Hotel Review: Fairmont Raffles Manila

As I travel quite often for work, I’m going to keep a record of all the hotels I’ve stayed in, to serve as a reminder of what works and what doesn’t. It’ll make future bookings much easier.

Location: In downtown Makati opposite Greenbelt 4 Shopping Area and Glorietta mall. Great for food and shopping options. Easy access to Museum cafe!

Room: Renovated in 2014. Decently sized rooms, although the carpets are beginning to smell and my room had a musky smell. Bed is soft yet supportive of my back, so I sleep decently well here.

Gym: The treadmills and ellipticals overlook the Greenbelt shopping area There are so many weight machines here, upper and lower and core. Free weights as well. Huge open space to do yoga, circuits, etc. The perfect gym.

Breakfast: The spread is wide, but I don't fancy what they offer. It's either too sweet or too salty. So I only eat their omelette and bread, with fresh juice. I'd rather eat at Starbucks.

Would I return? Only for the gym and the great hotel location. This hotel has joined the Accor group on July 1st 2018, so member benefits will apply (but I have none!). Although there are other similar hotels nearby, such as New World Hotel. Maybe I will stay there next time.

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Hotel Review: Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok

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Optimizing your CPF account

Your CPF account consists of 3 accounts: Ordinary Account (OA), Special Account (SA), and your Medisave Account (MA). The OA is primarily used for providing housing, while SA is used for retirement. MA is used to pay for healthcare. The interest rate on your OA is 2.5%, while the interest rates on SA and MA are 4%. There is an extra 1% interest upon reaching the first $60,000, combined across all three (with at least $20,000 in your OA). In order to optimize your CPF account, the key is to move the lower interest OA money into your SA, to take advantage of the compounding effect of that extra 1% per year. Once you begin working, transfer your OA account into your SA account only a monthly basis, as CPF interest is calculated monthly. This is an irreversible process, but it forms 1 part of your retirement portfolio. There's no need to inject extra cash into CPF. Once you hit the SA maximum of $171k (based on 2018 figures) the funds will automatically be channel...

Eyes On Retirement

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