Singapore Consumer Interest Group

Snapchat is fast becoming one of the most popular social media applications worldwide. It’s an enjoyable way of sending photos and videos to friends, family and followers.

Snapchat, launched in 2011, is a mobile app that allows users to take photos and videos to be posted and viewed by the user’s followers. The captured photos and videos, also called “snaps” can be edited however way you like- by adding captions, filters or doodles.

Each snap can be viewed for 10 seconds only and after which, it self-destructs. It is a convenient way of updating your friends and family without eating up your mobile phone’s memory.

For people who have heard of Snapchat but find it too complicated for them, we give you a simplified guide on joining in on the fun.

1. Download the app and sign up

Download Snapchat from Google Play (Android) or App Store (iOS) for free. Once it is successfully installed, open the app and create and account. Enter your email address, birthday and password on the space provided for and then click on the Sign Up button once you’re done.

Snapchat users have to be at least 13 years of age. You will be asked to verify your identity and personal details using your cellphone number. After keying in the number, you will then receive a six-digit confirmation code. After verifying that the code is correct, you are now ready for the next stage.

2. Adding your contacts

Your contact numbers will be imported to Snapchat to help you find people in your address book that you can follow. In the same way, other users who have your contact details on their phone can find you on Snapchat too.

You can add all contacts or you can choose people who you want to add. You can see your added contacts on the “My Friends” tab.

To add friends later on, simply tap the icon of a person with the plus sign and now, you can see all the snaps of your added contacts. You can also search for the username of the user you wish to add.

3. Set your preferences

You can adjust your settings depending on your preferences. Here you can also edit your personal information and notification settings.

4. Creating your snap

Finally, you can now create your personal snap by capturing photos or videos with your own camera. Edit and make it fun however way you like. Add a caption, a funny filter or draw some doodles on it. Choose the time limit and then send it. You also have the option of saving the snap on your phone.

5. View your contacts’ snaps

To view unopened snaps from your contacts, tick on the number displayed on the bottom-left of the screen. The number indicates the number of snaps you have yet to open.

6. Creating Stories

Like snaps, Stories are photos of videos you create and capture. The only difference is that Stories can be published on your own feed and can be seen by you or your friends.

To view stories from your friends, look for their username on the “My Friends” page and simply tap on their name to see their entire feed.

We will eventually lose interest especially if the job we are at now is not our ultimate dream. With this, we have to know when we are unhappy and know how to deal with it. Should we suck it up or should we make the big leap to a different career? The answer lies on within us.

When we are in the dilemma of losing interest and being unhappy, we do not need to be rash. Here are some things that we need to consider before making that big leap to a different career:

• Assess the cause: Before anything else, it is crucial that we find out where these feelings of unhappiness and uncertainly are coming from. The solution to our work worries lies in the cause so we have to focus on that first. Is it really the whole career that is bothering us or just the company? In many cases, the cause lies with our career direction.

• Assess the impact: So we decided to change our career but are we prepared for the consequences? Losing job is bad enough here in Singapore how much more if we willingly resign. We have to think whether we are under-qualified of over-qualified. If it is okay we start from scratch, then we have to consider the new career.

• Have a plan: Now that we are resolved to resign, we should prepare things first so we do not stay idle. For example, we need to start re-writing our resume and find a mentor in the new industry.

• Disengage: When is the right time to disengage? When everything seems right – we’ve lined up a job offer and we’ve gotten a foot in the industry.

After workout, what should we do? We should rest and relax. When we exercise, it puts the body in a state of stress thereby raising our cortisol levels. For the information of every Singaporean, cortisol is a stress hormone that can lead to mood swings, insomnia, fatigue and the likes.

We have to know the benefits of rest and relaxation after workout to our overall health. Here are the benefits:

• Injury prevention: We do not want to overuse our muscles and any other injuries. If we stop and rest for a while, we allow our muscles to recover and prevent any injuries that come with it.
• Muscle recovery: Constantly exercising without considering adequate rest can indeed hinder muscle recovery. When we exercise, the muscle fibres get too taxed thus it needs time to recover. If we allow our muscles to recover, we will surely make progress and improvements.

• Improved focus: If we want to avoid getting lethargic the next day, we have to rest well. Resting can help prevent burning out and recharge our psyche. We have to remember that mental fatigue is detrimental as physical fatigue. If we rest, it will surely improve our focus.

There will come a time that we decide to have more exercise. We have to wary because too much exercise will put our body in a state of restlessness. With this state, resting or sleeping is not easy and it can be detrimental if it progresses. The point here is to rest and not have more than our body can handle.

Happy workout!

Not all Singaporeans know this but we have this thing called ‘National Grandparents Day’. Actually, the holiday started in 1978. It was first seen in America but other countries are following the secular holiday in honour of our grandparents to whom we owe our lives. Without our grandparents, all things are not possible so it is just right that we give them honour.

Our grandparents may be ailing but it doesn’t give us an excuse not to be with them. More than ever, our grandparents need us. Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Sudan, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Hong Kong celebrates Grandparents Day. Of course, we should not only give honour to our grandparents once a year. With or without Grandparents Day, we should give importance to them.

