As petrol hike in Malaysia is a big issue now. Many emails have been around talking about how to change the lifestyle and how to cope with the petrol. Here is one of the good tips from the email I got today. Happy reading. 

I don’t know what you guys are paying for petrol…. but here in Durban we are also paying higher, up to R7.35 per litre.

But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money’s worth for every litre. Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car or bakkie in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands,so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps..

When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT fill up–most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

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I got this email from one of my collegues. Sounds like the advice is good and you’ll never know what lies in the future.

Recession is coming……………………..make your own judgment, don’t panic !! Do what is wise.

The recession looks very eminent. It is really time to take pro active steps to avoid a painful time in the next two years which is how long the recession is expected to last.

 Suggestions:

 1. Don’t take any loans, buy homes, properties with loans, or even cash. Keep as much cash as possible.

 2. Pay off as much of personal loans, private loans, as debt collection will be hastened.

 3. Sell any stocks you can even at lower prices.

 4. Take money off from Trust Funds.

 5.  Don’t believe in huge sales forecast from customers, be extremely prudent, lowest inventories, reduce liabilities.

 6. Don’t invest in new capital.

 7. If you are selling homes/ properties/ cars , do it now, when you can get good prices, they are going to fall.

 8.  Don’t invest in new business proposals.

 9. Cancel holiday plans using credit cards.

 10. Don’t change jobs, as companies will retrench based on ‘last in first out’.

 Stay cool, wait, and if you took all of the above actions and more, you probably will be better off then   many.

This is not a rumor. Bear Stearns is the first of many banking and financial institutions that will start falling in the not too future. If Bear Stearns can fall, so can JP Morgan, Citibank, HSBC, and the whole world.  US economy falls, the rest will crumble.

India and all those selfeconomies will be the most  protected, but not gullible. Europe may be a little stronger, but not China, another giant! Malaysia will see significant impact.

 This is my personal message to my friends, so if you want to, you can forward this to your friends, but I will not be held liable for any incorrect assumptions.

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