Topic: My survival strategies in this harsh economic conditions - page 5. (Read 762 times)

The celebration thing is something that I can attest to. I haven't celebrated any occasions apart from New Year's Eve and Christmas and it has seriously reduced my expenses for last year. Also, staying at home and cooking food for yourself will drastically help you in lowering down your expenses, too. I think most people today have this habit of eating out that 'eats' out most of their finances, leading to a lot of problems financially for them. It all boils down to self-discipline and self-control on your finances. If you don't have either of this, you're really going to get a hard time building bank and keeping your pockets filled. ßÍ

The economic situation of some nations can drive you nuts and as such, one has got to apply a lot of skills to be able to attain some sort of a comfortable lifestyle. You've got a pretty good one at OP, although there is one thing I don't really understand or perhaps would need certain clarification.

*Homeschooling: This is an unpopular option in Nigeria and as such, what are the government required criteria to home school your wards?
Meanwhile, as much as Homeschooling might seem like a good option to manage and fit in the economic situation in Nigeria, being the actual teacher to your kids or wards comes in a different environment and your wards might not give you the attention they ought to.

*Low Key Celebration: Not the typical way for a Nigerian but surely, you still could come through lowly.
*Grow what you eat: That's just hygienic and definitely something a lot of persons should practice. You get crops free from chemicals and preservatives. That's if you didn't put it there yourself.

Generally as humans, we would always find a way to coup and that's just how we survive. You don't wait till you zero out to make plans, always plan for your days ahead.

Always the idea and that is enough. The only point is to adjust especially if the situation would push you to do so. We are going through different circumstances basically, and even if you are earning on above average lifestyle, once a problem affects the majority, you will need to somehow adapt with changes. On my end, I tend to make alternatives whenever I am saving up to something. Perhaps making my own food to be brought at the office for me to avoid eating on fast food chains which are basically more expensive. Also, walking if the distance isn't that far and lastly, not wasting any food. Sometimes it just depends on the individual.

Indeed it is tough to think "why should we adjust? governments should be doing these things for us". Waiting for governments to aid economic related problems would cost you forever. So better start it with yourself to save you time. Also it would be you, to benefit from it so I think it would be just fine.

When governments manage the economy poorly, the solution is to think outside the box by finding skills, ways to learn, and a two-year job so that you can earn money that is considered little in a country, but it is wealth in your country.
For example, trying to earn $500 is wealth in some countries, but it is easy to earn it if you have high programming skills, or earn its text by joining signature campaigns, which are not enough to buy basics in some countries, and so on.

Your survival strategies are very good and you can implement them in almost every country. Unfortunately, not every country allows homeschooling or people lack the skills to properly teach their children. Anyway, it might be worth mentioning that you can save a lot on electricity or heating if you limit yourself. Depending on the country you live in, you can save a little to a lot. 

the strategy that you implemented was quite good in maintaining directed survival in a crisis situation that hit your country. I assess that if this can happen, it doesn't have to be when you know you are in a crisis phase or before the crisis hits your country. I mean, maintaining a standard of living will be better done by saving from an early age than living in spree, which means there is no management of a situation that is  will happen in the future.

but did you know that this sector must be supported by self-will because some of them are out there even though their country is in crisis but they don't want to change their lifestyle because there is no will in them so that some incident can that cause a crisis sustainable for their lives.

i support what has been described in this thread even farming is my hobby and it is an interesting part to do business in this life.

This may not applicable to everyone but its a good idea to set-up your strategies on how you can deal with the economic situation especially with a threat of higher inflation and another financial crisis.

With this, I’m also thinking on how I can survive the threat without suffering that much, this is a good idea and I love the thought about living within your means and cutting some of your expenses just to survive the crisis, though you can practice that even if there’s no crisis.

In terms of bulk buying, it's advisable to do that on a weekly basis especially if it's about your food. That is what we do when we do shop our groceries. And my experience with that is, there are some weekly basis of going down with food prices but there's also the opposite.

Someday you'll be wanting to build a house for your family even it's not going to be an investment, at least you'll be getting a security that peace of mind that you're living in a decent place. Aside from investments and savings, do not forget to increase your source of income.

These are some good strategies for saving money, especially about buying quality products. There's a bit of a tax on being poor, in the sense that you might find one pair of boots that will last you 5-10 years due to quality, which cost $250, but someone who cannot pay that cost upfront may end up buying a $100 pair new each year so pays up to 4x more over the same time period. Investing is another key point, but you should do it sensibly, I'd much rather receive steady returns of say 7% per year than trying to gamble and double my money (or go bust) in the space of a single year. The compounding effect has been called the eighth wonder of the world for good reason.

Is the problem of poor government schools global? I used to think that it is confined to certain countries, but unfortunately it seems from your words that many countries complain about this problem. Unfortunately, home education needs stimulation, and therefore it is not easy for all children to have sufficient motivation and discipline for that.

