5 No-Nonsense Travel Hacks You Must Know

Smart Travel Tips You Can Use

First Published Date: October 22, 2016

No, I am not going to insult your intelligence by giving tips like put a binder clip over a razor or use the hotel iron to make a grilled cheese sandwich, and so on. Rather, I will talk about 5 smart travel tips that work and will come in handy when you travel.

Taxi Scam: Most taxi drivers are honest and hard working. But you need to be prepared for a very few who might scam you, especially in foreign land. The most common scam is shuffling larger bills to smaller ones, like you give the driver a $50 bill, but he claims you gave a $5 bill. Another variation of this scam can be shuffling your bill to a fake bill and demanding more money. You can easily prevent this scam by taking pictures of larger bills before handing them out or use smaller bills, which are hard to shuffle and scammers will be reluctant to scam for so many smaller bills because it involves more work for them and more chances of getting caught.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

Travel Undergarment

It can be difficult or impossible to wash your undergarments everyday while you travel. To prevent this, when I am about to get rid of my old undergarments, such as underwear or an undershirt, I save them and use them when I travel and throw them out each day after use. This way I am still using fresh, washed undergarments everyday, but don’t need to worry about washing and drying them. You can achieve the same result by using disposable undergarments (yes, they exist) and toss them out daily.

Wi-Fi

Many hotels charge for Wi-Fi. However, if you are a member of their rewards or loyalty program, you can get it for free. Sign up for the hotel’s rewards program to get free Wi-Fi. You don’t need to have any points in your rewards account to enjoy free Wi-Fi.

Hotel/Resort Upgrade

Sometimes you may be able to score a room upgrade in hotels or resorts just by tipping the receptionist. You may need to be discrete when you tip the receptionist and ask for the upgrade. For example, keep the note in sight of the receptionist (but not too obvious for other people working in the lobby) and say something like you will take care of them if they possibly can arrange an upgrade. However, you need to make a judgement call in which hotel or what country you can possibly apply this trick. For example, this is not going to work if you are in hotels like Hilton or Marriott in Canada or Germany, but you may be able to work this out if you are in hotels or resorts in the Caribbean or in Asia.

Fake Wallet

To protect yourself from robbery or pickpockets when you travel, carry a fake wallet. Fake in this instance means the wallet is real, but put expired credit cards, bankcards, library card, etc. and some small notes in it to make it look like your real wallet. Hide your real credit card and money in a separate place on your body. You can use a hidden money belt or hidden neck or leg wallet to keep your real credit card and cash. In case of a robbery, hand over your fake wallet or distract pickpockets with your fake wallet.

The World’s Riskiest Real Estate Bubble City

Canada’s Vancouver Tops List

First Published Date: October 25, 2016

The recently-published UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2016 ranks cities across the globe that are considered top real estate bubble risks and Vancouver tops the list this year. There are a total of 18 cities that made it on to this year’s bubble list.

According to the report, there are several factors working together to make Vancouver the world’s riskiest bubble city such as higher Asian demand due to the weak Canadian dollar, loose credit conditions, accelerating mortgage growth rate, etc.

Because of the higher foreign demand, the local government recently implemented an additional property tax for foreigners to buy in Vancouver – making it a higher risk property market because of the higher chances of price correction.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

The report also names some other riskiest global property markets such as London, Stockholm, Sydney, Munich and Hong Kong. Some of the fairly-valued property markets are in Singapore, Boston, Milan, and New York. And real estate value in Chicago is actually undervalued.

Home prices in top-risk cities have increased on an average by 50 percent since 2011. The rate of increase at other major cities is only 15 percent.

On a separate note, Canadian site globalnews.ca reports (based on numbers provided by Chinese realty website Juwai.com) that foreign buyers are not flocking to Seattle and Toronto, instead of Vancouver, since the new additional foreign tax implemented in Vancouver.

There was a staggering 81 percent drop in Vancouver buying inquiries from August 2015. However, Seattle and Toronto real estate inquiries were up by 143 and 142 percent. Toronto has seen the highest searches in August for the last three years. Other Canadian cities foreign buyers have an eye on after Toronto are Calgary and Ottawa.

What To Buy and What Not To Buy At Dollar Stores

How to Shop at Dollar Stores

First Published Date: October 30, 2016

I still remember that day when I first found out that I was paying ten times or more for the same item at a regular retail store than a dollar store. It was a plastic shower curtain. I bought it somewhere for $10, and then accidentally I found out that the dollar store located next to the other store had the same item for $1. Since then, whenever I need to buy something and I doubt that there is a possibility that this product will be available at a dollar store, and it is not on my not-to-buy-at-dollar-store list, I check at a dollar store first. Today, I will go over some items I consider buying and some items I would never buy at dollar stores.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

What Not to Buy

Do not buy any food items, drinks, soap, can food and vegetables, shampoos, baby food, toothpaste, shaving products, lotions, razor, sanitary pads, pregnancy test tools, vitamins, pills, school supplies, pens, perfumes, and so on. You should be very cautious about buying anything you eat, drink, or put on your skin from dollar stores. The quality of these products usually is very low and you don’t want to jeopardize your health in the short or long term to save a few bucks. There is no way to know what they put in these in factories in China.

