MoneyDigest - Personal Finance, Lifestyle, Money Saving Tips

Money Is Not The Motivation For Men In “Pink-Collared” Jobs

Men who work in “pink-collared” jobs are motivated by factors that are beyond money and progression.

Teaching, nursing, social working, waitressing, and counseling are among the occupations that economists call as pink-collared jobs. These jobs are generally female-dominated over the years. In fact, in United States alone, 9 out of 10 registered nurses are women. Alongside this are other professions concentrated with women…

Image Credits: Visual data of the U.S. Department of Labor was created by IdeasFisherman

Image Credits: Data from U.S. Department of Labor, Visuals Created by IdeasFisherman

While more and more men are wearing the pink-collar, they still face the stigma associated with the so-called “feminine work”. However, the people who choose to challenge the stereotypical norms about work and success considered other factors aside from promotion and salary.

A recent study from the United Kingdom interviewed men who worked as primary school teachers and as university administrators. They were asked to discuss their career history, their institutions’ support, and their experience of success. Interestingly, their definitions of success include building friendly relationships with their colleagues and having flexible working hours. Their definition of career development was influenced with the challenges faced by their students.

For Singaporean men, passion may also be a factor to overrule the occupational assumptions. You can either be doing something you are passionate about or do something that will logically lead to the work you love. Only then will you be able to give your 100% without feeling like work is forced upon you.

Passion will certainly give you a sense of fulfillment. Research even showed that people who make regular progress toward something they care about reported not only being fulfilled but also satisfied.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)

According to economists, it is important to work towards integration of gender distribution to make the economy more efficient. This way, organizations can find the best suited candidate regardless of gender and its stereotypes.

Sources: 1, 2,3

CarCare.sg is Your One-Stop Portal for all Car-Related Requests

Buying and maintaining a car in Singapore is very expensive. In addition to fuel, road tax and insurance, cars require regular servicing and maintenance to function smoothly and avoid breaking down, which will lead to hefty repair bills.

Even with a new car, preventive maintenance is necessary to keep the vehicle at tip-top condition.

Car Servicing One-Stop Portal

Fortunately, CarCare.sg, Singapore’s first car-servicing portal, seamlessly connects both drivers and car workshops from all across the island.

If you are looking for affordable and reliable car servicing, CarCare.sg partners only with reputable workshops (each workshop is personally assessed and vetted).

All pricing is transparent and you can rest assured you’ll get your dollar’s worth when servicing, maintaining or accessorising your car – no additional fees are charged for using CarCare.sg (your only bills are your workshop bills). Best of all, CarCare.sg’s encrypted transaction system protects both workshop and customer.

Say Goodbye to Stressful Car Servicing

You can Post a Request for your customised car servicing, maintenance or accessorising needs along with their preferred budget. They will receive multiple Quotes from our partnering workshops, pick their preferred Quote and make a deposit (which is part of the total bill) to confirm the appointment.

Alternatively, you can Make a Booking by choosing from an extensive list of car services. Simply indicate your preferred timeslots and once confirmed, make a deposit (which is part of the total bill) to confirm the appointment.

CarCare.sg also provides drivers with important car servicing and maintenance tips, so that you are familiar with the maintenance needs of your car and what it will cost you. Sign up now to start using CarCare.sg right away!

And if you a good, honest and reputable car workshop, contact CarCare.sg at [email protected] to find out more about how to become a CarCare.sg partner today!

(This post is brought to you by CarCare.sg)

Creative Ways To Reinvent Your Home Without Breaking The Bank

It is 12 noon at our house and all I hear are the sounds of drills and hammers, all I see are tiles and dust, tools and materials are scattered everywhere. The entire part of the house is under renovation.

Television shows may portray home renovations as something instant and glamorous but in reality, it takes time and effort. Reinventing your home usually consists of unwanted costs and unexpected prices. So here are 4 ways to avoid it:

1. WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

One of the most efficient yet no-cost ways to reinvent your nest is to creatively reuse the things you already have. Search your house and think of the items you can rearrange. Or look for items that you can repurpose such as adding new fabric covers and paint to your kitchen chairs.

2. DO IT YOURSELF

If you and your partner or roommate have a knack for visual arts, consider getting free home inspirations from the Internet rather than hiring an interior designer.

Do an image search of specific keywords such as “modern design wall mounted shelves” to narrow down choices and save more time. Do not copy the entire layout as it may not complement the overall look of your home. Simply take the features that blend with your vision and deduct the things that do not.

3. GET PRICE LISTS FROM DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS

At some point, you will have to hire professionals to accomplish some work for you. To get the best rates, ask your peers and family if they can recommend good contractors and suppliers to you. Your real estate agent may also refer one to you.

Upon getting these contacts, ask them for estimated price lists or quotes then, compare the rates to find the most advantageous. And if you are good at communicating, you can try negotiating for better prices. Additionally, do check out this helpful list to see a guide on your total renovation cost.

4. REVAMP THE WALLS

One of the fastest ways to make your house look luxurious is by giving the walls a new look. As you contemplate on whether painting it or covering it with wallpaper, consider its interlacing factors.

