The high cost of living is a first indicator of a high-inflationary economy. The inflation affects prices of life necessities: food, clothing and more. This makes survival more difficult for majority of the populace who fall below certain class. Well, dear reader, I would like to reassure you that survival is not impossible. How's that?
- High cost of food items
First, let's look at what characterise and high-inflationary economy, as witnessed in Nigeria today.
High Inflation: Of course, high inflation rate is the correct ticker of some imbalances in the economy. These imbalances could be due to bad past administration, bad monetary and fiscal policies and more.
High Prices: As an effect of high inflation, the cost/price of virtually everything skyrocket. From goods to services, you see price increase. In Nigeria, the price of bag of rice was witnessed to go from N14,500 to about N75,000. How about a bag of cement?
Crime Rate: Due to the resultant hardship, people become more desperate to survive. Criminals take advantage of the new motivation to get money by all means possible. Robberies, kidnapping, frauds are all on the rise.
Negative Psychology: During tough times, many people become impacted psychologically negatively. Some give up, some become depressed. Some even commit suicide or do unspeakable things.
Business Failure: Due to high cost of running and lowered buying power of the people, businesses find it hard to survive. Many businesses close down. I've seen hotels shut their doors due to cost of diesel, lack of electricity and ultimately low patronage.
The above list is far from exhaustive.
Now, let's look at practical ways you can survive and even thrive as an individual or family unit during these trying times.
Surviving and Thriving - 7 Practical Strategies
Survival during these tough times won't be very easy, but it is possible. As will be indicated, the key is to adapt quickly. That adaptation is the key ingredient that will impact all areas touched.
1. Perform Immediate Self Assessment
This is the first and most important step you must take as you read this article. Do a Financial and economic self-diagnosis to ascertain your economic state of health. Your assessment should indicate your financial and income status: employed? In debt? How much debt? Rented apartment? What's the cost? Own a car? How much do I spend monthly on survival?
These assessments will create a sense of awareness of your status. In order to move from struggling state to a survival state, you must actually understand where you are. This is like a journey. If you don't understand and know your exact location, progressing may be difficult. Or worst still, you may move in wrong direction.
So, perform a critical self-assessment and know your financial and economic health. Then we progress from there.
Done that? Where are you?
2. Separate Needs From Non-needs
Following the first self-assessment, you must be able to identify what you really need to survive and what you don't need. During these special times, it becomes imperative that the scarce resources are allocated certainly to only needs and not wastages. Now, identify your needs and prioritize them in your budget and allocation of resources.
Obviously, to do this, you must work with a budget which indicates your scarce resources (money) and how you plan applying them to your unlimited needs and wants. In a tough economy like this, the resources cannot cater to most of the needs. So it becomes sacrosanct that the most critical needs like food and shelter are catered to.
This requires discipline and self control. Let your budget prioritize the key need areas so that your limited money can take care of them.
3. Cut Down Costs - A Survival Necessity
As proven earlier, high inflationary economy imposes high costs of goods and services on the people. If your income could barely take care of your needs in the past, expect a tougher climate now. Maybe you can't even eat 3 square meals each day anymore.
To survive, you must reduce the costs you incur by all means possible. Here are practical ideas:
Seek cheaper alternatives: Needless to say, you don't just buy things from the first source. Prices vary. Vegetable oil could be sold at N8,000 in your nearest supermarket. But same may go for N6,500 in the main market. Brother, during this tough time, go to the market! Everything counts. Same applies to services. Is your child attending a school that costs N1m per term? Can you seek quality alternatives for less? These are personal and family decisions that need to be considered for survival.
Negotiate prices: Do not just take goods and services at face or asking prices. Negotiate. Haggle! You will most likely get it for less. You ask what's price of a bag of rice, seller says N80k. Ask to pay N75k. If successful, the N5k will cater for other stuffs. Be responsible and don't be wasteful! Sellers want to sell too.
Buy in bulk: During this time, buying your necessities in bulk could be a survival, cost-cutting strategy. When you buy in bulk, you enjoy discounts and lower prices overall.
Reuse old items: this is not the time to be wasteful. Check the wardrobe, pantry and see old abandoned stuffs that prove useful instead of getting new ones.
Practise Loud Budgeting: Soro sókè!
Minimise the Eating Out Frenzy and the Hanging Out incessantly. Be vocal about your economic situation to people expecting things from you. Family, girlfriends, spouse. Let them know you are practical strict Budgeting and let them know what you can afford.
4. Enhance Your Income
This is a vital key survival strategy. You need to seek ways to earn more money, without jeopardizing your current income source.
Identify legitimate money making opportunities suitable to you as a matter of urgency. Good news is that some employers during times like this may increase staff emoluments so that they can be more productive. But you can't rely on that to survive and thrive.
It becomes important to seek alternative sources of income so as to cushion the negative impact of inflation.
Can you convert your free time and your skills to money? This is the age of Internet. Can you try online jobs and gigs?
For example, Azaland.com has some legitimate money making opportunities on this website for Copywriting, Referrals and are more suitable to everyone with just a smartphone and Internet access. You can try that. Contact me to learn more.
Can you try buying and selling necessities locally?
To raise money, you may need to sell off old unused items, gadgets etc. All in a bid to raise more revenue to survive. This is a rather broad topic but the principle remains: enhance or increase your income.
5. Let Your extra Money Work For You
As you strive hard working for money, how about your extra money? Let it work hard too, but safely. Investing is the key. Rather than let the money sit idle in some low-interest bank savings account, seek out ways to invest with low manageable risk and earn better returns. The returns will help your income. We cannot give investment advice but the general principle is to look out for safe high yielding investment avenues and let your money work. Treasury bills yield better than ordinary savings account. Also, investment in life necessities like food and medicine will pay off.
6. Be Positive
Your mindset matters a lot. You need to approach this tough economy with a positive mindset that: You're going to not only survive but also thrive. Also that its not going to last. Tough times don't last.
7. Help Others: Practise Giving
Surprising, right? I said it. It will shock you. But, well, I mean it. Giving is a rewarding activity both in the physical and spiritual senses.
But an ordinary man would argue: I don't have enough. How could I give?
Well, giving is not about how much you have, it's a mental state. It's about you. Irrespective of how much you have, you can still give because there will always be people you are better than - something to be Grateful for. Let me illustrate:
You just took breakfast at 9am and you have just N300 with you which will not even be sufficient for lunch. You are worried about the future lunch. Meanwhile, you meet a poor fellow who has not had a meal since the previous day. He's starving. Would you give? Well, I leave you to decide.
There are loads of blessings that follow the spirit of Giving and helping others:
1. You are sowing good seed for the future and you plus your future generation will reap bountifully.
2. The Heavens will bless you. Both the Bible and Quran emphasise the divine blessings bestowed upon givers who help the less privileged.
3. You find happiness. Tell me: each time you go out of your way even when inconvenient to help someone who genuinely need your help, a less privileged fellow, how does it make you feel? Happy! It's incomparably joy. Seriously. Try it.
4. We all survive together. A tree does not make a forest. In this tough economic climate, the earlier we realise that we are here for all of us, the better. Let's remove the selfish spirit and look out for others. That way, we all survive together. Helping others may just prevent the next suicide or depression or even crime. Help others.
And... that's it.
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Yours,
Jared of Azaland .
