8 Ways to Keep Your Family on a Budget During this Economic Recession

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Eyinade Eweje

From scarcity and hike in tomatoes and fuel prices, to how ‘dollars don cost’. These seem to be the typical justifications business owners give these days, when explaining why consumers must pay higher-than-usual fees for everyday commodities and services.

The current economic recession in Nigeria keeps biting harder, especially for those with low incomes.

Here are a few survival tips to keep your family afloat during these difficult times:

1. Shop Smart! Cheap doesn’t hurt

Yeah, I know all that talk about some brands being classier than others can make it difficult to buy cheaper, more generic brands. But this is no time to try to keep up with the Joneses! Now is the time to save money however you can.

From groceries, to clothes, bags, shoes, and school items, opt for alternative brands that are way cheaper but offer good value for money. You’d be amazed how much that helps you save up.

In addition, look for cheap deals and discounts online and on social media. Merchants are constantly trying to attract customers by offering reduced prices on certain products. You just have to constantly be in the look out for these promos.

2. Be Disciplined

This is no time to splurge. This period calls for a lot more discipline to curb impulsive buying. So, draw a budget, highlighting your family’s expenses in detail, strike out what’s not important or can be done without and control your impulses subsequently. Except for some important impromptu expenses that may come up, this helps you spend on what’s truly important and save funds.

3. Mums, Opt for Braids

Braids are in, and a lot of top celebrities around the world are giving us braid goals. The good thing is the cost won’t hurt your bank account like that Brazilian hair probably would, and you’d look just as fly, or even more, depending on your choice of style.

4. Homemade Food

Ditch buying those overpriced smoothies, small chops and grilled chicken every day, and you would be amazed at how much you’d save in a month – extra money you can allocate towards meeting other pressing needs.

Try as much as you can to minimize eating out as this often costs more money in the long run and is not as wholesome as homemade food.

To cushion the effect of the price hike in tomatoes, if you can, cook less stews and opt more for soups that require little or no tomatoes.

A MIM fan, Haishat Olufadi Ahmed also recommends using dry tomatoes. According to her, N150 worth soaked in hot water is quite plenty. This can be grinded with ‘tatase’, ‘sombo’, ‘rodo’ and onions, though the stew may turn out a bit dark.

5. Buy in Bulk

This is always way cheaper than buying in units. You and a few friends can routinely arrange to buy large quantities of groceries, a bag of rice, large basket of tomatoes, gallon or two of palm oil, large number of onions, yam, potatoes, chicken, fish, and so on, and then share the cost.

Make sure a friend with very good bargaining power handles all the buying.

6. Location Counts

This is no time to shop at luxury shops where you pay twice the market price or more.

7. See other ways to save costs

Recharge your prepaid meter less by buying low energy bulbs and switching off all appliances and lights that are not in use.

To reduce expenses on fuel, you can car pool with your friends for your kids’ school run. In addition, drive occasionally and instead, join a colleague who leaves close by to and from work.

You should also draw a weekly budget for generator fuel use and stick to it. A rechargeable fan may help with the heat on nights the generator is not on.

In addition, look through expenses in view – the new car, Mac, iphone, home makeover, change of wardrobe, luxury trip or that lavish birthday party and see if you would want to have a rethink on some of them to save up funds for the rainy days ahead.

8. See how you can earn more

Finally, do you have a skill that can earn you some more money? However little the returns may be, there’s no better time to put that skill to good use than now.

Photo credit: money.usnews