Battling with inflation in my country: some tips on how I cope

The truth is that inflation is a major problem in our world today. I think this problem has become more severe since the COVID-19 saga. A lot of countries are facing the same situation, just like my country, Nigeria. Some countries are really working hard to tackle theirs, but unfortunately, my country's inflation issues have lingered for more than 5 years now without being tackled at least to some extent.

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As each day passes, the cost of food and other goods keeps skyrocketing. The situation has worsened in my country to the point that some people go house to house begging for food to eat, and our government isn't giving this sensitive issue any attention; instead, they keep their expenditures on the high side and decrease the supply of money. All these contribute to the prolonged inflation we are battling today.

Among other items that increase in price all the time, food inflation has been terrible and gives me so much concern as everyone needs food to survive. One can decide to cut off other irrelevant spending but cannot do so for food except by reducing the number of meals taken per day. It baffles me how even natural products suffer from this inflation as well. I traveled to my village last month, but surprisingly, the local food we do buy directly from farmers is so costly, like someone living in the city. The worst part of these current issues is that wages and salaries have remained stagnant, but our daily expenses on food and other compulsory bills increase at short intervals. It baffles me how things go from bad to worse every day. I feel like crying sometimes at the sound of the cost of goods in the market. I went to the market a few days ago with #40,000, that's about $55 or thereabouts, to get some food stuffs at home, but it will interest you to know that what I got with the money may not last my family and I for two weeks. Before now, it should have lasted for one month, but this is our reality.

It's no longer funny, and most times I am scared of the future. However, I started implementing some of these coping mechanisms in order to survive the current inflation in my country:

I focus on my needs and not my wants.

I discovered that I need to slash some of my wants and those of my family in this country's situation in order to cope. Our wants are good, but they become secondary needs in our economy today. Our wants only come into play when we meet up with our family budget and have extra cash good enough for any kind of want. I chose the necessities that I know I cannot live without, such as food, water, etc.

I make every effort to stick with my budget.

I already know how money enters my home, and I use that to set up my monthly budget. This time around, sticking to my budget is a must, a rule, and inevitable...lolz. I have made budgets in the past and failed to stick to them, but not in this inflationary period. I try to be rational and forgo items that appear unnecessary to be able to save for rainy days.

Multiple streams of income:

Sometimes I lose count of what I do to earn. You wouldn't blame me, would you? In order to cope, I engage in different petty businesses, like buying some food from my village and reselling it in the city where I live; I also do real estate business, although it doesn't come steady; I blog; and I grab other rare opportunities that come along to earn money and support my family.

Bulk buying:

Now, not everyone can do this due to low income or any other reason, but then I discovered that the poor spend more than the rich when it comes to food and other things. This is because the rich take advantage of bulk buying and save money, whereas the poor buy in smaller quantities and end up paying more. Recently, I discovered one village market a bit far from me, but things are more affordable than where I used to shop. So once I gather enough money, I visit the village market and buy things in larger quantities. This saves me money and time.

You can look around you and check on things to cut down on in order to survive more. For example, my husband used to subscribe to our DSTV at #9,500 per month, but now we are down to #4,500 sub per month. Things like this are a good way of coping with our present inflation. The pains this has inflicted on people are too many to mention, but hopefully we will find ways to cope.

How do you cope as well? Please share with me.

Thanks for reading!!

This post is in response to the #hivelearners contest on the topic titled "Inflation Pangs."