If your New Year’s resolution is to save money, you gotta make sure you’re spending smartly! You can still visit your fancy restaurants, but here’s our life-changing hack ? You ready?
Just download My McDonald’s App from the App Store or Google Play Store! Yes, it’s that simple. McDonald’s has a lineup of fun and rewards for everyone this year and trust us, this will be your go-to app so you stick to your budgeting plan for 2021.
1. Grab your lunch BFF and redeem 1-for-1 deals with McDonald’s Mega Deals Festival
Starting from 4 January, McDonald’s Mega Deals Festival will run for an entire month! You can expect a range 1-for-1 deals on your favourite bites on the McDonald’s app from 4-27 January.
4-6 Jan: 1-for-1 McSpicy®
11-13 Jan: 1-for-1 Double Filet-O-Fish®
18-20 Jan: $14.50 Breakfast Family Meal (U.P. from $17.70)
25-27 Jan: 1-for-1 Breakfast Deluxe
If you don’t have a lunch BFF yet, you can offer to buy on behalf of a colleague and earn some brownie points for the new year! Better yet, introduce the app to them so that you establish yourself as the savviest person in the office when it comes to great deals.
2. New to the app? Get a $2 McSpicy® Welcome Deal!
If you’ve never heard about the McDonald’s app before, this is your chance to score a McSpicy® burger at only $2, with any purchase (U.P. from $5.50). That’s more than 60% discount, what a deal for new users! Just the mere thought of our favourite McSpicy® is enough to whet our appetite.
3. Happier Mondays
Joining the McDonald’s club is free, and you get new deals every Monday at 8am! Monday blues are tough, but nothing beats waking up to a deal on the food we love. We’ll be setting alarms to check out the McDonald’s app before looking at social media apps or emails, so we don’t miss any deals!
4. $1 Chicken McNuggets® on your birthday month!
Relive fond memories of McDonald’s Birthday Parties as you sink your teeth into Chicken McNuggets® (6pc) for just $1 with any purchase. We’re lovin’ member-exclusive perks like these birthday treats because they never fail to stir up warm, fuzzy feelings!
5. Bonus Hack in Jan: Win More Treats with The McShaker™ Game
Did you know that you can win even more deals on the McDonald’s app? Play the McShaker™ game in the app stand a chance to win the newly launched $1 Mala McShaker™ Fries and other delights such as free Vanilla Cones or Hashbrowns with any purchase.
We promise you will be lovin’ it every step of the way. Cheers to a Happy New Year!
As the land of kimchi battles its third wave of the coronavirus with 1,020 more COVID-19 cases added on Monday (Jan 4), the total caseload now stands at 64,264. But that does not deter some locals like a 20-year-old university student, Ryu Han-na.
Pandemic turned an opportunity for cosmetic surgery
When she had plastic surgery on her nose last month, she took it as the last opportunity to do so discretely before people began taking off masks this year following worldwide vaccinations roll-out.
Ryu said the decision to undergo the 4.4 million won (US$4,013) procedure amid the pandemic included having the capacity to recover at home and wear a mask in public without receiving unnecessary attention.
“I always wanted to get a nose job… I thought it would be the best to get it now before people start taking off masks when vaccines become available in 2021,” she shared. “There will be bruises and swelling from the surgery but since we’ll all be wearing masks I think that should help.”
Ryu is not the only person
In fact, many South Koreans share the same view as Ryu. As such, demand for plastic surgeries amid COVID-19 has contributed to the rise in the industry’s worth in 2020.
According to Gangnam Unni, the country’s largest online cosmetic surgery platform, the market had a worth of roughly US$10.7 billion last year, rising 9.2 per cent year-on-year. It is assumed to remain around US$11.8 billion in 2021.
The face area of interests
Image Credits: Seoulz
Cosmetic surgeons state that all areas of the face are of concern to patients. This includes those that can be covered behind masks, and those that cannot be hidden, which others deem to be appearance standards in the age of COVID-19.
“Both surgical and non-surgical inquiries about eyes, eyebrows, nose bridge and foreheads – the only visible parts – certainly increased,” said Park Cheol-woo, in-charge of Ryu’s operation and surgeon at WooAhIn Plastic Surgery Clinic.
Using the government’s emergency stimulus payment at hospitals
Krismas Plastic Surgery Clinic’s Surgeon Shin Sang-ho said several individuals spent their government emergency stimulus payments at hospitals and clinics, raising sales in the second half of 2020.
“I felt like it’s sort of a revenge spending. I’ve sensed that customers were expressing their pent-up emotions (from the coronavirus) by getting cosmetic procedures,” Shin commented.
Although South Korea did not reveal hospital category specifics, government figures indicate that out of its welfare payments of 14.2 trillion won (US$12.95 billion), locals spent 10.6 per cent in hospitals and pharmacies.
