Ever have that experience of feeling lethargic after having your lunch? According to a Business Insider article, this is very normal. It manifests that the body clock is working properly and the body is reaction well to the food we just ate.

However, do not think that you’ll not feel sluggish if you skip lunch. A slump in your mood during the afternoon is pretty normal. Experts report that the body will want to take a rest seven hours after being woken up.

The circadian rhythm, or also known as the body’s 24-hour cycle is at its resting phase during the afternoon. Another body cycle that converges with the circadian rhythm is the homeostatic, the cycle that measures the amount of time a person spends conscious. This cycle also pushes the body to take a rest.

When we are in school or at work however, we cannot afford to rest whenever we feel like it. We give you simple tips to fight off sluggishness

• Eat at the right time.

Not eating during regular times can wreck a havoc to one’s circadian rhythm. Eating on the right time consistently prevent the loss of energy that can worsen sleepiness. Follow a regular eating pattern to keep alert daily.

• Avoid sugary foods.

Stocking up on sweet snacks to have that rush of energy and alertness? This move is more counterproductive. Sugar consumption is known to give us a burst of energy for the day. Unfortunately, the effects are only temporary. After that sudden burst of energy, you will immediately crash and be sleepier than before. Instead of indulging in sweets, have regular healthy snacks prepared at home.

• Coffee break timing is also important.

Coffee breaks are a workplace staple situation. The caffeine helps us feel alert when we encounter drowsiness. The body naturally produces cortisol in order for us to be awake and alert at specific times of the day. Observe when these periods are and avoid taking caffeine during these times. Instead, focus on these time sequence: 9:30 am – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm.

• Stay fit and work out.

If your office has an indoor gym, then you are lucky. Take advantage of this added perk and work out routinely. Do aerobic exercises to fight off sleepiness and boost your work capacity. Every time you feel lethargic, hit the gym. If you simply have no time to go to the gym, do some good stretches at your desk or simply take a walk.

The rise of online shops has made the lives of more Singaporeans easy and more convenient. If we do not want to go out and deal with the long queue at the counter area, online shopping is definitely for us. No matter the benefit of online shops, there is always peril looming around.

According to some research, online shoppers have higher tendency to spend at least 40% more than their offline counterparts. Knowing this, we should avoid online shopping no matter how pleasing it looks like. Another peril is the probability if buyer’s remorse is higher with online shoppers. Why? In online shopping, we merely see the products and trust in the picture. If we receive it and it is not quite we expected, the remorse is higher compared to a purchase that we touched with our own hands.

Now that we know the perils, we have to shop smart so we do not have regrets at the end of the day and waste our precious money. Here are some tips on staying smart when it comes to online shopping:

• Search for better deals: More than stores in the mall, we have aplenty of choices when we consider online shops. This should give us a leeway to decide which store or deal is better. The only thing that we should do is allot time and make a research. If we think products are cheap in a specific store, we have to look for another one and maybe prices there are cheaper.

• Limit our purchases: Limiting our purchases is not as tedious as counting the calories we intake. Limiting purchases is easy if we set an amount and stick to it. The important thing here to note is sticking to our plan. We should limit purchases say $200 a month?
• Review our cart: Before ticking the “checkout” button, we have to be sure of our purchases. We should not waste money. When making the order, no one should rush us because once we “checkout” we cannot take it back.
• Read the return policy: Many Singaporeans ignore the return policy because it is lengthy but when we make a mistake, no matter the length, we will read the whole article but then it is too late since we cannot take back our money.
• Memorize our sizes: To avoid returning a product and wasting money, we have to memorize our sizes and do not rely on our instincts.

Whether we consider online shopping or not, we have to manage our expenses and avoid splurging if we do not want to go broke soon.

We work hard to ensure that we will have a financially secure future not only for us but also for our children. Unfortunately, ensuring a financially secure future is very challenging and it cannot be perfected right away. No matter how difficult it is, it is still possible. We only need discipline and our greatest resolve to make things happen.

If at this moment we acknowledge that we need to improve our finances and eventually walk our way to a financially secure future, we are one step closer to our goal. It starts from there but we still need to know few things to be successful and live comfortably here in Singapore in the future. Here are some secrets that should be revealed so we can all live in financial independence:

• Assess our monthly expenses: Before saving, we need to ascertain our monthly expenses first. We have to know how much of our monthly income go to our expenses. This simple act can give us a picture of things that are necessary and are not. We can be successfully in this step by categorizing our “wants” and “needs”. Remember that “needs” are things that we cannot live without and “wants” are things that we can do without for a long time.
• Think ahead: To avoid another financial pitfall, we should think ahead and prepare for it. Example, we can get a health insurance. It eases us to think that whatever the future holds, we are ready for it.
• The percentage: Whenever we receive our monthly salary, we have to determine the percentage of our savings whether it is 10%, 20% or 50%. We have to decide a sensible amount for no matter how small it is, it can make a difference. If we do not want to save it in a bank, we can consider other investments.

• Be out of debts: Credit cards are popular here in Singapore. There is nothing wrong with that but we have to determine when it is too much. We should be out of debts if we want to live comfortably and avoid the anxieties of creditors and collectors knocking on our doors.
• The “spend less” routine: If there is a less expensive alternative, we should consider it by all means.
• Track it: There is nothing wrong with bringing a journal and listing all the expenses for the day this way we will know where our money went. It will also ease us.

Knowing how to spend and save successfully is the trick to financial independence. Hopefully we will now know what to undertake.