With inflation rate soaring, petrol pump prices spiking and general cost of living hitting the roof top, many families and households are at their wits end on how to make ends meet and mitigate their financial woes.
Households are groaning under the crushing pressure of ever increasing energy bills, and the basic necessities of life; from high rents to surging school fees, transportation fares, clothing, food prices, culminating to a big jump in how much we pay for basically everything. This puts a lot of strain, not only in our pockets but in people’s mental health.
But, the question is: how do we find ways of meeting our needs with the ever dwindling resources at our disposal and still balance our budget and save enough for the rainy day?
For the average family in Nigeria, today survival is a herculean task. In a country with a very high rate of unemployment, living has become a nightmare. With little or no idea of how and where the next meal will come from, many have resorted to all kinds of activities – good or bad- to ensure that they live. It has become a rat race; survival of the fittest, leading to a virtual breakdown in law and order while the government pretends not to see or appear helpless. People have adopted the mantra and psychology of “everyman for himself, God for us all.” A lot more people eat from hand to mouth with no thought for the future.
Amid the gloomy picture, some very ingenuous persons have devised better and legitimate means of wading through the bad times; that is for those lucky enough to have any source of livelihood with seemingly regular incomes.
These are some of the ways they have learnt to get by:
Some use whatever formal or informal means to find out where prices of certain goods are lowest.
Others browse the net or go through newspapers or sales manuals to help them work out where a company is organizing a promo of some of its products and where some companies offer discounts or products up for sale. Some of these low price mechanisms come occasionally during festive seasons; such as Christmas celebrations, Easter, Father’s and Mother’s day celebrations, when a company is launching a new product or repackaging old ones etc. At events like this, consumers; are guaranteed of low prices and of course they can be sure to expect some reasonable and sizeable discounts in the process.
If you’re always buying the leading brands at the supermarket, give some thought to some less known alternative brands. Often similar products are made at the same factories and while they might not taste exactly the same, the money saved might be incentive enough to make the change.
You could also look to change supermarkets and go to different market completely, with some of the discounters offering much lower prices than you’re used to.
Some of the biggest costs every month are ones we think we can’t go without— our mobile phone bills, DSTV, etc. As long as you are out of contract you should be able to downgrade and pay less. If possible, consider scrapping pay TV subscription, even if it is for a short time.
Mobile phone data is one of the worst here. Check your account online to see how much you actually use each month and choose a SIM which is closest to that.
Take an hour to have a look at what’s lurking at the back of cupboards around your home. There could be clothes, food and gadgets that you’ve forgotten about but are all perfectly good to use—and they might mean you don’t need to buy anything new. Even items that need some TLC could prove cheaper to mend than replace.
Take the same approach to your wallet. Search for gift cards, credit on bills and old accounts that could provide some fresh spending money.
“Take an hour to have a look at what’s lurking at the back of cupboards around your home”
Find out if you are entitled to any help. If your children are a bit grown, get them to do some chores around the house and save yourself money that would have otherwise gone for a paid help. If the children are away from school, and you and your spouse are both very busy during the week, put your heads together at the weekend to do house chores. This helps sometimes to rekindle the romance and put a spike in your love life.
Spend nothing. Challenge yourself to have a few zero spending days every month. It is cheaper to cook your own food at home, if you can spare the time. Plan meals shun take outs. This way, you will be surprised at how much money you can save.
Cut down on things you do not need, where you can. If everything is more expensive, then it stands to reason that you’ll probably also need to cut back in places. When you’re shopping, consider whether the item is a “need” or a “want”. If you don’t need it then it might be time to give it a miss—or look for a cheaper alternative.
Turn your clutter into cash. Have a clear out and sell stuff you no longer use.
Always ensure that you have cash available for the essentials like food, rent, school fees, petrol for the car, pay your health insurance, electricity bills and phone bills. It is safer to put these needs ahead of any other that might be considered a luxury. You don’t need to drop all your luxuries, however, unless you can’t afford them of course. But spending less on these will mean you have more cash available for the essentials like food and heating.
More importantly, Cut your energy, gas and phone bills.
These are some very practical ways you can stay on top of your finances in these trying times.