Singapore was crowned the healthiest country in the world in 2012 by Bloomberg and has been ranked among the top 10 healthiest countries in the world in 2015 by 24/7 Wall St. Singapore’s obesity rate standing at 6.2% is among the lower rates globally, and exceptionally low compared to its healthiest counterparts. So is there a magic formula? Probably not. Must you necessarily break the bank to attain an ideal weight? Absolutely not! In fact, beverages laden with more calories tend to be pricier than the low-calorie counterparts!
According to the Institute of Medicine, an adequate intake (AI) of fluid for men is roughly about 13 cups (3 liters) a day while that of the women is about 9 cups (2.2 liters). Consequently, the effective management of one’s fluid intake would significantly affect one’s body weight. Therefore, here is a list of dos and don’ts that may help you to shed some extra flab and achieve your desired weight using natural yet economical ways. However, do consume the liquids on the side of the dos in moderation as there may be unwanted side effects.
Do you want to share your beautiful memories captured on portraits but think that it needs extra filters or finishing touches? Fret not because many Photo Editing Apps that have near-professional quality are available for free on iTunes and Google Play Store. Check these 4 Free Photo Editing Apps to add the personal glamour to your photos…
Being an avid fan of Instagram, I can attest to seeing an abundance of VSCOCam and VSCO hash tags. What makes this photo-editing app so popular? For starters, it gives you a wide range of filters and a complete set of editing tools. The filters are coded in the format of letter and number such as X1, G3, B1, and my favorite C1. Its editing tools include contrast, brightness, fade, tint, crop, rotate, highlights, shadows, sharpness, and so much more. Certainly, these tools may be as efficient as paid studio editing! Not bad for something that is free. Lastly, what separates VSCO Cam from the most is that they have a community where you can share your portraits.
If you own a Smartphone that operates on Windows then, this is one of the best editors you will meet! Photo Editor by Aviary includes a comprehensive set of basic editing tools such as crop and rotate as well as a set of lovely filters such as Arizona and Lucky. Unique features of this app include adding drawings, stickers, and text.
Bring out your creative side with the Repix app. One of the editor’s choices, Repix allows you to artistically edit your photos by using filters, frames, and adjustment tools. Special effects can be added to your portrait by using the brushes. Furthermore, it supports the motion of Samsung’s S-Pen.
Google, one of the smartest companies in our generation, is the proud owner of the Snapseed app. Snapseed allows its users to beautify their photos by applying filters and tools. After adding images, select manual tuning to enable swiping upwards for increase in value or downwards for decrease in value. Value is in terms of several variables such as saturation and contrast. It is very user-friendly, especially for beginners!
Relative to many other industries, the luxury business puts up little fight to preserve its sheen throughout history as it symbolizes prestige, exclusivity and wealth. As each human being strives to establish their personal identity and social status, the luxury sector flourishes by expediting this process of differentiation and labeling. This phenomenon is increasingly reinforced by the awakened economic giant, China, where Goldman Sachs had reported that it will become the top consumer of luxury goods globally by 2015.
However, as the rising middle classes in Asia embark on a buying binge, “luxury” inevitably loses its social appeal while such extravagant buying behavior soon spirals into a cycle of irrationality and wastefulness. Therefore, it is often prudent to understand the economics of a luxury item before splurging profligately on it.
The diagram shown below is a simple decision-making guide that may be useful for both existing and potential luxury seekers.
Have you heard of the saying: “out with the old and in with the new”? If you have and you strongly believe in it then, let me change your mind with these vintage or old things that you can still reuse:
1. CLOTHES
You can recycle your gorgeously patterned old clothes by sewing it into pillowcases or teapot covers. On the other hand, you can accept mint condition hand-me-downs from family and friends especially those who have baby clothes or infant toys. Do not be too picky. These said items are not utilized a lot since babies grow significantly every day anyway.
2. PIECES OF FURNITURE
There are plenty of used pieces of furniture that you can greatly score online. Try searching for drawers, tables, chairs, and closets at singapore.craigslist.com.sg or carousell.com.
Alternatively, do not be shy to ask your friends or neighbors if they are giving away any pre-owned furniture. Be careful or do avoid the articles with fabric (e.g., couch) to prevent getting bed bugs into your home.
3. DESIGNER BAGS
Pre-loved bags that long-lived across time can be found in online shops too! With prices that are up to 80% lower than the retail price, how can you resist an online bargain deal? Start with the trusted retail websites such as madammilan.com.sg and reebonz.com.sg.
