Only days back, a couple of my friends and I were talking and bemoaning the economic state of the country. I remember saying that it was my turn to be someone's aunt and sweets and biscuits are now five times the price I knew them to be growing up.
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You know, whenever I consider the inflation rate and how terribly the economy is downslidiing, I think of parents with young children(infants and kids). I think about how expensive taking care of them is and how, if they refuse to eat rice, which the parent may have available at home, but insist on noodles, then the parent must provide whether or not they have it easy or not. Because, that young child doesn't understand what you mean when you say that things are difficult plus you can't afford to have them starve.
I was born/grew up in a time when biscuits costs 5/10/50 naira, Noodles were 30naira, eggs were 30. 50maira then could get me a decent meal too if i needed to buy. Transportation cost three times what it does now. Data subscription was for far less amount and served for longer. Even drinking water came cheap. Healthcare and medications, although not so inexpensive, weren't as terrible as is now. Things changed quickly.
Old as I am now handling my own, I appreciate every other person who is too. See, I say it that I'm not entirely responsible for myself. I may live on my own and exhibit tendencies of independence, but I still get support from home, but even then, it doesn't change how insanely expensive things are.
I had stuff figured out, but ever since moving, I've had to question if it was very necessary to have done so even when it's evident that it is.
In my phone's notebook, I have this folder dedicated to my income/expense. So, let's say, all through the month of March, for every penny I spend whether on self or not, I put it down in the expense section and for every penny received, I put it in the inflow section. You don't even want to know how much it amounts to monthly, even for someone who's as frugal and financial-conscious as myself. I went through the accounts today for March, and my jaw dropped. Like, I don't even earn half of what I spent in the month. I never received a quarter of what my transactio history for a month showed as my total "outflow."
Daily, I get to spend on feeding and some other expense plus, as I have begun to purchase in bits, data. Moving places might not help much unless I were home. But as a student whose family house is miles from school, that's an impossible option.
I grew up knowing there was a 'rich class,' 'middle class', and a 'lower class'.' In this present day, we can only recognize the rich and lower class. The lower class aren't just 'low,' they're poor. And it's sickening.
It's a struggle. People are struggling to feed and just go by, hoping that things get better even just a bit. And I'm worried about where we're headed as a people. Worried and concerned about if thong will ever be better. And oh, changing locations might do little to help as all over the country, people are lamenting about the situation.
I like to believe that for my life and life in general to be easier, more than finding a job and/or getting good pay and/or receiving more allowances, the economic situation has got to be stabilized. Cause if I earned better but still had to sort out these hiked cost of things, what huge difference does that make?
Thanks for gracing this post.
Greetings!