical high liao. 1 aircon, use washing machine on 2 times per week, only 2 person , now $265

A Chinese national father-and-son duo caused a commotion at Geylang last night when they attacked a restaurant manager with a chopper and even assaulted policemen. The incident happened at about 11.30pm last night at Geylang Lorong 19. Wu Xu Cai (44, renovation worker), together with his wife Dai Gui Zhen (age 40) and his son Wu Qi Qi (18, student) were having dinner at "Su Zhou Restaurant" with three other friends before the commotion began. Wu's friends had wanted to treat the family to a meal to welcome Wu's wife and son, whom had specially come from China to visit him. During the meal, the group downed 24 cans of beer before Wu's friends footed the bill with $130. After paying, Wu's son decided to order two more bottles of beer. Just as the group was leaving, the restaurant staff came up to them to say that they had not paid for the meal. This sparked off a quarrel between the group and the restaurant staff. The manager of the restaurant, Mr Li, tried to intervene and calm everyone down but the quarrel soon turned physical. After a brief tussle, Wu agreed to returned to the restaurant and he went on to pay $217 more. But Wu did not stop his verbal abuse on the restaurant manager. He continued to hurl vulgarities at Mr Li, declaring that he earns $4,000 a month and there is no reason that he cannot pay for his meal. The agitated Wu then dashed into the kitchen, picked up a chopper and threatened the manager with the words, "You think I don't dare to hurt you?" Wu then smashed a beer bottle and swung it at Mr Li's head. Fortunately, Li managed to dodge the swing. During the fight, both father and son had reportedly dashed outside the restaurant and pushed over many chairs. About five other diners were shoved by Wu in the process and they too joined in the fight. One of the men picked up a beer bottle as a weapon and chased Wu's son for about 300 metres to Lorong 23. Wu's son sustained injuries to his head after he was hit by a beer bottle in the attack. He left a large pool of blood at the scene. When the police arrived, Wu attempted to escape but was subdued outside the restaurant. Witnesses say both father and son resisted arrest and even assaulted the policemen. It took four policemen to subdue the duo. When reporters arrived, the father-and-son duo were still highly agitated and continued to struggle to free themselves of the police. Wu was still hurling vulgarities at the policemen as he was put into an ambulance. According to Wu's wife, Dai, the restaurant manager had attacked her husband first. The restaurant manager Mr Li, a Chinese national, said the father-and-son pair took turns to punch him in his face. The massive commotion also drew a large crowd of spectators.

SALT LAKE CITY: Microsoft Corp purposefully duped a Utah company into believing its writing application would be included in the Windows 95 rollout, then pulled the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product, an attorney said Tuesday in closing arguments for a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against the software giant. "It was purely a predatory action," Novell Inc. attorney Jeff Johnson told jurors. Utah-based Novell sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other software makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell said it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the result of a merger that was completed earlier this year. Microsoft lawyers have argued that Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a compatible WordPerfect program until long after the rollout of Windows 95. "Novell was late. It was always behind. It was playing catch-up," Microsoft attorney David Tulchin said during closing arguments. The jury was expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday. Tulchin recapped testimony by a series of former WordPerfect and Novell executives who recalled that WordPerfect was hitting its zenith by the time Novell bought it in 1994. Novell neglected the product and was slow to develop new versions for the Windows operating system or recognize the power of Microsoft's graphical operating system, he said. "In the high-tech world where things can move quickly ... the market can kill you," he said. Novell's lawsuit is the last major private antitrust case to follow the settlement of a federal antitrust enforcement action against Microsoft more than eight years ago. Novell's trial began in October in federal court in Salt Lake City. Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to Windows 95 so Novell could prepare a compatible version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates testified last month that he had no idea his decision to drop a tool for outside developers would sidetrack Novell. Gates said he was acting to protect Windows 95 and future versions from crashing. Novell could have worked around the problem but failed to react quickly, he said. Gates also said Novell couldn't deliver a compatible WordPerfect program in time for the rollout, and that Microsoft's own Word program was actually better. He said that by 1994, the Word writing program was ranked No. 1 in the market, above WordPerfect. WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for word processing, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own Office programs took hold. Novell has argued that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/ne...ow/11106530.cms

Look at my monthly bill, it's about $220 - $270. Is it on the high side or average? How about the rest?

Sent my lancer glx for servicing last week at cycle & carriage.. my bill came up to approx: 1) $500 for 4set original yoko tires, 2) 160 battery, 3) 80 engine flush, 4) 230 replace engine oil+change filter+check fluid levels Any experienced bros can comment on these pricing? Is it too expensivce? if do at other workshops, wat will the prices be instead? thanks (by the way, their service centre is lousy, poor service )

I really wonder, which insurance company KBW got it from? Stayed in 1st class hospital ward and just need to pay S$8 after deducting from medisav? Anyone who has friends or relatives had heart operation before and can share with us how much they paid ( With & Without insurance). I really hope KBW is willing to show us his medical bill for his heart operation, see how the doctor charge. If he is paying lesser than other Singaporeans, it is corruption, if he is paying higher than other Singaporeans with the same operation, I think his doctor trying to " over charge "him as he is rich, he should then go to the opposition party to see Mr Chiam or Mr LTK, they will help him "write letter" to the hospital and request an investigation