Additionally, Gangnam Unni data suggests that its users rose 63 per cent to around 2.6 million last year from 2019. People sought over one million counselling appointments, twice the number before.
Image Credits: Reuters
But as the nation records increased COVID-19 cases daily, the third wave of coronavirus in South Korea remains a threat.
“We’ve seen growing numbers of cancellations in consultation appointments recently as people refrain more from going outside … especially customers from the suburbs mostly postponed their surgeries to 2021,” Park noted.
Harsh Dalal is the name to note. The Singapore permanent resident is also a student at Singapore Polytechnic (SP), where he studies business administration. He currently heads Team Labs, a software development company, with 120 employees across eight cities.
Harsh’s childhood years
Image Credits: Harsh Dalal
Harsh frequently moved until a few years ago, when his family purchased an apartment in eastern Singapore. When his family migrated here from India, he was only six years old. As a shy child, he struggled to build and sustain long-term friendships with new neighbourhood children.
“I lost all my friends every time I moved houses. It was daunting for a socially awkward kid to go around looking for friends every time we moved. So instead of being at a playground, I’d be at home on my laptop, coding or doing other stuff,” he remarked.
At 11 years old, he took up coding through watching hours of YouTube videos. After his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), he received a discarded iPhone 4 from his mother which he succeeded in jailbreaking.
“I have an aversion to being controlled. It’s difficult to be myself if I have something constraining me,” Harsh commented.
Fascinated by the iOS system, he began to search Apple Developer discussion boards for further deets. He then found four friends from the United States, Russia, Norway, and Singapore between 14 and 17 years old.
His tech venture started at the age of 13
Image Credits: CNA
Together with his teenage friends, Harsh created one of the first screen recorder apps in 2014. Though the app recorded five million downloads within a few weeks, it was not profitable.
“We didn’t make any money out of it, foolishly because we didn’t expect it to actually take off,” recalled Harsh. “It was a missed opportunity. We didn’t know how to monetise the app.”
Though his first venture did not bring about income, the app’s popularity set the stage for this tech entrepreneur whose business services clients such as Coca-Cola, Google, and Hilton.
An alternative app store – iDownload Pro
Image Credits: CNA
With the app’s success, the group went on to create an app store called iDownload Pro. It’s a platform where developers can upload apps rejected by the App Store. Though there were more than 3 million downloads, they eventually shut down iDownload Pro in 2015 due to hefty costs. At that time, Apple was tightening down on third-party app stores as well.
But it did not stop them from advancing.
Started offering web and software development services
Image Credits: Enginess
With prices from US$99, the group began selling web and software development services they marketed on their website and through Google Ads.
Since they were too young to incorporate the business officially, one of the teens persuaded his father to do so for them in the United Kingdom, and their first customer offered them US$299 to build a website.
“The profit margin was, like, non-existent,” recollected Harsh. “If I went and worked at McDonald’s for the same amount of hours, I’d probably have earned more.”
Clinched a US$100,000 project to develop a marketing app
Image Credits: CNA
But things got better for them, and they were offered a US$100,000 project to create a marketing app for a multinational company. With the money in, each took home US$10,000 and pumped the remaining funds into the business.
“I’d never seen so many zeros in my life until that point,” said Harsh, who was 16 then. “That was when my mindset shifted also. I was taking my O-Levels and making this kind of money. So I wondered if it made sense to keep studying.”
Maintaining close friendships a challenge
Image Credits: Harsh Dalal
Though some of his classmates were contemplating what to do after the O-Levels, Harsh had already drafted his post-secondary school plan. He also earned himself a spot at Singapore Polytechnic through the Early Admissions Exercise.
But maintaining close relationships with his peers was a challenge.
“There’s a level of commitment required for these relationships that I sometimes am not able to live up to,” he said, adding that some of his polytechnic schoolmates are aware that he is the owner of a start-up.
A shift in focus led them to develop their first software platform
Image Credits: Team Labs
With all that said, the company turned its attention on software development in 2017. Since staff were in various time zones, the team wanted to build an internal tool to communicate. This thus prompted them to create their first software platform, Xenon.
The platform helps developers to plan, create, and deliver their software products in the cloud collectively. To date, Xenon has around to 70,000 customers.
Raising funds for the company’s growth
Image Credits: CNA
Harsh sent dozens of emails to venture capital companies to generate funds for its development, but only some replied. One venture capitalist even told him that he was too young to be eligible for investment.
“I was crushed and demoralised. I wondered if it was worth struggling this much for funding,” Harsh recalled. But he is no longer troubled by such remarks after the company gained a US investment company’s interest.
Team Labs has received US$9.8 million in Series A funding since 2017 and, for tactical reasons, is currently based in San Francisco. Grand Canyon Capital, Startup Capital Ventures, and the sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation are among its shareholders.
