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
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