Since Singapore is a tropical country, the heat can make your wallpaper curl up or experience discoloration. Keep in mind that the wallpaper you purchased a couple of years back can be discontinued as time passes. When this happens, you will have to replace your walls all over again. This makes painting more practical and less expensive.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)

5. GET A BATHROOM MIRROR WITH LIGHTS

Stop paying your contractor to fit LED lights with your bathroom mirror. You are often charged a premium for such custom service. Get a built-in bathroom mirror with lights that are available in different sizes and shapes. Most importantly, you are paying just a fraction than what the contractor is going to quote you.

Sources: 1 & 2

Budget-Friendly Skin Care Tips That Experts Recommend

Dreaming of fresh, glowing, and youthful skin without the need to spend hundreds of dollars on expert services?

Skip fancy skin treatments by rejuvenating your skin with five simple skin care tips that beauty professionals do themselves.

1. BE GENTLE

Regular shaving and cleansing can damage your skin so lower its intensity by avoiding strong soaps and by shaving cautiously. Strongly formulated soaps can remove oil from your skin. So, use mild cleansers especially with your face.

Shaving cautiously entails protecting your skin by adding another layer of lotion, shaving cream, or gel before shaving. Also, you must shave in the direction of your hair growth and not against it.

2. STAY PROTECTED

Dermatologist Lisa Garner, the former president of Women’s Dermatologic Society, often fills her palm with about half a teaspoon of sunscreen to cover her face, ears, and neck. To keep your skin youthful, stay protected by using broad-spectrum sunscreens with SPF 30 or higher.

Image Credits: instagram.com/p/31AA7yD6vf via @agoncilloanna

Image Credits: instagram.com via @agoncilloanna

Reapply every two hours particularly if you are perspiring or swimming.

3. FRESHEN UP

Consisting of 95% water, it comes as no surprise that cucumbers help freshen and moisturize the skin. Also, cucumber pulp can help improve your skin’s complexion especially if you have redness or irritation.

Just place at least two cucumber slices in a plastic bag and let it freeze in the fridge overnight. Remove it from the fridge the next morning and place two slices in your eyes for 10 minutes. Guaranteed instant freshness and less puffy eyes is in store!

4. QUIT SMOKING

One of the best ways to protect your skin is to quit smoking. According to research, smoking narrows the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin, which diminishes the blood flow. This exhausts the skin’s supply of oxygen and nutrients leading to “older-looking skin” and more wrinkles. Furthermore, smoking damages the elastin and collagen – important fibers to give your skin elasticity and strength.

5. SOOTHE IRRITATION

Dermatologist Jeanine Downie shares that frozen peas can help soothe irritated and itchy eyes. Simply put the bag of frozen peas on your eyelids for about five minutes.

The coldness of these veggies can help reduce the swelling. Compared with ice packs, frozen peas easily follows the shape of your eyes and leads to a quicker relaxing effect.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1 & 2

How To Deal With The Infectious Workplace Bullies

Whether you are wrongfully accused or verbally abused by your boss or colleagues, workplace incivility shall be treated with maximum seriousness.

Surprisingly, statistics have shown that 1 in 4 Singaporeans have suffered from workplace bullying with the top aggressors being their bosses (62%) and their clients (21%). To make matters worse, Singapore was one of the few countries with the highest acceptance of workplace bullying (alongside Hong Kong and Taiwan).

With high acceptance for this issue, it only makes sense that fewer people address matters associated with it. Thus, the unacceptable behavior prevails.

A study that surveyed 6,000 people in Sweden showed that being subjected to “rudeness” spreads if the workplace environment did nothing about it. Rudeness in this context is defined as a way of violating the norm of mutual respect. For example, it can be as petty as excluding someone from the informed circle or as greater as taking credits for the work of others. As people often imitate and support the behavior of the dominant, there is a risk that rudeness will spread like wildfire and later on lead to bullying.

This is why it is important to identify and address bullying as it happens.

Here are 3 ways you can deal with it:

1. IDENTIFY WORKPLACE BULLYING

Bullying causes physical deterioration in work performance as well mental distress. It is generally categorized into three, namely:

a. name calling, malicious teasing, or pranks
b. sabotaging the colleagues performance (e.g.,spreading rumors)
c. forcing, causing self-imposed exclusion, or intimidation

Identification of workplace bullying is vital as some organizations may not want to acknowledge its existence while some people may not recognize that it is already happening to them.

2. SPEAK UP MORE

Sometimes the person who bullies you is your boss himself/herself. This is called an abuse of power. In our Asian context, there is an underlying culture of not defying the authorities and simply complaining about the issue in our smaller circles. As a result, any behavior from the boss is considered as acceptable and rarely excessive. However, you can only tolerate such behavior to a certain extent.

Once you have recognize that inappropriate behavior occurs, it is time to talk to the H.R. department or your boss about it. Steps to disclosing bullying shall include stating the observable behavior, describing its subjective impact, and validating the nature of the problem.

3. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

If all else fails, you can always turn to the law. In November 2014, the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 together with 2 accompanying subsidiary legislation are equipped to protect the rights of every working individual.

It states that:

“No person shall, with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person, by any means —

a. use any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior; or
b. make any threatening, abusive or insulting communication, thereby causing that other person or any other person harassment, alarm or distress”

Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)

More importantly, this Act covers the online world too. So you must not undermine cyber-bullying!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4,& 5

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