Help Japan and donate generously.

Eating emergency rations in shelter.

In life, sometimes bad things happen. I had a couple of things that went wrong at work today and was feeling somewhat grouchy but they are so insignificant compared to really bad things that could happen in life. How many truly holy and selfless people do we know?

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan, I watch scenes of destruction and misery on the TV and YouTube. My heart aches and I want to contribute to the aid efforts. I was advised to wait for an official donation line that would benefit the victims in Japan directly. One such line is now available at the Singapore Red Cross:

A child at an evacuation centre.

How we can help?

The Singapore Red Cross is accepting monetary donations towards this disaster. Donors may do so with the following:

Cash Donation :

For walk-in donations, the SRC is open during the hours:
Mondays to Fridays 9.30am-9pm,
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 9.30am – 6pm.

Address: 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486.

Cheque Donation:

Cheques to be made payable to the “Singapore Red Cross Society” At the back of the cheque, please indicate:

i) Name
ii) IC/Passport No.
iii) Address and Contact Number
iv) “Japan Disaster 2011”

SMS Donation

Donors may donate via their mobile phones to 75772. For every sms, S$50 will be donated to the “Japan Disaster” fund.

*Please take note that all donations to this disaster are non tax-deductable.

I think the most convenient way to make a donation is by SMS. Since the donations are non tax-deductable, there is no difference whether they have my name and IC number or not.

Please help the victims in Japan. Many have lost their homes and loved ones. Let us help them to overcome the current difficulties and aid their efforts in rebuilding their lives.


Watch this video:


This is a sincere appeal and please accept my heartfelt thanks for your compassion and generosity.

You may visit the website of Singapore Red Cross here to verify the information given above.

Japan disaster: dead, missing toll tops 15,000. Read article here.
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Another avenue to make a donation:

I was just doing some internet banking and found that DBS is facilitating donations to the Red Cross Japan Disaster fund and I have made my donation via internet banking. It is really easy for anyone who does ibanking with DBS. In the consumer reference space, fill in your telephone number.

16 Mar 2011 07:55 PM  Singapore

Your transaction is completed. You may wish to print out a copy of this confirmation for your reference. Payee Name RED CROSS JAPAN DISASTER  Pay From POSB Savings ***-*****-* Latest Available Balance ******** Amount S$**** Consumer Reference No. ******** Date of Payment Immediate  Transaction Reference ***********

Step 1: Log in to your DBS/POSB bank account

 

Enter your DBS/POSB internet banking User ID and PIN, and click Submit. Make sure you have your iBanking Secure Device with you. Enter the Secure PIN and click Submit.

Step 2: Go to Bill Payment

Once you're logged in, go to Payment Services and click Bill Payment Select Red Cross Japan Disaster from the droplist

Step 3: Add Red Cross Japan Disaster as a bill payee on your DBS/POSB iBanking account

 

To set up Red Cross Japan Disaster as a bill payee, here's what you'll need to: Enter your telephone number as your Consumer Reference Number Select the bank account you wish to debit your donation from Then, click Submit.

Step 4: Confirm Red Cross Japan Disaster as a bill payee

Tea with AK71: Removing AdSense from ASSI for now.

You might or might not notice that I have removed all the ad space for AdSense or Ads by Google from this blog.  This is because I have noticed multiple clicks on these ads from possibly the same source for several days now.

I understand from other bloggers that Google is quite strict in policing and weeding out fraud. Having multiple clicks within 1 minute from possibly a single IP address could quite possibly be classified as fraud. This could result in my AdSense account being terminated by Google.

Although I appreciate the support, I would like to appeal to readers who have been super supportive in clicking on the Ads by Google to refrain from the behaviour described.

Why am I taking action only now? I was wondering if it was an aberration but it seems to be an established pattern now. If it is apparent to an IT dinosaur like me, it would not escape an IT giant like Google.  So, I am suspending all ad space for AdSense or Ads by Google on this blog for the time being.

If you guys are worried about a loss of income for ASSI, just visit my other sponsors, Ads by Nuffnang. Also, give my ZUJI banners a chance if you are planning to travel and I would get a small commission if you find a good deal.


You might also want to visit my other blogs:

http://investgoldsilver.blogspot.com/

http://travelphotosvideos.blogspot.com/

Of course, you could also choose to contribute some money if you really like what ASSI is doing. A $15 donation is equivalent to 50c a day for a month or you could think of it as 10c a day for 5 months! Haha. ;-p

The donate button is on the left sidebar and looks like this:



Thank you and have a great weekend. :-)

Tea with AK71: Income from blogging.