Harsh is also the remaining co-founder out of the team of five. The others have left for various reasons including for further studies or to start new ventures. The 19-year-old will also be taking time away from his company for two years for National Service after his graduation from SP this year.
“It’s very difficult to even think about leaving everything and doing something else. The good thing is that there are other talented people at the company. The Basic Military Training at least can be a decent break that I deserve after so much time working on the company,” Harsh noted.
The revamped legislation allows top K-pop stars like BTS’s oldest member, Kim Seok-jin (commonly known as Jin), to defer their military duty until they hit 30. Jin, who turned 28 on Dec 4, 2020, will now continue to thrive at what might be the peak of his career till 2022.
For some fans like Ms Ng Kwok Ching, this is fantastic news. The 19-year-old student is a super fan of BTS and famous for her literary stories depicting the seven pop stars in various make-believe contexts.
Little celebrity recognised by her readers
Image Credits: Wattpad
A reader noticed her at her neighbourhood coffee shop while she was getting chicken rice, something she didn’t anticipate would ever occur when she wrote her first story online in 2017.
“I was very shocked because I don’t usually mention my personal Instagram account a lot. The fact that they can remember my face is very unexpected,” she commented.
The 19-year-old student who goes by her online nickname jiminfication has acquired a community of over 77,000 readers on Wattpad, a popular social storytelling site among fantasy fiction readers and authors.
Seven stories all on BTS
Image Credits: USA Today
In her spare time as a pastime, Ms Kwok had always been engaged in writing original works. So the decision to publish BTS fantasy novels was a no-brainer. It also enabled her to cultivate her artistic talents while becoming more involved as a BTS supporter.
As of Dec 31, 2020, she has written seven stories all about BTS. Typically penned in the romance genre, BTS members are put in different hypothetical scenarios with a set of new characters developed by Ms Kwok herself.
“I think I put a lot of my personal touch into these stories,” she noted. “So when you read them, it really pulls at your heartstrings.”
Her most notable story to date is entitled Rivals. Rivals is a 50-chapter piece in which a high-performing female student, competes with another student at the school played by BTS’ Jungkook.
Ms Kwok was able to generate US$1,000 (S$1,320) from multiple sources just for this particular story. On average, she received around US$250 to US$500 (S$330 to S$660) each for her other narratives.
Starting her own cosmetics business with the money
Image Credits: Loveholic Beauty
She also achieved one of her childhood dreams to launch her independent makeup company with the revenue generated.
Earlier this year, she created Loveholic Beauty. Using a capital of just US$1,000 (S$1,320), she contracted vendors that sent her formulations for a few lip gloss and eye shadow items, which she tried and checked before selecting the ones she wanted to produce for her shop. She also crafted the packaging design and did all the publicity content herself.
While Loveholic Beauty has not yet made money, Ms Kwok said she intends to keep expanding the venture and her client base.
We hope you’ve had a meaningful time spent with your loved ones over the Christmas break. As the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) announced earlier this month, Singapore will transition to phase 3 starting from Monday, 28 December.
There are also enough testing capabilities now, specifically for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, where Singapore can do over 50,000 a day. Besides, rapid antigen tests are also in place for higher-risk events.
Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan said: “We’ve gone past the 70 per cent participation rate in TraceTogether. There have been more than 2 million people who have downloaded the app and have registered and are using it.”
Changes to note in the activities from 28 December
Image Credits: NUS News
Social gatherings
The number allowed for groups will be up from the current figure of 5 to 8. This also includes households where up to 8 visitors can be present at any point in time. Sport Singapore (SportSG) also announced recently that groups of up to eight people could gather for sports activities.
Marriage solemnisation
The hosting household can invite up to eight other people, not including members of the hosting family, the solemniser, and vendors.
Capacity limits of premises
In phase 3, malls and large standalone stores will increase their capacity limit from 10 square metres per person to 8 square metres per person. Attractions with approval from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) can also increase their operating capacity to 65%.
Congregational and other worship services
With the successful pilots by selected Religious Organisations (ROs) since 3 October, all ROs can now raise their capacity to up to 250 persons. For congregational services, they have to segregate the community in zones of up to 50 persons each. ROs can also include live performance elements with proper safety management measures in place.
Live instrumental music for certain activities
Speaking of live performances, indoor marriage solemnisation, funerals, and funerary-related activities can also allow that. But there is currently a ban on wind instruments.
Regulations on live performances
Singapore residents can look forward to more indoor live performances of 250 persons in zones of up to 50 persons each in phase 3. Outdoor live performance pilots will also follow suit with the respective person and zone limits. Vendors must continue to manage performances and gathering of crowds safely.
Apart from the abovementioned activities, the MTF will continue trials on higher-risk projects such as karaoke, nightlife events, and busking & live performances in outdoor venues throughout phase 3.
“We must not become complacent and must continue to remain vigilant; otherwise, our individual and collective sacrifices over the past year will be in vain,” the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment commented on 24 December.
