Best office pants & shirt

Best office pants & shirt are from G2000.

Price

• Cheap during Sales - Office pants & shirt can be very expensive especially for branded ones. G2000 is relatively cheap when it is on sales & so far it has been holding many seasonal sales throughout the year. 

Comfort, Design

• Comfort - It's actually ok. 

• Design - G2000 design doesn't look cheapo at all. When I wear G2000 for functions, friends would describe me as having dressed up very nicely & formal. I guess all that's needed to look good will be to select the correct sizing & iron up the clothing for occasions.

Where to buy

• Purchase - It's available at many malls in Singapore (Location). 

Best Belt

Best Belt is definitely a Slidebelt.

Price

• $10 to $100 - Years ago this gadget wasn't readily available in the market so I had to spend nearly $100 to purchase it from the original makers at their online website(Location). Nowadays, I would get mine from qoo10 at a much lower price (Location) & it works perfectly the same.

Adjustable, Comfort

• Adjustable - The locking/releasing mechanism is an extremely ingenious design for ease of adjustment. When standing up from a sitting position, we would feel that our tummy is smaller & pants start to loosen, this belt allows us to easily tighten our pants. On the contrary after a heavy buffet feast, there would be an increase in pressure around the waist, now with a slide push on the release button the belt can loosen up a little for comfort.    

• Comfort - Unlike traditional belts with holes 1 inch apart, this belt has teeth only 3mm apart. A smaller precision allows a better fit around our waist which translates to more comfort.

Best T-shirts

No recommendation on any brand as I've been wearing free Polo T-shirts.

The company I'm working in has given me many Polo T-shirts during internal events. These shirts only carry short campaign slogans on them, so it's pretty much ok to wear them outside the company as well. I've seen many folks receiving T-shirts through church events, charity drives and marathon participation, I would suggest to wear them first instead of getting new ones.

Best Jeans

Best Jeans is definitely Levis.

Price

• From 18USD (25.70SGD) per Jean - The cheapest method I've been using to purchase Levis Jeans is through their US website during sales seasons such as Blackfriday. Such occasions bring the price of jeans down by at times >50% off, After including shipping to Singapore via Comgateway (Location), the jeans cost just 30SGD to 40SGD+.

Comfort, design, durability, branding

• Comfort - Some brand uses material which is so rough you can get abrasion in the groin after a long walk. Levis doesn't feel rough at all and is definitely one of the most comfortable Jeans out there in the market.

• Design & Branding - When I wear a pair of new Levis, my colleagues actually once asked if I'm wearing Levis. This comment doesn't come as a surprise as Levis has very nice recognizable design & cutting, which resonates well with it's strong branding. To me, the branding is in the design and Vis Versa. 

Where to buy

• Purchase - It's available online at Levis US website (Location).
• Selecting size & cutting - If you've not purchased Levis before, try them out at Singapore stores to find out your correct sizing and cutting.

Dependant's Protection Scheme (DPS)

DPS is insignificant compared to Shield Plans.

Coverage of DPS

Insured amount: $46,000

Death, Terminal Illness & Total Permanent Disability - It is insured against death, terminal illness or total permanent disability.

1.   Terminal Illness expected to result in death within 12 mths

2.   Total Permanent Disability is (i) inability to work permanently or (ii) the total permanent loss of physical function of: Both eyes; or Two limbs; or One eye and one limb

• Details (More info).

Personal decision

• I have kept this low coverage scheme since it is cheap anyway. Will not discuss too much into it as it is really unimportant compared to Shield Plans. Most of our medical bills are related to hospitalization, surgeries & post treatment which are covered under Shield Plans.

Integrated Shield Plans

Integrated Shield Plans should be selected based on (1) Desired comfortability of Ward & (2) Ability to select Doctor.

Desired comfortability of Ward

• Prefer B2 & C - I would forfeit comfort & avoid Private hospital/class A/B1 as they are much more expensive than B2/C class which are govt-subsidized. Even after being discharged from hospital, subsequent outpatient treatment for ward B1 & above are charged as private patient. I would rather save that money & use it to enjoy a nice holiday vacation!

Ability to select Doctor

• Experienced doctor for critical surgeries - The ability to choose your Doctor becomes critical for surgeries related to spine, heart, brain & other major organs. I definitely want an experienced & steady hands to perform these surgeries for me which is only available if I go for ward B2 & above.

Consideration on Shield Plans Vs Cost

• Protection Vs Money - Insurance premium gets higher when we select a higher shield plan and it continues to get more expensive as we grow older too. 

Coverage of Integrated Shield Plan

• Inpatient hospital treatments - Hospitalization warding & medical-related services expenses such as surgical procedures (including Day Surgery), organ transplants & ICU expenses.
• Outpatient hospital treatment - Medical expenses for chemotherapy & radiotherapy for cancer, renal dialysis and drugs approved under MediShield Life for chronic renal failure or organ transplant.
• Pre- and post- hospitalisation treatment - Pre- and post- hospitalisation expenses for eligible medical treatment, up to 90 days before admission and 90 days after discharge.
• Emergency overseas treatment - Emergency inpatient hospital treatment expenses while overseas.
• Example of detailed coverage (More info).

Personal decision

• NTUC Income Enhanced IncomeShield Plan Basic - This plan actually covers up to ward B1. In most hospitalization circumstances, I would still opt to stay in B2/C class to save on overall medical cost. However, should I require major surgery, I would then select ward B1 to be able to choose my doctor. This will be the balanced approach I'll be taking.