Banking In Cash For CNY
So, the time has come again. The period of good cheer when people throng the banks to deposit money for the tradition of Li Chun – barely weeks after they throng the banks to withdraw money to put in their ang pows.
A timetable has already surfaced, outlining the “most auspicious” times for people born under the various Chinese zodiac signs to deposit money on Li Chun Day on Feb 3, courtesy of feng shui company Chang Consultancy.
According to the timetable, if you’re lucky enough to be born in the years of the dog, goat and pig, the relatively sane time of 11am to 12.59pm is the best time to deposit cash – you can forego your lunch hour to do it.
However, what do the rest of us do? Here’s some tips to maximise your Li Chun:
1. Stake Out The Nearest Cash Deposit Machine
For the poor souls born in the horse year, you only have the ungodly hours of 3am to 4.59am. Those who are monkeys have the period of 7am to 8.59am – better, but still before the banks open.
So these folks have little choice but to make use of cash deposit machines, which are readily available but much fewer in number than ATMs – and tougher to find if you happen to have an ulu bank – i.e. not the ubiquitous POSB/DBS.
Scour your neighbourhood for a cash deposit machine that is nearest your pad. Otherwise, find one that you think fulfills the desired criteria: shorter projected queue, comfort (preferably located in an air-conditioned space) or shelter from possible rain. Decide what your priority is: proximity, comfort or length of projected queue.
When you have chosen one, check out its vicinity – take note of any 24-hour coffee shops or supermarkets around that can provide sustenance, and restrooms for bladder relief.
2. Prepare Camping Out Essentials
Did you have the pleasurable experience of queuing up for National Day Parade tickets back before the balloting? That experience can now be put to good use!
Horses, don’t think you can waltz to your chosen cash deposit machine at 3am sharp and expect to bank in your cash immediately – depending how far in advance you arrive, you’re going to be queueing up behind hordes of fellow horses.
If you arrive too late, the queue may be so long and slow that you end up missing your auspicious time slot altogether, wasting your time.
Worse still, for horses, a deposit that is just one minute late could prove fatal – instead of 4.59am, the cash could end up going in at 5am, which is the start of the “unlucky hours”. Bad luck for the whole year!
So be prepared – arrive at the cash machine early and prepare for a long wait.
To ease your wait, you may want to bring items like: a sleeping bag, toothbrush and toothpaste, your phone, tablet and other streaming/gaming devices, and enough snacks and drinks to feed an African family for days.
3. Take Leave For The Day
Li Chun day this year is a Friday, i.e. for most it’s a working day.
For those banking in their cash in the wee hours of the morning, do you really expect to be able to be awake for work that same morning? Better to take leave for that day, especially if you operate heavy machinery.
Even for those banking during the daytime, taking a day off from work is advisable to beat the expected long queues at the bank.
Don’t be stingy with your leave; one day is worth it to boost your luck and wealth for the year right?
4. Wear The Correct Colour
To maximise your luck from Li Chun, it’s essential that you wear the colour of clothing that’s mandated for you in the timetable. Red or green – though not red and green, or you will look like Santa Claus’ elf.
Hence, make sure your wife/mother/maid/smart washing machine doesn’t wash your only red/green shirt the day before you make your expedition.
5. Make Sure You Have Cash
There’s no point doing all the preparation when you forget the most important thing: You must have cash to bank in, in the first place.
Thankfully, Li Chun this year takes place after Chinese New Year itself (Jan 28 & 29), so those who are still fortunate enough to get ang pow can bank that in.
For those who have to shoulder the burden of giving out ang pows, well – make sure you withdraw a little more before CNY, just to keep some to bank in during Li Chun.
6. Internet Banking As A Last Resort
If you can’t take leave from work, and you’re just too old and/or sickly to queue up, what can you do? Miss out on the luck and wealth that’s going around? Gaze wistfully as others gobble up all the luck?
The last resort is Internet banking. If you don’t already have it, call your bank and set it up. Then at the stroke of whatever time it is, wear the required colour, sit in front of a computer and transfer funds to your account.
People are divided on whether this counts or not; some say you need to deposit cold, hard cash, others say it would just be moving money around from one account to another, not adding money to your account.
Well, what we say is: It’s still better than nothing.
New Year Prosperity
All that said, if you just want to turn a blind eye to this Li Chun stuff, and merely work hard, invest smart and avoid extravagance so that you can have wealth in the coming year, that works too.
Wishing all a Happy Chinese New Year ahead!
Featured image from Yahoo
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
