Banks regularly introduce new variants of credit cards with enticing features, like waived annual fees or welcome bonus cash rebates. If you keep taking up these offers, you may soon end up with more problems.

For one, keeping track of multiple cards can be difficult, with different billing dates that you need to be aware of.

Even if you are able to remember, having too many credit cards may be detrimental to a healthy spending habit as you find yourself scrambling to meet different minimum spending requirements every month.

At some point, you could realise that you have too many cards and that you want to get rid of one or more.

Whatever, the reason, you should always remember that cancelling a card is not just a matter of cutting it into two and sending a cancellation request to your bank. There is more than meets the eye.

This article discusses some of the more important precautions that help you save money and a great deal of psychological pain if and when you decide to cancel a card or two.

1. Pay off your balance

You must pay off all accumulated dues before cancelling a credit card. That’s not just the amount on your last statement. There are also “pending” due amounts that you have spent during the current billing period that are due to appear in your next month’s statement.

Failing to do so can have a very big impact on your credit score and your ability to engage with a bank for other services in the future, like home loans, car loans or even other credit cards.

If you don’t have enough cash on hand to pay off your balance, then you should consider getting either a debt consolidation plan or a balance transfer with a bank. These products are designed to help you make credit card repayments more easily over a course of a few months to a few years.

By breaking up your repayment into small portions spread over a long period, you can more easily manage your card balance repayment while still cancelling your card immediately.

Furthermore, some banks continue to levy charges on credit card accounts that have been closed if your account carries a credit balance for more than a year after closure. Although the amount that the banks charge is usually small, it’s best to double-check that your account is reduced to a nil balance before closure.

2. Have a credit balance? Here’s how to get it back

The correct way to withdraw a credit balance in your card account is to request the bank to pay you. Don’t make the mistake of logging on to your card account and transferring the money out.

If you do take money out of your card, the bank could consider it as a utilisation of the credit card cash advance facility. This usually attracts a very high interest rate.

Instead, you can simply request the bank to issue a check to receive any credit balance you may have left on your card.

3. Redeem your miles and points

In their hurry to cancel a card, some individuals put off redeeming their points or miles till later. However, the problem is that card issuers will forfeit the points you have accumulated at the time of cancellation. It would be a waste to lose out on these.

Therefore, you should always remember to claim the rewards you are entitled to before communicating your intention to cancel your credit card. By doing this, you will avoid having to convince the bank to reinstate your points.

4. Alter billing instructions

If you have set up any recurring payment instructions from your credit card, cancelling your card will automatically result in these payments being discontinued.

Therefore, you should not forget to reset your automatic payment schedule with a different card right away.

5. Damage to your credit score

Lastly, closing your credit card account could have the unintended effect of lowering your credit score. When you cancel a credit card, your total available credit limit drops by the amount of the limit on the cancelled card.

This means that, if you have any other outstanding balances when you cancel one of your cards, your total credit utilisation limit will go up. This could affect your credit rating adversely.

6. Don’t decide in haste

If you want to cancel a card because you don’t use it anymore or because its annual fee is very high, you should first think through all the implications of your decision.

Cancelling your oldest card or one that has a high credit limit may not be the best decision to make. Bear in mind that once you cancel a card, you cannot reactivate it.

If you have decided to get rid of a card that does not really carry any benefits that you can utilise, it may be a good idea to find a replacement. There are several cards that have generous reward programmes, as well as cards that require no annual fee that might better fit your needs.

This article originally appeared in appeared on ValuePenguin, and later on thenewsavvy.com.

The New Savvy is Asia’s leading financial, investments and career platform for women. Our bold vision is to empower 100 million women to achieve financial happiness. We deliver high-quality content through conferences, e-learning platforms, personal finance apps and e-commerce stores.

Mencuci kereta menjadi satu kewajipan kepada sesiapa sahaja yang memiliki kereta.

Tidak kiralah sama ada basuh sendiri atau di kedai bagi mereka yang tidak mahu bersusah payah.

Tapi sebenarnya mencuci kereta sendiri boleh menjadi aktiviti yang menyihatkan kerana dalam masa yang sama anda akan berpeluh kerana tenaga mencuci itu seperti bersenam.

Mungkin pagi hujung minggu anda boleh dihabiskan masa dengan mencuci kereta. Paling lama anda hanya akan menghabiskan masa kira-kira 45 minit.

Mencuci kereta juga boleh jadi terapi minda yang sangat baik.

Tapi anda perlu beringat jangan basuh kereta sembarangan!

