Mid-September has passed us by and now people are starting to think about December. December in Kenya is a “party” month.
The month of December is one full of get togethers, parties and shopping trips. Mention the word “December” to one and watch eyes light up. It’s a month wallets detest, stomachs love and banks absolutely adore. Bank charges’ profits spike up as individuals rush to ATMs to withdraw money for “the random drink up”, or buying party plates… Retail stores have “Christmas offers”, in which goods are marketed with “special prices” that are really either the same, or a little bit more expensive than they were before.
September is an ideal month in which people could start cutting down spending in order to save up for December. Lunches can be foregone and parties could be attended less as individuals prepare for the festive month. It got me thinking, “does anyone think of January?” I sure do! I ensure I keep “something” for a rainy month, not even a rainy day. January is a month of slow payments, loans and holiday hangovers. Whilst friends’ pictures from parties at the coast in December look great, their wallets and bank accounts do not.
It’s not difficult in cutting down your financial expenditure, what’s really required is the discipline to do so. For ladies, I imagine that it must be quite hard to resist the 40% off sale that the deacon’s stores are having on their retail chains, whilst they try to put some money away.Your financial well being is much more important than those plastic Cinderella flat shoes at Mr. Price, or the top that every other person will have.
Cost cutting can be done in many ways. For example, you really don’t need to eat that chicken pie when you’re having coffee with friends at Java. You’ll eat at home. Think of the Ksh250 you’ll save from NOT eating the pie, that it can be put to better use when January arrives.
Another example can be watching premier league football at home, instead of the bar with friends. That same Ksh250 you’re using to buy the beer at the bar can be used in January to get you through the month. Actually, why not watch the league at home with friends? Beer costs much less when purchased at the supermarket and you have the comfort of being indoors.
One could form a habit of wiring some cash into their bank account. Most (if not all) banks have mobile money menus where the individual can transfer funds from the phone to bank account directly. Your monthly salary can also be appropriated with standing orders to savings accounts, such that if you forget to save manually, the bank does it for you. You’ll have the benefit of interest being accumulated in the savings account.
Avoid the ” January and broke” situation by factoring the month as an extension of December. It’ll save you a headache and have you smiling through it lest “emergencies” arise.
After all, lunches and dinners must be held to swap those cheeky stories from the holidays, and they aren’t free.