The tides are rapidly changing and in this unstable economy, everyone — regardless of social standing and class — must adapt to survive.
Adapting can be extremely challenging especially when the situation is an economic recession in a country with more problems than just the economy.
Here are some things to cut down on in order to make it out of this recession financially sane.
Generator usage
It’s bad enough the economy is crumbling faster than a cookie but how many Nigerians can recall a lenghty spell of uninterrupted power supply.
Our standby household generators have for years, been doing what the government cannot do for us.
Now that the situation is getting dire, generator usage should be restricted to specific hours and to take care of necessities.
Comfort can wait till recession is over and we are out of troubled waters.
Eating out
Anyone who actually cooks will know that restaurants serve overpriced, often unsatisfying food.
So instead of taking your hard earned money to pay for ‘fancy’ food, go to the market, buy raw food and head to the kitchen.
You’ll save so much money.
Driving walkable distances
The cost of fuel is higher than it has ever been in Nigeria’s history, so why not kill two birds with one stone while going for short errands.
Take a walk or go for a run while running your errand. Your body and pockets will thank you.
Bulk buying of groceries
Constant grocery shopping can be such a chore so we tend to buy in bulk.
However, a disadvantage of bulk buying is that some goods may expire or spoil before you get around to using them, hence cut your grocery shopping list down to necessities.
Get what you need and not what you think you will need.
New clothes and shoes
Your old clothes are perfectly fine!
Oh you think people have noticed you’ve had that shirt for a while? Frankly, it’s nobody’s business.
As long as your clothes are not obviously tattered, there is no use going cloth shopping every week to impress people and depress your bank account.
Hanging out
We all love spending quality time with friends and family but instead of going someplace where you’ll spend more than you budgeted for (more often than not), invite them to your house and plan activities everyone can participate in.
You’ll create a stronger bond and more lasting activities while saving money.
Vacations abroad
Also known as “the king of excesses”, vacationing abroad is officially a luxury at this point in time.
Why go and spend your hard earned ‘naira’ in a foreign country contributing to the growth of their economy while leaving yours in the backseat.
Stay at home!
DSTV subscription
You don’t need to pay for all the channels. It’s not a competition.
You hardly ever watch more than 15 of the channels on the premium package, so why the bother?
The smallest bouquet has news channels for the grown-ups and cartoons for the kids.
Water as opposed to juice and sodas
Some people think there is an award for living lavish. News flash: there isn’t.
Most of these processed drinks you desire to gulp down your throat with every meal are not even good for your health and they definitely cost more than water. Drink water, you’ll live longer.
Unnecessary phone calls
Restrict your airtime to calls with purpose (work, business).
There’s no need to ask your friend what he/she is eating or staying on a call for an hour discussing what nail polish color to wear to an event.
There are tons of instant messaging services. Embrace them.
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