Fitness for new moms

Being a new mom comes with its happiness and joys. But this phase is tough too. Your body has undergone a lot of changes and adapting and accepting these changes can get on your nerves. It’s a part of motherhood. Your child is the centre of your attention, which is perfectly fine. But this doesn’t mean you neglect yourself! You can start taking baby steps towards a fit body, ensuring you don’t exert yourself too much. We have come up with a few tips to help you knock off those extra kilos:

Program short workouts:
You very well know your little infant is not going to let you spare time for yourself! But even in this, you can quickly slip in workouts now and then by bringing to use those few spare minutes! You can begin with warming up your body, and slowly moving to lunges, push-ups, planks and other strengthening exercises. Even a 10-minute mini workout session thrice a day will do wonders!

Don’t starve yourself:

food

You’ve been eating for “two” and suddenly cutting down to “half” won’t make any sense! You should eat everything your body requires because you’re in that stage where even though you have put on a lot of weight, your body needs a lot of energy too. And depriving yourself of this will make you weaker and exhausted. Take in everything that your body needs to be a healthy and happy new mum!

Use your baby as a prop:

Well, your kiddo may not let you spare even those 10 minutes for yourself – what do you do then? Exercise along with your baby! There are numerous exercises which you can perform using your baby as a prop. There are tonnes of videos out there that suggest some very safe (for both baby and you) and effective exercises that you can follow on a daily basis.

Allow your body to heal:
While doing these exercises, you need to keep a watch on your body. There is no requirement to push yourself beyond a limit – you have to take it easy. Your body needs time to heal and pushing it over the edge will not help. Start slowly and steadily, watch your body for any changes or reactions. You can consult your doctor before starting off with any new regime. Remember – one step at a time!

Following these few tips will help you get fit and fab in no time. You may not notice any changes quickly, so you have to keep your patience and keep doing your daily workout. Persistent efforts will achieve desired results. Good luck!!

Overview of the Financial Sector

Not everyone has common sense when it comes to financing. Some people live like a king for a day at payday and like a pauper for the rest of the month. It all boils down to mismanagement of finances. Many people overspend on entertainment or expensive food choices. Some might have addictive habits like overspending on fashion or hobbies.

Investing the time to manage your money more effectively can help you keep track of expenditures and boost savings. The extra money might pay off some of your debts or pay for your next vacation or even top up your pension fund. Here are some tips on how to manage your money better and how to set up a budget.

One of the first things everyone needs to do is to work out a budget. A budget will give you an idea of the income that you generate and what you will pay. The benefits of setting up a budget are that you will be able to identify areas where you will be able to save cash. You will less likely get caught up in debt or by unexpected costs. If you can get good at keeping a budget, you will get an excellent credit rating which means you will have a good report with your financial institutions. You might even qualify for a home or car loan.

Getting started:

Plan well and work out how much you spend on utility bills, household or living costs, food, transport, and entertainment. You can save all this information on paper or set up a budget by using a spreadsheet. After calculating how much you need to spend. You subtract this amount from your income amount. If you discovered that your spending exceeds your income, you need to decide where you can cut back some of that expenditures. It might be cutting back on takeaways, or just cancelling a membership.

finance overview

Talk to your family, decide on ways to save money. You can save money on household costs. If you are spending too much on electricity, invest in a gas stove. Put on unnecessary appliances. Save water by using the used dishwater or bathwater in your garden.

Life can take you by surprise. Things can change, utility costs can go higher, or you might get a salary increase so be flexible. Review your budget often every couple of months.

Be wise to pay off your loans and credit cards.  Pay those that charge the highest interest rates first. Never break the terms of your agreements.

Become motivated to save and set a goal for you and your family. Emergencies can happen, and it would be wise to have a little money to fall back on in such times. Build up an emergency fund and invest in a savings account. Manage your money well.

 

Things to keep in mind while taking a loan

Loans are a perfect system of financing – they help us reach our dreams which we otherwise feel are unreachable. And while loans may be the best option to finance big purchases, there are some things you need to keep in mind. Let’s have a look :

Type of the loan:
There are two categories of loans – one with fixed interest and the other with floating interest. Fixed interest won’t give you the benefit that floating interest gives you when the interest rates are slashed. At the same time, floating interest loan won’t give you the stability that fixed interest provides – you might end up paying more too. So study the market conditions and weigh your options carefully.

Terms and conditions:
Every financing institution has rules of its own. You have to be very careful when it comes to the fine print – give it a thorough and detailed read. Skipping even one condition may prove to be a costly affair later.

Bargain on the rate:
Banks give you the flexibility to bargain with the interest rates. It’s entirely in their control to increase or reduce interest rates to a certain extent. Make use of that long-term loyal customer relationship you have had with the bank for a number of years and try to strike the best deal.

Apply for a loan at month-ends:

Loan

Banks have specific targets to achieve, and you may get the upper hand if you apply at month ends. There is a high probability of you getting a better deal applying at this time of the month.

Get your calculations right:
You need to clearly know your capacity to repay the loan and to know this; you need to have your calculations in place. Take help if required, but know what part of your salary will be going into repaying the loan. Keeping this apart, you also have to consider the other running expenses of your household.

Approach your bank first:
This may give you the benefit of minimum documentation and some other waivers too. If things don’t work out with your bank, you can opt for some other bank also. You even have the option of switching the lenders. You need not stick to the same lending bank for the entire period of the loan; you can quickly switch banks. And it doesn’t cost you a lot; only processing fees has to be taken care of.

Loans require carefully made, informed decisions – we hope these tips helped!