Jika tak kena cara habis cat kereta anda rosak.

Ikuti tip basuh kereta dengan baik di bawah!

Langkah pertama

Untuk basuh kereta pastinya anda memerlukan sabun atau bahan pencuci. Anda boleh gunakan apa sahaja jenis sabun basuh jereta yang ada dijual di pasaran.

Namun, jangan sesekali anda menggunakan sabun pencuci pinggan!

Ini kerana sabun pencuci punggan mempunyai sifat menghakis yang sangat kuat dan boleh sebabkan warna cat kereta cepat pudar.

Mulakan basuh kereta bermula daripada atas ke bawah untuk memudahkan kerja membasuh.

Siram dahulu kereta dengan air sebelum mulakan basuhan dengan sabun.

Langkah kedua

Gunakan kain atau span mikrofiber untuk mencuci kereta anda.

Gosok secara lembut kain yang dicelup dengan sabun di bahagian bumbung, depan, belakang, cermin dan sisi kereta.

Menggunakan kain mikrofiber ada banyak kelebihannya antaranya ia menghasilkan cas negatif apabila digosok pada kereta.

Ini memudahkan kotoran degil untuk tanggal dengan mudah.

Langkah tiga

Basuh kereta anda dengan gunakan sistem dua baldi.

Maksudnya satu baldi digunakan untuk sabun manakala satu baldi lagi mengandungi air yang digunakan untuk membilas kain atau span yang digunakan untuk menyental kotoran.

Langkah keempat

Bilas dahulu keseluruhan kereta sebelum anda mula membersihkan rim dan tayar.

Anda perlu ingat bahawa air sabun yang berada di badan kereta perlu dibilas secepat mungkin bagi mengelakkan kesan kotoran melekat semula pada kereta.

Langah kelima

Bersihkan rim dan tayar dengan menggunakan berus tayar.

Gosokkan sekali pada bahagian dalam rim yang biasanya ada kesan hitam disebabkan disk brake.

Elak guna bahan kimia berwarna merah yang biasa digunakan untuk membersihkan enjin kereta kerana ia boleh menyebabkan rim cepat pudar.

Langkah keenam

Proses seterusnya ialah proses mengeringkan.

Basahkan sedikit kain mikrofiber kedua sebelum mula lap kereta.

Dan gunakan kain mikrofiber ketiga yang kering untuk lap bahagian yang hampir kering. Ini adalah kaedah lap basah dan lap kering.

Langkah ketujuh

Jangan lupa untuk lap juga bahagian celah pintu dan panel kereta.

Gunakan kain mikrofiber kering untuk mengeringkan kawasan tersebut.

Untuk cermin pula anda dinasihatkan untuk guna kain yang baru dan gunakan cecair pencuci cermin yang khusus.

Langkah kelapan

Selepas selesai membersihkan kereta pada bahagian luar anda boleh mula beri perhatian pada bahagian dalam pula.

Gunakan vakum untuk menyedit segala kotoran pada bahagian kusyen, tempat letak kaki dan papan pemuka.

Selamat mencuba!

Sumber: maskulin.com.my

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IPOH, Sept 27 — After 41 hours, an overturned tanker carrying more than 20,000 litres of acetone in Kampung Parit Mentara 3, Bagan Serai, was finally lifted and removed from the village.

Perak Fire and Rescue Department operation assistant director Mohamad Yunus Abu said the tanker was believed to have entered the wrong side of the road, before it skidded and overturned into a canal at 5am on Wednesday.

Two cranes were used to lift the tanker back on its wheels at 10.30pm last night before the vehicle being towed out of the village, he said in a statement here today.

He said the operation in the village was stopped at 11.30pm.

A total of 35 firefighters, including personnel from the Hazmat Unit, were involved in the operation and four families living within 100 metres of the site were asked to evacuate their homes due to risk.

Acetone is a colourless chemical, volatile and highly flammable and is often used as a solvent in paint and nail polish.

Fire and Rescue Department yesterday confirmed that no hazardous materials were found in the village following the incident. — Bernama

NEW YORK, Sept 27 — Malaysia has notched major socio-economic achievements while at the same time managing and sustaining its resources, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Since gaining Independence in 1957, Malaysia has successfully diversified its economy, from one that was initially commodity-based to that which is now more driven by robust manufacturing and services. 

“The Malaysian economy expanded by 6.2 per cent on average every year between 1971 and 2018 while our per capita income rose by more than 20 times, to reach about US$9,300 in 2018. 

