If you had always thought that a recession was something that happened a long time ago and it wouldn’t happen in your lifetime.
Sorry to break it to you, you are experiencing it at the moment.
Yes! The country is experiencing economic recession, which could mean you tightening the reins on your budget and learning how to get by in lean times.
Nevertheless, the tides are rapidly changing for everyone — regardless of social standing and class.
Everybody is tightening their belts these days – from corporate organizations to mums and even superstores. This means families will have to re-examine their lifestyle and budgets.
Since prices for food, fuel and other commodities keep inflating – and wages and salaries are being reduced. The secret is learning how to adapt to survive and stay afloat in hopes that the economy will turn around soon.
Adapting can be really challenging though.
However, the question is how then do you adapt to the economic situation and carry your family through lean times?
Check out these clever and amazing tips to help your family survive these tough times. Here they are;
1. Eat at home and say ‘NO’ to eating out
Eating out can quickly add up to significant amount and it’s helpful to your finances if you reserve it for just special occasions.
When you eat at home, you’re not limited to a menu; you can control your portion size and determine what goes into the food you eat.
And of course, you also save money and time.
Think about it, you can also save a lot of money by ridding your daily diet off junk foods or by denying your cravings for junks.
So instead of taking your hard-earned money to pay for ‘fancy’ food or ‘junks’, go to the market, buy raw food and head to the kitchen.
Not only will you keep the weight off, you’ll save so much money. Your wallet and your waistline will eventually thank you.
2. Stockpile groceries and invest in food storage
Prices can be a bit unstable during a recession.
How to fix it? Create or invest in a stockpile of sale-priced foods and goods –and you’ll only have to buy when it’s a good deal for you.
However, a disadvantage of stockpiling is that some goods may expire or spoil before you get around to using them. Hence cut your grocery shopping list down to necessities and go for items with long shelf life.
3. Driving walkable distances
The price of fuel is higher than it has ever been in Nigeria’s history.
It wouldn’t hurt to kill two birds with a stone, while going on short errands, take a walk or go for a run while running your errand.
Your body and pockets will thank you.
4. Have a talk with every Member of Your Family
Everyone has to be carried along during tough times, especially children.
Let them understand that things are not going to be as they were for a while –so they can become more financially conscious and play their part in boosting the family’s finances in the current economic situation.
This experience will make your family do everything to see you flourish in the recession.
5. Reduce your expenses and live frugally
Readjusting your lifestyle is crucial to you thriving during a recession, and largely involves you cutting down on your expenses. The first step to getting control of your money is examine your income and spending, then determine what to strike off or not. Strike out irrelevant items like hotel sprees and luxury acquisitions, especially if it is detrimental to your family budget. You can use the bulk of the saved cash to focus on growing or managing your finances through the recession.
6. Skip the movie theatre and reduce social events to a minimal
Going to the movie theatre or hanging out with friends is a great way to relax after a hectic week but it could be a little costly. Yeah, you may want to refresh and pamper yourself without having to spend a fortune. Skip the movie theatre and sign up for an online DVD rental service that doesn’t require late fees and also, you don’t have to worry about fuel for traveling back and forth to the rental store.
Importantly, we all love spending quality time with friends and family, so, instead of going someplace where you’ll spend more than you budgeted for. Plan activities everyone can participate in.
You’ll create a stronger bond and more memorable activities while saving money.
7. Travel Locally
Vacationing abroad is officially a luxury at this point in time of recession. Perhaps, you should explore your own backyards a little more. The beautiful thing is, we are fortunate we live in a multicultural country, so you don’t even have to leave your comfort zone to experience a new culture.
You can take on an adventurous vacation to several tourists attraction nearby you have never visited, explore new cultures in your hometown, try sampling a new cuisine you’ve never tried or visit an immigrant-owned stores.
All you need to do is to make a list of all the tourist destinations in your area that you’ve always “wanted to visit” and go check them out with your family.
You’ll be surprised at how much you will learn.
8. Figure out how to do things on your own
Rather than paying a skilled worker. You can manage to rescue a toy from the bottom of your bathroom, toilet or even unclog your sink. Thank goodness you can get almost every information you need with the help of the internet.
It will save you money and you would definitely be surprised at how much you can do on your own to avoid expensive repair charges.
9. When in the store, look high and low for deals
Marketers are very strategic and they know that placing items on eye-level shelf will get items sold faster. This is because when people shop, they tend to give more attention to the eye level items.
It will interest you to know that they put the items with the highest price right in front of you (eye-level) and cheaper deals are usually found on lower shelves.
So when next you go to a store, avoid the eye-level shelves and look at the lower shelf for affordable deals.
10. Shop at a farmers market for in-season produce
Only a few things taste as good and nutritious as fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, most of the farm items you’ll find in a grocery store is grown elsewhere, particularly if it is out of season in your locality.
Consider what produce is in season and support local growers by visiting a farmers market.
You will get them cheaper and save more.
11. Grow your own vegetables
You probably aren’t going to be able to grow enough to live off completely unless you intend to dig up your entire yard to plant rows of food. However, the good news is, a square foot garden is enough to produce you some great varieties of veggies.
12. Start your own “keep the change” program
Create your own “keep the change” program where you can round up your purchases and dump the change in a piggy bank account.
This account may not pay you a great interest rate but the deposits you make will result to high-yields at the end of the month.
You will definitely be proud of your decision at the end of the month.
13. Look for kids clothes at sales
Kids outgrow most of their clothes so fast but you can find excellent and affordable purchase on clothing at thrift shops and store sales. You won’t have to spend a lot.
14. Do More for Yourself and get another means to boost your income
A recession is a great time to learn new skills, brush up on old ones and to think and earn creatively because, unemployment rate tends to go up during a recession.
Protect yourself by finding ways to boost your income. You could sell items on online, answer surveys for money, or become a mystery shopper.
The added advantage is that, you surely won’t have to pay others to do things that you can do for yourself.
Ultimately, almost everyone gets affected during a recession and the effects of a recession on families will still be felt even after the economy recovers.
However, families can thrive by adapting to a new lifestyle that involves working together and making use of these helpful & useful tips.
It may not end the recession but they are sure steps to helping you live large in this lean times – and also steps to making changes to improve your future