What to Buy

You can buy items like cleaning products, decoration products, kitchen products, disposable items, greeting cards, small tools, craft items, and so on. You will have a good idea of what types of items can be bought at dollar stores after going through what I mentioned. Items that have no direct relation to your health, consumptions, contact with skin, etc. can be bought at dollar stores.

What to Try

There are some items at dollar stores that you can try to check if these are worth buying later on. Some of these items are toys, educational supplies, pet toys, and so on.
Dollar stores give you the opportunity to save some money. However, money can be totally wasted too if you don’t shop smartly at dollar stores.

Bargaining A Beach Property In Malaysia

Malaysia Beach Properties Real Estate

First Published Date: August 31, 2016

Beach properties anywhere in the world are hot and no, it is not because of the weather. When it comes to Malaysia, the beach properties become a little too hotter. It is the best chance especially for foreign investors to reap five star luxuries at two star prices. Though a rapidly growing real estate market of South East Asia beach resorts in Malaysia are still low cost option, not to forget that the beaches of Malaysia are some of the best in the world. Add to this the impeccable service available on most Malaysian beaches, the friendly locals, the high standard of living which is on par with that of any European city, it is little doubt that Malaysian beach resorts have gained the repute of favoured tourist destination.

For years now Thailand and Malaysia have been popular tourist destinations but it is only recently that Malaysia is being taken seriously as real estate hotspot as it is safe from the "ring of fire" that leads to natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. Malaysian beach properties not only hold lesser risk but with the government actively encouraging investments from foreign quarters these are providing greater rewards. The government has introduced new property laws that are buyer friendly, providing tax incentives for better foreign investments and also fast tracking approvals of licenses so that the government and international developers can mutually benefit from the booming real estate market.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn

With numerous beaches Malaysia offers plenty of opportunities to invest in real estate. The West coast has luxury island retreats, the east coast happens to be the ultimate diving destination, Sarawak and Sabah states in Bornea has an eco-friendly appeal, Sepang not only has the F1 grand prix circuit attraction but coined as the "Gold Coast" it is the weekend getaway resort for many people, Port Dickson is a holiday home to many Singaporeans and with its high profile projects is also a favourite with other international developers.

But what is it that makes beach properties in Malaysia a better deal than elsewhere or as compared to past? The government recently abolished the capital gains tax on property purchase in Malaysia thus the investor can save in a major by investing in real estate in Malaysia. Over 15 years foreigners investing in Malaysian properties can get 70% mortgages. Foreign buyers will not have any restrictions on renewing leases after 99 years. Foreigners owning property in Malaysia will automatically get residency permit. So what more could one be asking for.

Currently Malaysia is offering the best investment opportunity as far as global property market is concerned. There are many factors that are encouraging this rapid development. These are rental yields, capital growth rate, government policies that are investment friendly, spurt in investments by corporate companies. This combined with increase in tourism and creation of newer better equipped luxury resorts all are heating up the property investment market of Malaysia. Intelligent investors will surely not want to be left behind as low cost opportunities especially in real estate industry don’t really last for too long

20+ Credit Cards and 800+ Credit Score? Is It Possible?

The Secrets of My Credit Score

First Published Date: November 3, 2016

The people I know and the employees at my banks almost have a fit when I tell them I have around 20 credit cards and a very high credit score, like above 800. For most people, more credit cards are associated with more debt and a lower credit score. More debt (for some people) I can agree with, but lower credit score? I could not disagree more.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

The general misconception about having more credit cards is that they lower your credit score. This assumption could not have been possibly further dispersed from the truth. Having a lot of credit cards is OK, as long you are paying your bills on time and keeping your Utilization Ration below 30 percent. However, 30 percent ratio is considered the highest limit you can go to keep a good credit score. Lower is better. For example, FICO and Experian data show that those who have the best credit score, such as 800 or higher, utilize only 7 to 8 percent of their credit. Your utilization ratio represents what percentage of your available credit you are using and makes up 30 percent of your credit score.

Now, how about having too many credit cards? Having too many credit cards and maintaining them properly actually gives you an advantage to achieve a higher credit score. It’s shooting up your available credit limit (meaning making your utilization ratio lower) and showing positive on your credit report because lenders view you as someone who can be trusted with credit (because you are maintaining them positively by not racking up balances and keeping them active paying on time). After all, payment history makes up 35 percent of your credit score. So when you score perfect both on payment history (35%) and utilization ratio (30%), you already have an advantage towards scoring higher on the overall credit score. The other 15 percent (length of credit), 10 percent (types of credit), and 10 percent (inquiries) will easily follow.

One of the maximum credit card holders with an almost perfect score recorded by Guinness World Record was Walter Cavanagh of California, who has 1497 credit cards and a staggering $1.7 million line of credit. Other examples: The Points Guy Brian Kelly has 30 credit cards and 805 credit score. Ben Schlappig of One Mile At A Time has 20+ credit cards and 837 credit score.

The point is, there is nothing wrong with having too many credit cards as long as you know how to manage money and credit cards. However, I must warn that it requires a lot of discipline and work and this is not for everyone. You have to be extremely detail-oriented and extremely excellent in handling credit cards and money. If you are one payment late your credit score will take a nosedive.

Everyone has different purposes of achieving a higher credit score. My purpose is the satisfaction that comes from a higher score and also to utilize the various perks that come from having lots of different credit cards. I will talk about these more in my next book, Credit Card Hacks: What Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know. Stay tuned.