To show our love and affection to our grandparents, here are few do-it-yourself gift ideas that we can make for our beloved grandparents. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If our grandparents know that it comes from our physical toil, they will be more honoured. So, here are some ideas worth considering:

• Picture sign: If we want our parents to keep a memento of us and our cousins, we can make a picture sign for them. We can keep this as simple as possible. For example, a cardboard with pictures and dedications from everybody will be great.
• Ornaments: If we really want our grandparents to remember us specifically, we have to make ornaments and put our names on it. For example, we can give them our handprint in a glass which can be used as a décor.
• Photo pendants: We want our grandparents to remember our faces not just our names so we can give them personalized photo pendants. A necklace with a photo pendant is not hard to make. We can consider ready-made necklaces and customize the pendants.

• Monogram picture album: A flat surfaced album is plain and boring. Now here’s an idea – why not make a monogram picture album? The album will feature different events in our lives and putting it inside the letter “B” for example.
• Book marks: For grandparents who love to read, making them a book mark is the easiest thing to do but the gesture will surely flatter them.
• Dish towels: We can make our own dish towels too. We only need to look for a plain dishtowel and decorate it by sewing or painting it.
• Family clock: To constantly remind our grandparents of time and of our presence, we can make a family clock. We just need to paste our pictures instead of numbers.

Travelling is a fun experience minus the delayed flights, long hauls and waiting hours. Well, as they say, the journey is nothing compared to the view when we are there. At least, we can take solace from it but before the sights, we really have to deal with travel and its worse.

There is a consultancy group called Skytrax that released a list of complaints that afflicted the airline industry for this year alone. It is important that travellers know the usual complaints. So, what are the complaints? Here’s the ranking according to Skytrax:

• Lost luggage: We do not want to wait in vain. Unfortunately, there will come a time that our bags are mishandled. The good news is that the cases of mishandled bags are dropping. In fact, according to SITA, air transport’s IT specialist, the cases of mishandled bags dropped 61% in 2014. This is a good thing knowing that the global passengers are continually rising. This tells us that we should not pack valuable things if we do not want to experience mishandling. We have to avoid putting jewelleries, money, laptops and other valuable things.
• Delayed flights: The second biggest complaint is delayed flights. Almost all people have episodes like this.
• Uncomfortable seats: When we have long flights, we want a comfortable seat with legroom. Unfortunately, not all airplanes offer the comfort of a first class airplane.
• Hidden charges: Some travellers feel deceived and tricked because of hidden charges. Hidden charges are one of the reasons why some travellers are backing out.

• Customer service: If the airline has a poor customer service, the word will spread thereby creating a negative image. Travellers just want friendly and approachable personnel.
• Cabin cleanliness: Airlines know the importance of a clean and sanitized environment but there are people who are not satisfied.
• Refunds: Problems with refund are also common amongst travellers.
• Booking terms and conditions: Not all travellers read the booking terms and conditions. Understanding it is difficult especially if we do not have time to read it. Complaints usually involve booking terms and conditions.
• Airline meals: Travellers know that not all airline meals are delicious.
• Change of aircraft: Travellers also complain about change of aircraft which is uncomfortable.

If we notice, we cannot do something (at least on our end) for these complaints because it is all the industry’s concerns. When we travel outside Singapore, we can only hope that it will go smoothly and comfortably as possible.

Our city of Singapore a hotbed for quality education not only in Asia but also on a global scale as well. Studying in Singapore is a good investment regardless of which university or college you may go to. So we’ve listed down some of the top universities in Singapore to help you in choosing quality education.

1. National University of Singapore

It is arguably the best university in Singapore. It ranked 24^th on the QS Global Rankings and is the top rated university in Asia. If you seek quality education in the realm of engineering and sciences, you’d rather go here as the university consistently ranks in the top 10 globally in these fields. It is also one of the best management and politics universities available worldwide. Simply put, you’ll never go wrong with the National University of Singapore.

2. Nanyang Technological University

NTU is considered to be the second best university in Singapore, being ranked 41^st in the QS Global Rankings. It is consistently ranked atop the global rankings in a lot of fields including finance, computer sciences, linguistics, biological sciences, engineering, and psychology, among other fields. Aside from those, the university continues to add more feathers on its beret as it recently opened a new School of Medicine, which now further adds to the variety of education in NTU.

3. Singapore Management University

As the name suggests, this university is one of the world’s leading institutions in providing the best education available in the fields of business, economics, finance, and accounting. It is also one of the best performing law schools in the country.

4. Singapore University of Technology and Design

It is not only fourth in most rankings but it is also Singapore’s fourth university to be established. As the name suggests, this university aims at making design the model field that would encompass all other disciplines. SUTD also has degrees and disciplines in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cars are almost essential when living in a big city like Singapore. While commuting and public transportation aren’t bad choices to go around the city, nothing beats the freedom in movement and destination that private vehicles provide. However, as we all know, buying a car won’t be easy due to a lot of factors such as expenses and similar externalities. Before you decide on buying a new car, here are some tips.

