NTUC FREE Gift for your New Born

Image via Wikipedia

https://orgnet.income.com.sg/uinewborn/uiNewBornEntryForm.aspx

I'd thought this was pretty cool when I was surfing to buy my travel insurance.

Anyone know what it is all about? Seems that they will send to the home.

Some Wedding Advice from a friend

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

A friend FB-ed me giving me some advice sometime back. Moderated some of the views. ;p


Bridal Studios:

• White Link - possible headache - hidden costs, flowers not fresh, bad service, etc. (Do due diligence and google their reviews pls.) 
• If you are intending to MTM gowns, you can actually juz go for a studio that can design and make the style Addy likes. No need to go for the actual designer. May be cheaper that way. 
• Signoria Nuziale's fairytale theme is only like 1-2 page of the album. Not the whole album unless you are willing to pay that much. And your ideas muz be communicated properly. Else you will have photos that really dun like, no storyline, etc. This was 1 friend's experience. Though another friend whom I warned after realising he signed with them headed the advice and had a good experience. So key point is muz be careful in communicating.
• Remember to have everything in Black and White & do not make total upfront payment. At least split into 3-4 payments. Do not accept any "no need to write lah, we will give you".
• Style Weddings is another good magazine.
• Read the relevant thread on www.singaporebrides.com before signing with any studio if possible.
• When you see any contract, nego for the following freebies (a) kua / tea dress for tea ceremony, (b) brothers & father's jackets/suits, (c) flower girl & paige boy outfits, (d) more photos / full magazine style aka digital style layout, etc

HDB

1. Try not to get HDB flats with corridor windows. Less privacy and more problems like pple throwing things in (e.g. cigarette butts). (Booo... mine is already one with a corridor window. bo pian. Few with no corridor windows and corner units are hard to find and ex.)
2. Rem to consider reno costs in your budget. Can pay more for the flat if less reno needed. If you need ID recommendations, mine was Kean from Homeguide.
3. Also calculate if you get any "additional housing grant". Not sure what the new terms are.
4. If you do the flat hunting urself, you can also see if you can find an agent to do paperwork for you by paying abit for paperwork fee. But muz find those that accept this and not insist on the 1%. Paperwork fee can be just a few hundred. Not that little but may save you some headache.

Buying a Proposal Diamond Ring

Image via WikipediaIt was more than 2 years ago when I started looking for a ring for my proposal project.

You can see my ring here! 

Knowing that it would be one of my bigger investments for wedding, I wanted to do some due diligence in researching for the most perfect ring (relative to the price *chuckles*) I can get for Addy.

I'd thought I'd relive some of that by writing down my learnings from that experience.

Buying a diamond ring can be helluva easy thing to do. Just saunter into LeeHwa or SooKee and there're a plethora of diamond rings you can pick from. Or for the rich, just head out to Tiffany&Co and choose one blindly.

HOWEVER, if you truly want to choose a GOOD diamond ring, be prepared to invest in lotsa time and effort into it. (The reference links at the btm of the post will demonstrate so).

Since I was not in the "rich" category and I was quite particular in paying good money for good stuff, I did quite an extensive lookup on the web and walking into jewellry shops to get a "feel" of their products. I would suppose that the effort that goes into doing all these matter more than the ring itself.

Basically, selection of your diamond ring (more specifically, your diamond itself) can be summarized into the famous 4 Cs - Clarity, Cut, Colour and Carat. Let's briefly go through each of the 4 Cs.


Carat
The most spoken about yet I would say, the least important. (Hope that did not throw you off your chair). Needless to say, the larger the carat, the higher the diamond costs due to rarity. The best deals falls just under the "magic numbers" where a little carat increase will pose a quantum jump in pricing.


Clarity
Clarity indicates how flawed the diamond is. Flawless diamonds cost more, cloudy (included) diamonds cost less. Simple?
How clear a diamond is can only been differentiated by a loupe (magnifying glass for diamonds)

Colour
Basically, different colours cost differently especially when it comes to the types of cut as well. The most common "colour" is colourless and the more colourless the diamond is (or less tinted), the more expensive it is.

Cut
This is actually the most important and most complicated aspect of selecting a diamond, not the carats! The cut will determine how much light is reflected/refracted. With that, diamonds can "look" bigger too. There are different aspects of a "cut" - polish, symmetry and proportion. For simplicity, go for GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal cuts. They are certified. Or even better, just go for diamond that are "hearts and arrows" which are excellent/ideal in its category.


Here are some more detailed references of selecting a diamond ring that you might want to refer to.
www.proposalring.com - this site provides a good overview of diamonds from a Singaporean guy (the prices are pretty dated)
www.pricescope.com - this is a good forum where diamonds are discussed
www.goodoldgold.com - this is a reliable New York based jeweller (a friend's friend got a diamond from here)
www.whiteflash.com - this is another reliable USA based jeweller.

James Allen - this is where I got my proposal ring! :)

Home Renovation - CASE Model Agreement

http://www.case.org.sg/Image by clevercupcakes via Flickr

We did our renovation in Aug2010 and now we are proud owners of a 3-room HDB flat.

About why we did not get a bigger house - that leaves it to another time to describe.

But I would like to share about an important resource/document that no home owner should miss before they embark on home renovation in Singapore. It is called THE CONTRACT.

Whilst you think it may be a hassle to engage a lawyer to draw out something, a contract is something anyone can draw up. Luckily there is a template available for us already.

Given the notoriety of the home renovation industry, Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has provided a model agreement for any home owners to use. The links are as below:

• Model agreement on home renovation by CASE
• Back up copy on Google Docs

It was great for me because the contract really gave me an ease of mind. And our contractor did a fantastic job for us.

If any of you have any experience using the Model Agreement by CASE, please share it with us here too!

Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort - Style Weddings Island Romance 2011

Those who are getting married, please look at this! Thought it looks pretty good especially with all the artistes. :)