‘Use your 9-to-5 to fund your 5-to-9’: Singaporeans share advice on work and personal goals

SINGAPORE: In life, the best advice could not only be found in a guidebook. Some of the best ways on how to live life to the fullest comes from people’s own experiences—from someone who has figured out a faster and smarter route, a more practical way to save money, or even those who have discovered small habits that make daily life a bit easier.

An interesting discussion was started on Reddit when a Singaporean asked about some of the unpopular tips that have helped people in their lives, whether for work, finances, or other things that many Singaporeans don’t know about.

Many netizens shared their thoughts, opinions, and own experiences in the comments section. One claimed that one of the skills that he/she has learned that helped is that being likeable is useful, for everybody loves a person they can get along with. 

However, being kind and likeable has its limitations, as one admitted: "Don't need to go out of your way to be nice to people at work, or particularly likeable. You won’t stay there forever and nobody will stay in contact with you after that employment stint.” 

One more netizen admitted: “Work is work. If you make friends along the way, kudos to you. If not, don’t assume everyone is nice to you.” 

Still in the context of the workplace, a netizen stated that working hard won’t bring a person far, but working smart does.

Another netizen declared that at work, it is okay to have alone time, and stated: “It’s ok if u have to eat lunch urself, solo, without joining ur work colleagues. Ur lunch time is ur own me-time, to decompress, to get away just for a while without the unnecessary chatter n office politics etc.” 

Furthermore, a netizen also suggested that one should use their salary from their 9-5 jobs to fund their 5-9, and claimed, “Don’t waste time doom scrolling, playing games, watching drama, assuming life's gonna be just fine. When you're not progressing, many are overtaking.” 

In terms of health, a netizen shared: “Choose what you eat wisely: choose nutritious food, don’t eat too much junk food; your health and body will suffer in the long run.”

On the other hand, some netizens also shared their experiences about having their own space before even getting married, where one stated: “Moving out of the parent ’ home before marriage will save you lots of future expenses on therapy!” 

“Be selfish and mind your own business,” a comment concluded. 

At the end of the day, this discussion highlighted that there is no right way to live in Singapore—it really depends on the person. It is important to remember that what helps one person may not help another, but many of the tips reminded everyone to be more careful with their time, money, relationships and health.