* Where is the flour?
The quest for good quality flour never ends. Sriboga’s Double Zero Flour (Rp18,000/kg), one of Bali’s best, tends to be rare. Grand Lucky, Jl. Sunset Road. Bali Direct, Jl. Raya Tumbak bayuh Pererenan, Tumbak Bayuh Mengwi, tel. 0821 4470 6510, sells whole meal flour (Rp24,000/500 gr) and Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (Rp29,500/1 kg). Other possible outlets for good flour are Papaya Japanese Supermarket and Tiara Dewata in Renon. *The Happy Cow app is seriously useful on Bali for finding vegan dining options. *Not all Javanese like Balinese food, but most Balinese like Javanese food. This is why you so rarely see Balinese menus on Java, but are able to buy Javanese dishes everywhere in Bali.
* Boost your phone’s battery life
Lower baseline brightness by sliding switch in the display menu. *Enable airplane mode when you’re in a place with no Wi-Fi signal. *Set screen brightness to auto so phone adjusts to indoor and outdoor conditions. *Set screen to go to sleep after 15 seconds of inactivity. * Performing tasks using Wi-Fi drains batteries considerably faster than using cellular-data connections, so if you’re streaming videos or gaming over a Wi-Fi network, increase your data allowance. *Reduce the frequency of updates/notifications for email, social network feeds and other apps.
* If Your Car Catches Fire
Vehicle fires can spread rapidly, so you need to respond immediately. First, pull over and shut off the engine. This stops the flow of fuel. *Get yourself and your passengers out of the car as quickly as possible and keep 30- 50 meters away. *Never stand on a busy roadway and never go back into the vehicle to retrieve personal property. *Attempt to put out the fire only if you have a suitable fire extinguisher, know how to use it properly, have clear access to the source of the fire and can keep a safe distance away. *Never open the hood or trunk if you suspect there’s a fire inside; the additional air flowing in could cause the fire to expand.
* MoneySavers
The popular motorcycle-based Go-Food delivery service, that is striving to eliminate or at least limit single-use plastics, now give their customers the choice of ordering recyclable materials at an additional cost of Rp1,000. *To find out what others in the U.S. are being paid for the same service or work that you do in Bali, type in your home ZIP code in salary.com, paysa.com or payscale.com. *With a KITAS or KITAP, you can open an account in any bank. Banks in Indonesia are graded at different tiers. The big banks like BCA, Mandiri and a few others are the safest, but offer the lowest rates for Certificates of Deposit. Medium sized banks usually offer a slightly better rate. For example, if BCA offers you 6.5% interest, Permata Bank may offer 6.75%. Then there are the lower tier banks like Victoria Bank which might offer something like 10% or more but being a smaller bank means more risk. *The CD rate may also be affected by how much you intend to place in the deposit. Placing more than Rp2 miliar may get you a better interest rate. *Your money is warranted up to Rp2 billion if the rate is not higher than the LPS limit (that may change, so check at http://www.lps.go.id/). *Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and HSBC all have branches in Indonesia, which makes it easier for you to do business and move funds internally if you have accounts in those banks back in your home country. *” There is no river like craving. Rivers can sometimes overflow their banks but the wants of human beings never come to an end.” Buddha.
* Beware quacks!
Because there are few restrictions here in obtaining a professional license, Bali is rife with imposters who claim they are expert in one thing or the other. Many countries have requirements in order to prove an individual practicing in a field has the proper qualifications. Prime examples of fields to be careful of are financial planning, the real estate business and building contractors in which there are no tests to pass nor certifications or licenses to acquire, thus no ramifications or punishment for malfeasance. Also bear in mind that in order for there be legal credibility in a court of law, an expert must be Indonesian. A foreign professional’s qualifications will most likely not be recognized, a thorny problem if there is a court case down the line. By the same token, an individual in some types of businesses can be driven to bankruptcy by all the various permits and government requirements for a portion of their incomes.
* Protect your garden!
A garden is very vulnerable to the elements. Erect a roof over your plants to make them resilient in heavy rains, harsh sun and other events that can smash plants. A roof can be made quite cheaply and easily with just bamboo stakes and a cover of mesh screen (jaring paranet) that costs only Rp15,000- Rp25,000/meters (depending on the width). The sun and water drizzle can still seep through to nourish the plants. Very practical: when not in use, just roll the mesh up and tie it at the top.
Please send your budget ideas, bargain deals and money saving tips to pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2019 Bill Dalton
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