I have blogged about this before but it is timely that I revisit this topic as JW (aka momoeagle), the blog master of Wealthbuch, took it really hard when Adsense decided to stop working with him recently.  I believe that he would look past this unpleasant episode in his life as a blogger and soldier on in good time. :)

I started blogging out of curiosity and boredom last Christmas Eve and I have been hooked since.  I suppose I really enjoy writing and I enjoy sharing my ideas with people. On 10 March 10, I blogged that "I didn't know I could make money from blogging. However, I did discover quite quickly that there are many ways of making money through a blog."  Adsense, it seems, is the predominant way for most bloggers to derive some income from their blogs.

LP, the blog master of Bully the Bear was one of the first people I made contact with in blogosphere.  He told me how he was unceremoniously banned by Adsense.  Later on, I was told the same thing by my friend and blog master of Time to Huat.  So, you don't see any Adsense ads in their blogs.  So, fearing that I would suffer the same fate, I decided to remove Adsense from my blog.

I enjoy blogging and if I do make money out of it, I consider it a bonus. However, since I do not make much from blogging, it would have a lower priority when compared to other activities which I derive most of my income from.  We live in a world which runs on money.  So, we have to be realistic sometimes, if not most of the time.  The day I could derive an income of mid $X,XXX from blogging every month like some famous blogging personalities in Singapore, blogging might be the only thing I'd do. In fact, I was told that Xiaxue could make $XX,XXX per month from blogging!

The fact is I am a financial blogger and we have a very small niche.  Financial bloggers in Singapore have even a smaller niche. 20,000 pageviews or more a month like Xiaxue's blog?  Not in my lifetime, realistically.  Well, I suppose if I colored my hair like Xiaxue and wrote catchy songs about floods in Orchard Road like Mr. Brown, I could improve my blog's readership numbers. Hmmm, I wonder... Nah.

I can only hope that my readers would visit my sponsors (Nuffnang's ads), give my ZUJI banners a chance when planning to go on an overseas trip and feel generous enough to make a donation (Donate to AK71 pocketmoney fund on the left sidebar) towards my blogging efforts.  So far, I have received small sums of money from all three avenues.  Thank you for the bonus. ;-)

Related post:
Planning to travel? Check out ZUJI.

Tea with AK71: Money well spent.

My recent purchase of a Samsung HD1080p 32" LED TV, a Sony Blu Ray player and a Pioneer sound system surprised quite a few friends and even my family members.  Considering that my last TV was a Chimei 26" LCD HD Ready TV bought three years ago at $688 in Carrefour, you can imagine why. Have I become extravagant?  I hardly think so.

Three years ago, it would have easily cost two times of $688 to get a 26" LCD HD Ready TV from Sharp or Sony.  I decided I did not need something branded then and settled for Chimei which served me quite well in the last three years.  Some friends commented that it was too small for my living room and some said the definition was poor.  Most just went "What is a Chimei?" and some even made puns out of the name.  Terrible. However, I thought it was OK.  I mean I had no problem with news, documentaries and DVDs on my Chimei.  Then, why change?

I saw what the LED TV was capable of delivering during one of my visits to the malls and  I also found the Samsung aesthetically pleasing compared to the Chimei.  You don't find these arguments convincing, do you?  If you are a regular reader of my blog or if you know me very well, yes, you would not be convinced.  The most important reason was that the price was not even two times of $688!  Great technology at a great price!  It is never a question of affordability.  It is always a question of value of money. I decided to pamper myself which is something I rarely do.

So far, everyone who has seen my new TV only had good things to say about it.  I am only human and it feels good to have positive reinforcement from others.  Things are so different from those Chimei days.  This is a positive spinoff that I did not anticipate.

To some people, it seems that I have changed. Well, maybe a little.  I don't think I have changed much.  I am still the pragmatic me but I have to agree that I have become less tight fisted in the last one year. 

I told a friend who visited recently that watching Blu Ray programs is such a joy.  Images and sounds are crystal clear on the new TV. Sometimes, I would just switch it on, watch for about ten minutes, switch it off and go to sleep, feeling happy. Money spent on anything which contributes to a general sense of well-being and happiness has to be money well spent, don't you think?

As an aside, my sister is going to shave her head bald to help some cancer stricken children and I donated some money to the cause in a show of support.  It's a worthy cause, after all.  To find out more, please visit: Hair for Hope 2010. This is definitely money well spent.

Related post:
Money management: Needs and wants.

Tea with AK71: Buy me a cuppa tea?

I cannot remember who suggested that I should put a donation widget in my blog.  I remember it was during the early days of this blog.  Was the person Jason, CT or CL?  Hmmm...  Well, guess what.  I've just done it.  You will see the button on the left asking for a donation to my pocket money fund. ;-)

All donations are done securely through PayPal.  So, if you are feeling generous or if you feel that I deserve it, a small donation to buy me a cuppa tea would be nice.

Personally, I feel quite happy that I am learning so many new high tech stuff about blogs.  One more step away from being in the Jurassic Age for me, I guess.  ;-p

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has visited and made this blog come alive!