Lifestyle Changes & Money Saving Tips for surviving Ghana's Precarious Economy.
Ghana's economy right now is at an all-time depressing low and that's putting it mildly and kindly. The country has been torn to shreds with an ever depreciating cedi against the dollar which has led to extremely high costs of imported goods, fuel price hikes, skyrocketing food and transportation prices and obscenely escalating utility bills. Many businesses are also laying off or shutting down due to escalating operational costs.
It’s become even more pertinent to manage your lifestyle expenses to cushion you through this dark economic period. Now we need more cedis to pay for home essentials and rethinking of your expenditure will benefit you greatly. Here are some money-saving tips for your home and work lifestyle which are helping me and i believe will also be useful in your everyday living as well.
Home & Work Lifestyle Money-Saving Tips.
Reduce your spend on Internet Usage.
That sounds like a big ask but you’ll be saving a lot of money on your data bundle if you cut back on the endless TikTok videos you watch at midnight and during working hours 🤭. With the cedi depreciation, now all your favourite subscriptions have doubled. Remember when your Netflix was less than GHC50 ? Now paying about GHC140 for Netflix is no joke. Perhaps you can fast off Netflix for the next two months or another website subscription which is now looking like a luxury. Also choose to watch your movies on a smaller screen like your phone or tablet instead of your 50-inch TV which absorbs more bandwidth. Swipe out of opened apps on your phone or tablet as they still consume your data bundle in the background. Download kids videos on the YouTube Kids app for your child to watch instead of giving them access to the main YouTube app. You save a lot of data this way, take it from this Mama.
Cut your Electricity in half
Did you know your iron, kettle, air-condition, heater, microwave, freezers are major consumers of electricity in your home? Always consider buying a smaller freezer with an energy efficient label that will meet your home needs. You really don’t need to boil that water till the kettle automatically switches off. Your tea or coffee would be too hot anyway so switch off after about a minute of boiling and boil only the quantity of water you need. Don’t fill to the max when needing only a teacup of water. Reduce the temperature for your microwave when reheating food. The higher the temperature the more energy the appliance pulls from your ECG meter. Try your best and avoid the use of your air-condition or if you really must, switch it on to cool the room and turn off before turning on the ceiling fan. You really don’t want to be ‘shook’ when the bill comes. Also remember to bulk iron your laundry instead of on a daily basis, that way your save on energy and you’ll be more efficient at managing your tasks for the day.
Turn off all gadgets at the socket. You know that amber light that stays on at the socket? Well, it’s still energy so turn off that switch completely.
Waste Less Food
Food prices have been rising since June of this year and it’s not slowing down due to the ever rising fuel prices. Now more than ever, you must learn how to prevent food waste at home and in the office. Every time you throw out a slightly wilted vegetable you are basically throwing away GHC2 worth of food if not more. Instead of throwing out leftover tomato sauces, why not cook some spaghetti and toss it in the sauce for a totally new dish? Buy more versatile long-keeping ingredients like Gari. Gari can be eaten as soakings, Gari fortor, Eba, Gar-shitor mix and so on. Preserve in-season vegetables as they’ll be cheaper by freezing, pickling or pureeing. Slice up and freeze yam fries to use over several weeks. Learn how to make homemade pastries for yourself and your child(ren), you get to save on buying imported biscuits. Don’t throw out overripe bananas, turn them into Banana bread or muffins or even delicious pancakes. Overripe plantains are a money-saver for making tatale , kaakro and ablongo. Pack lunch for the office if you can to save on having to buy food from outside which will cost between GHC 30 to GHC70. Also eat more organic fruits and vegetables for a healthier lifestyle. The cost of imported medicine is wild at all the pharmacies so why not start rethinking about what you are putting in your body to save you hundreds of cedis at a hospital?
Local fishermen in Ghana - Photo by Samuel Aboh on Unsplash
Fuel saving saves lives.
The galaxy-rocketing fuel prices has many people parking their cars and resorting to public transport. If you can, join a neighbour’s car in the morning if they are headed in the same direction as you. Carpooling saves you several hundred cedis on fuel. Fuel prices really aren’t making any sense in Ghana right now.
Be a Smart Shopper
Look out for discounts in supermarkets. Sometimes major supermarkets run promo’s which can be publicly displayed in large red etchings or subtly listed on a label. You can enquire from the cashier of any available discounts. That will help you save about GhC20 or more on an item. Shop in bulk if you can to save up on future price increments due to inflation. I remember when i bought the 25kg gallon of oil in September for GHC 580 and i was in pains! But by October it shot up to GHC1000 and you should have seen me rejoicing! Buy thrift clothing and accessories on Instagram from trusted vendors and save up for that swoon-worthy dress you saw at Christie Brown’s 😜. When shopping for your little ones, always buy a size up or two to avoid having to buy clothes and shoes for them every few months. Kids grow fast so buying two sizes up allows them to grow into them saving you good money. Have you seen the price of kids shoes of late? Incredible! Try to have self-control when shopping especially when that monthly pay comes in and don’t allow the spirit of coveting / Instagram envy force you to buy what you don’t need in a time of low cash. Be smart!
Save on Water
Water bills have doubled and you need to strategise on how to conserve your water usage at home. Instead of a long shower consider a shorter one or using a bucket per shower time. Harvest rain water whenever there’s a shower and use this for watering your garden or potted plants. Plants love rain water for the God-given nutrients in each droplet. Take your car to the car wash to save on precious water at home. Teach your children how to conserve water when washing the dishes. Use a cup of water when brushing your teeth instead of letting the tap run whilst cleaning your pearls.
Cut back on Entertainment
This could be hard to do especially if you are in your early roaring twenties where you feel you’re missing out on good vibes whenever you’re on Instagram. Food and drinks at most pubs, restaurants and clubs have doubled in price.
Are you ready to spend GHC 200 every weekend in a month? Sister, be smart and control that urge to be everywhere and to be seen. Use your time home to write in a journal, learn a new skill online at Google Digital Skills or free courses at Coursera. Perhaps, choose to hang out with your friends once a month and always budget how much you’ll be spending on food and drinks. You and your friend’s can money pool on how much you want to spend as a group on a night out. Newly released movies are now GHC100 per movie at Silverbird Ghana, which is out of this world! Can you wait a few months to watch that same movie at a reduced price? I know I can!
These lifestyle changes will help you through this economic changes only if you choose to have better self-discipline in implementing your strategies. How are you managing in Ghana’s high inflation period? Share your tips as well in the comments section, I’d love to read them!