“Equally important, our inflation rate has been stable and kept below 4 per cent on average during the same period while enjoying full employment since 1992. 

“Our absolute poverty rate fell from about 50 per cent of households in 1970 to a mere 0.4 per cent in 2016, under the old poverty line.

“We obtained these socio-economic achievements while managing and sustaining its resources,” he said at a side event of the United Nations General Assembly here entitled “Environmental Stewardship in Addressing Poverty to Achieve Sustainable Development for All”.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia’s forest cover was currently at 55.3 per cent or 18.3 million hectares of our total land area, exceeding Malaysia’s initial commitment of 50 per cent at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. 

“This represents the nation’s will and commitment to conserve and sustainably manage our forest, its flora and fauna. 

“Our forest cover today is even far higher than that of most large European countries including France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said despite Malaysia’s economic growth and rapid urbanisation, maintaining its forests and making existing agricultural land more productive to meet increasing demand could not have been achieved without sustainable development policies.

“Various laws have been enacted, such as the Land Conservation Act, 1960, Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and the National Forestry Act 1984 — all instrumental legislations that have provided the legal framework covering every aspect including land use, wildlife protection, administration and conservation of forest,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said renewable energy has also been given a renewed focus in Malaysia. 

“We have set a target of 20 per cent electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2025. Current incentives, such as the Green Technology Financing Scheme and the Green Investment Tax Allowance, will be continued to incentivise the growth of renewable energy,” he added.

The prime minister admitted, however, that Malaysia still faced challenges from its growing socio-economic development needs although it has put in place various efforts to prevent environmental loss. 

‘“The increasing population of Malaysia brings with it an increased demand for food, water and other infrastructures which places pressure on our natural resources and environment.

“The impact of climate change further adds to this pressure. Extreme changes in rainfall patterns as well as extended dry spells affect our forests ability to store and produce fresh water, sea level rises that lead to peculiar flood incidents and pollution.

“In the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), substantial resources have been allocated to implement a wide range of actions to address climate change as well as to further enhance our conservation and restoration efforts.

“We need to ensure the earth will be able to exist in its best form to provide the services and environment that humans need. 

“Thus, we need to responsibly use and protect our natural resources and environment by conserving and do things sustainably.

“This effort needs to be adopted by all people at all levels for us to succeed, especially in addressing the impact of climate change. 

“We believe that the unsustainable use of natural resources and neglecting the environment, have much to do with these changes,” he added.

Dr Mahathir said that on the global front, Malaysia took its commitment to conservation seriously and was proud to be a signatory to an extensive list of global treaties on conservation, wildlife, forestry and the environment.

“Malaysia sees these Multilateral Environmental Agreements as a key part of its formula for balance in the sense of its responsibility to the planet, its responsibility to its people to ensure their right to food, clothing and shelter, and balance in the right at its people to rise out of poverty, and to seek long-term, sustainable and shared prosperity for the country,” he added.

DENVER: One of two teenagers accused of opening fire at a Colorado charter school in May, killing one classmate and wounding seven others in a cocaine-fuelled rampage, was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial on murder and attempted murder charges.

Devon Erickson, 19, has been held without bond since his arrest following the May 7 shooting at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, south of Denver.

He was ordered to stand trial by a Douglas County judge following a two-day preliminary hearing at which prosecutors presented evidence in support of first-degree murder and other charges, said Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for district attorney George Brauchler.

The judge also set a December court date for Erickson to enter a plea, Migoya said.

According to police, Erickson and his co-defendant, Alec McKinney, 16, armed themselves with three handguns and a 22-caliber rifle that were stolen from a gun safe belonging to Erickson’s parents.

The pair broke into the safe with an axe and a crowbar and consumed cocaine before going on the shooting rampage, police said.

One student, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, was shot dead after witnesses said he was among a handful of students who charged the assailants.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Erickson told police that “he didn’t want anyone to get shot” but the handgun he was wielding discharged when he was hit by the rushing students.

Seven other students were wounded in the shooting spree. An eighth student was struck by an errant bullet fired by a private security guard.

The case against McKinney is on a slower track, as defence attorneys seek to have the case moved to juvenile court.

McKinney, who was born female, told police he was in the process of transitioning to male and during the shooting had targeted a classmate who had insulted him over being transgender, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

McKinney said he had planned the shooting for weeks and wanted other students to “experience bad things (and) to suffer from trauma like he has had to in his life,” the affidavit said.

McKinney, who is also being held without bond, is due back in court next month.