1. Set up a budget

This is the first thing you need to do. How else would you know the price range of cars you’d look into if you are unsure of how much you’re willing to spend? In setting your budget, make sure to take into consideration your other domestic expenses and see to it that not more than a quarter of your income goes into the car.

2. List down and research choices

You now have to list down some car choices that fit into your budget. Research the specifications of each choice and see which of them fits your preferences.

3. Know the pros and cons of dealership loans

Make sure to go around town first and ask several lending institutions before accepting the financing scheme at the car dealership. Some banks and lenders may actually provide lower interest rates and better payment schemes.

4. Look into the cots of owning a car

Owning a car isn’t a one-time expense. There are a lot of other things you’d have to pay for (taxes, fuel, maintenance, etc.). If you add up all of the potential expenses you might incur, you may realize that owning a car is actually beyond your budget.

5. Hands-on

Don’t be afraid to ask for a first-hand experience of driving the car. Despite knowing all the specifications and technical aspects of the car, you’ll never know how driving in it feels like unless you actually get in the driver’s seat. So you might want to ask your dealership for a test drive if they’re willing to.

Although we often try our best to remain in Zen mode, there would still be times when we’ll feel stressed, nervous and anxious – and when you’re in that frantic state, getting a good grip and calming down yourself just seems like impossible. To counter this, you just need to develop some effective and fool-proof coping mechanisms, and while some of these methods seem weird, these tricks will surely help you get over your frenzied state.

1. Eat Pickles. Lovers of dill and half-sours are favoured in this trick. Some studies showed that eating fermented foods like pickles, yogurt and sauerkraut aids in easing social phobias and neuroticism. It is also believed that these foods are rich in probiotics that favourably changes the environment in the gut, thereby lessening your chances of experiencing social anxiety.

2. Hug Yourself. Cuddling or hugging a loved one has long been proven to reduce both stress and anxiety, and the same thing also happens when you hug yourself. So every time you feel that you’re heading towards your frenzied state, simply wrap your arms around your body even just for a minute and see how easily it’ll relieve your nerves.

3. Daydream. Imagining positive scenarios – or things that make you happy – can actually be quite useful when it comes to dealing with anxiety as it puts your mind into a totally different place. Doing this will prevent you from thinking of your stressors, thus relieving your anxiety attacks. So think of your best memories instead, to keep your mind from thinking of any negative thoughts.

4. Relax. One of the easiest ways to counter anxiety is to simply close your eyes and relax. Take deep breaths, close your eyes, lay your head down and clear your mind to reset your train of thoughts and start things anew.

5. Develop a Comforting Routine. Still having problems in dealing with your anxiety problem? Then try developing a comforting routine by doing activities that involve repetitive motion, such as brushing your hair, petting your dog or knitting. Doing small repetitive movements will help in relaxing your body and your mind as well.

Calming your anxiety attacks can be quite difficult to do, but by keeping the aforementioned coping mechanisms in mind, you’ll surely learn to keep your cool and get the peaceful life that you wanted for so long.

5 Amazing Beauty Uses of Baking Soda
We all know that baking soda plays a great role in the kitchen, but what’s surprising is that this powder also has what it takes to become a major player in the beauty industry. So start stocking up on baking soda now and try any of the following beauty DIY ideas that you can do with it.

1. Deodorant. Given its natural deodorizing properties, baking soda can work wonders as a DIY natural deodorant. All you’ve got to do is mix it with water until it becomes a slightly moist paste. Once the paste is ready, simply apply it to your underarm to prevent body odour and sweat stains. If you want, you can also add in some corn starch for a better wetness-absorbing ability.

2. Clarifying Shampoo. If you happen to use several hair products, then it’s just right to give your hair the deep exfoliating treatment that it needs and this is where baking soda comes in. It may not look like it, but baking soda is also capable of cutting through product build-ups just like any clarifying shampoo. Just add a small amount of it into your shampoo, then use it as you normally would to remove the product build-ups, and give both your scalp and hair a refreshing reboot.

3. Exfoliant. Blessed with oily and acne-prone skin? Then try using baking soda to get rid of your zit problems. Just mix the powder with a bit of water in your palms and gently scrub it over your face. With this DIY exfoliant, it’s now easier for you to clear out your dead skin cells and get a youthful, glowing skin.

4. Detox Bath. A good way to rejuvenate your body after a tiring week at work is to get a good detox bath, and there’s no more natural and easier way to get one than using baking soda in your regular baths. Simply mix the powder with equal part of sea salt. If you want, you can also add in your favourite essential oil to get that spa-like indulgence.

5. Cuticle Care. If your gel manicures got your cuticles looking worse after the long wear, then a pinch of baking soda mixed with warm water is already enough to set things right again. Gently scrub the mixture into your fingertips and toes to exfoliate the dry and dead skin cells, leaving you with healthier and smoother nail beds.

Baking soda is more than just a kitchen staple. With these amazing beauty uses, you can now make the most out of the powder and get the same beautifying results that your chemical-based beauty products can provide.