Tuesday, 14 February 2012

MORE MONEY, MORE COST


Your phone gives a message tone. You open the message and discover it's an alert sms from your bank informing you of payment of nineteen thousand and eight hundred naira. What goes through your mind suddenly? ‘Ah thank God, now I go fit go pepperoni’ or ‘I could take that girl on a date now’. What about buying some new clothes and shoes, visiting a hot spot, increasing call units and for those of us who are trustworthy, paying back those they owe.
It was a thing of joy, when the president had formally announced the increment of corpers salaries from nine thousand to its present amount, nearly one hundred percent increment. Even when it was paid into accounts, some could not believe it. So, now that we have money and the Nigerian government has taken a leap to encourage our services towards the nation, what will our spending culture be like? Would we become wiser or foolish?
Now that our salaries are higher, it is important that we keep a check on ourselves so as not be among the foolish ones. Here are some tips. First of all, if possible, maintain the culture as was before increment. This may seem impossible, but it would be worth it if you could just pretend that the other ten thousand and three hundred naira did not exist.
Another thing is to differentiate from your wants and needs. Needs are things we cannot do without; wants are desired. It is agreed that as we advance in life, some wants tend to become needs to get to our desired destination. However, we must work within the confines of our budget constraints.
Avoid claiming Mr. or Miss Rich Kid. We deliberately entertain our friends in a luxurious manner when they visit. Some of us just like to be seen as that girl or guy who has money. Also, even if you do want to take someone out, perhaps your fiancé or even have a little get-together, the parties involved could donate money instead of the cost burden being on one person.
In the area of clothes, no matter how many clothes or shoes we buy (especially women), we’ll always more. The question isn’t if the clothes enough, the question is how do we maintain these ones that we have to make them last longer and still have that nice look? Using the right cleaning and handling methods for clothes go a long way in ensuring their durability. For example, shirts are not to be washed with detergents but body soaps. Suits are meant to be dry-cleaned and soft materials are meant to be ironed at a low temperature. Gather more information on proper maintenance of clothes from Google.
Another hole that also empties the pockets of most ladies is hair styling. Some go as far spending N6000 on a hairstyle that could last for just three weeks to a month. This is lavish spending and your pocket size cannot accommodate such an expense at the moment. Instead, why not go for cheaper but nice looking hairstyles. Funny enough, not all the best hair stylists have salons and big shops at the plazas. Some may stay in wooden shacks but when their hands get to work, you would be amazed. Rather than spending three to four thousand on attachments and weave-ons, why not style with your own hair. After all, you do have hair.
Also, try limiting your outings. This may be tough, but it is true. Too much adventures on a little amount of money is not reasonable and will suck you dry. This doesn’t mean you should stay in your house all day, but do draw a line between places that could be overlooked and places that are necessary to go to. For example, the zonal office when called upon, church, your place of primary assignment, CDS meetings and NYSC related events are all necessary. However, a party is not.
In terms of food, cooking is much cheaper than buying from restaurants everyday. This is because, you can be tempted to buy more than necessary at a restaurant but while in your residence, you are limited to what you have. However, you could spice up your food to give you that lush feeling, but do this once in a while.
One thing that man can never get enough of is money and this includes corps members. With more money, comes more costs and it is almost inevitable. But we all must know that income is equals to expenditure plus savings. As corps members, it would be foolish not to have anything set aside for the rainy day, spending it all makes us no different from the person who did not go to school. Now that you have more, how will you manage it to accommodate you for a whole month?

CHINONSO DANIELLA EDEH
BY/11B/0665

No comments:

Post a Comment