In general, the solution to economic problems is to think carefully about the financial policies of individuals, and the solutions may differ from one individual to another and from state to state, but you decide, and your knowledge of investment will multiply your money quickly.

The strategy you mentioned seems to be very useful if applied in the current economic situation. because you and your family have also implemented it. My strategy is not as good as yours. but maybe I will slightly imitate some of the strategies you wrote. because the conditions in my country today are similar to the situation you describe. where high inflation makes the prices of daily needs soar, but the amount of salary does not increase. so that income and expenses become unequal.

This is a good set of strategies, but I am afraid that the home schooling part could not be an option in many countries around the world that might be going through difficult economic times. For example, here in Venezuela, I have never heard of anyone home schooling their children (not matter how bad the economy is), people need to pay for the school, transport and fees of private education even if that means to cut other expenses, otherwise, the children put their education on hold.

However, the other advice you give are fairly good.
Since you are married and with children, would you recommend people in their 20-30 to avoid having children if the economical conditions are alike those in your country of Nigeria?

The past eight years in my country have been filled with several economic challenges. The government has run the economy badly which is leading to a total economic breakdown. The high rate of unemployment, double taxation, inflation, fall or currency value, etc. is now the order of the day. The government has failed to increase the minimum wage of workers to reflect the rate of inflation. Workers are still earning the same salaries. Many citizens of the country cannot provide the basic needs of life. Many parents lost their basic source of income and cannot afford school fees.
There are high costs of goods and services plus the scarcity of fuel and an increase in the price of gas.

To survive these economic obstacles these are the strategies I and my family used to cope.

Homeschooling: After a close analysis of my income and expenses, I discovered that school fees eat deep into my finance. Private schools have more standards than government schools but they are very expensive. Government schools have more qualified teachers but they are poorly funded and lack teaching facilities. Cheap private schools are poorly managed and lack basic amenities making them worst than public schools. The quality private schools available are very expensive and far over my income.

But the Covid-19 lockdown gave my wife and me the conviction that homeschooling our children is possible because we observed that their academic performance improved while we schooled at home.
To acquire the relevant skills my wife studied and passed the teacher's qualification exams and became a registered teacher. Instead of securing a teaching job, we decided she starts homeschooling my children. We bought all the facilities and textbooks and got government approval to start a home school. I also serve as a part-time teacher because I am also a qualified teacher but my full-time paid job is three times a week for classroom classes. We also engage in excursions, and sporting activities and they socialize in our religious gatherings and visit their cousins during holidays. So socially they are balanced. Although the task is very demanding with the internet and proper time management, the children are doing well.

Bulk Buying: There are so many middlemen in the agricultural sector of my country which leads to the high cost of food items like cereals and tuber crops. We learned how to locally preserve our food and we buy in bulk or from wholesalers. This helps us to avoid the profit of middlemen making the prices cheap. A basket of tomatoes of 40kg fresh tomatoes might be less than the $5 bulk price but could rise to $25 if it goes through the channels of distribution.

Seasonal Food: Most food we consume in my country is produced locally. The country lacks proper storage facilities or policies which leads to agricultural waste. Therefore, consuming food in its season is cheaper than when it is not available. An example is that now is the season of yam production and the price is cheap, but potatoes are expensive because it has not matured on the farm. Immediately the potato harvesting period sets in, yam might become scarce and expensive. So as a family, we consume alternative cheap food items in its season. This helps to cut a lot of costs.

Low-key celebration: It is normal to spend during Christmas, birthdays, Easter, and other holidays but overspending might affect us negatively. Hence, all our celebrations are low-cost. The children understand because they know that buying new clothing or organizing big parties might not be financially friendly to the family.

Growing some crops: We have little space in our compound and we have started a vegetable garden which has cut the cost we spend on vegetables. We have also started plans to develop eight plots of land Cassava farm that can provide a year-long supply of our main staple food called the "garri".

Cheap but quality products: I am not too concerned about flashy or current products. The family dresses modestly and not necessarily wearing clothes in vogue. Fairly used items a cheaper in my country. Buying new items like cars might be very expensive but going for a fairly used but durable product is cheaper and better. Toyota cars are cheaper and easy to maintain in my country. The parts are readily available and they fit the Nigerian road.

Investment: I know that the time will come when my wife and I might not continue able continue homeschooling. My first child will be moving to a conventional secondary school by September. The savings I get from cutting cost is invested in real estate and bitcoin. If I can own my home, the children will be able to attend quality schools because rent also consumes a large chunk of my income. I am not planning to buy or build a house if I can raise enough money. I also believe in bitcoin that's why I have plans to hodl for a long time.

Relocation: When we started our homeschooling it was clear we needed a bigger house at cheap rent. We had to move out of our environment because a bigger house will be more expensive. We had to move to a new bigger house in another cheaper environment that still has functionality and basic amenities.

These survival strategies might not be the best but it has helped me to live a debt-free life. Unlike most of my colleagues I have not collected any loan neither am I under any easy-buy payment obligation and my family is doing well.