What is special about these vintage bags is that they give a one-of-a-kind twist in the modern fashion.
4. CARRIER BAGS
Give your carrier bags a chance by recycling them! Plastic bags can be reused at home as the bin bags around the flat while paper bags make as a simple wrapping paper.
5. BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Save more money by purchasing secondhand books or magazines that still look practically new. Start with purchasing good condition used books at Evernew Bookstore, Bras Basah Complex. Evernew Bookstore has a full collection of non-fiction books, fiction books, textbooks, children’s books, and so much more.
Image Credits: Sharon & Nikki McCutcheon via Flickr with Creative Commons License
Another option of browsing books and magazines would not cost you a thing! Go to your neighborhood public library and flip through a nice book or two.
Online shopping is finally catching up in Asia, and with it the use of credit cards. Credit cards are one of the best ways to get discounts and rewards. You can even compare credit cards in Singapore to find the best one for you.
However, using a credit card for online shopping brings about the danger of identity theft. Here’s how to prevent your credit card account from getting into the wrong hands:
Avoid Storing Your Credit Card Information
Often, what gets stolen is not your card details but your access to a particular website. If your credit card details are saved on this web account, the thief can then use it to make purchases. For example:
You sign up for an account with an online shopping site (this can range from the App store on your tablet to a retailer’s online store). You are asked to key in your credit card details, which are then automatically saved for your convenience. That way, you won’t have to key it in again on your next purchase.
That sounds like a good idea. But should someone gain access to your shopping account, they may then be able to buy using your credit card, and send the goods to an alternate location (which may very well be in a different country).
To prevent this, avoid storing the credit card information on your shopping accounts. It may be inconvenient, but it’s safer. It also helps in stopping impulse purchases.
Look for Security Signs
Look for the “secure website” logo, a little padlock, which normally appears at the bottom of the browser window. A legitimate e-commerce site should also begin with http://. If the beginning of the address says anything else, you should navigate away and avoid purchases.
You should also observe corporate and brand logos carefully–a common trick is to set up a fake website that vaguely resembles the real thing. Any information you key in is then sent to the identity thief who built the site.
When in doubt, Google the website you are making purchases from. Look for any negative reviews or scam warnings.
Never Pay for Anything by E-Mailing Your Bank Account or Credit Card Details
No legitimate payment portal will require you to e-mail your bank account or credit card numbers. If you receive this request, you are almost assuredly on a scam website. Not only should you navigate away, you should have your computer brought to an expert and scanned for spyware.
Be Stingy with Your Personal Details, However Trivial You Think It Is
Identity thieves can gain access to your computer with nothing more than your NRIC number, address, and phone number. A common way to get this is through scam dating sites–you think you’re filling in details for a dating profile, but you’re really just feeding details to a thief who’s slowly sniffing out your credit card numbers.
Note that, once your credit card number is stolen, chasing down the site owners (an almost impossible task) is useless. These websites often do not use your card information themselves, but sell your data to identity thieves via onion sites.
Call Your Friends Directly if You Get Weird E-Mails From Them
A common tactic is to hack someone’s computer, and then e-mail their contacts to ask for money for an “emergency”.
If your friend’s computer has been hacked, for example, you might get a strange request asking you to send your credit card details because she is trapped in a foreign country, is in an accident, will pay you back tonight, etc.
Call your friend to verify this, and if you can’t get through, seek confirmation from her family or other acquaintances. Do not send your credit card details. If you really need to send money urgently, insist on doing in cash and in person (e.g. no purchasing of iTunes cards or online game currency for transfers.)
Do Not Store or Write Down Your Credit Card Details
There is seldom a good reason to write down your credit card details, or to store them in your phone, hard drive, etc.
If you make a habit of doing this, even a lost phone or discarded computer (on which you may have forgotten to delete the file) can give away your credit card access. It is quite common for identity thieves to acquire “junk” machines and search intact hard drives, in the hopes of coming across sensitive financial information.
Every place on which you record your credit card details gives identity thieves another point of access.
Ultimately, credit cards are a safe, convenient form of payment. With them, you can get a range of money saving benefits–you’ll just have to be careful on how and where you use them.
How to compare credit cards to get the best? There are price comparison sites for credit cards that allow you to find the most suitable card for you.
