Otomewo Oritsejolomi Joshua
We are once again in January, the longest month of the year. The month that comes just after end-of-year celebrations can be described as the most hostile to finances, especially for fixed or single income earners.
You know that horrible hangover feeling after a wild drunken night spent partying with friends? That is the feeling that best describes the first 31 days of the year. After the euphoria of Detty December, you slowly settle into the melancholy of January, and it seems like an eternity till the end of the month. Further compounding the problem is the fact that January comes with a lot of bills, like house rent and school fees.
Many companies pay their workers very early in December to enable them to enjoy the Christmas and New Year celebrations, but the downside of this is that by January, most of the salary has been spent and people develop many penny-pinching tactics to survive the long, agonising days of January. Folashade, an accountant for a logistics company, received her salary on the 13th of December. “I had not yet finished spending my November salary when I got the December. I was so happy that I got a little too reckless in my spending. Now it’s January and I have to tighten my belt a little to get to the end of the month. “
Different cost-cutting measures are adopted by Nigerians to help minimise the effect of the January financial crunch, from bulk buying to carpooling. According to Feyi, a civil servant, “I and a few friends pooled our money together to buy foodstuffs at a wholesale price, then we divided it among ourselves.” It was a lot cheaper that way, and eating out was out of the question until February. “
Taking out loans and saving will also be another way of surviving in January. Folashade will take a loan from her employer to help tide her over till the end of the month. I will have to take a loan from my employer. If not, I won’t be able to meet up. I have already eaten into some of my savings, but I don’t want to take too much out of it. “
While for a lot of people, January will be a gloomy month, not so for the lucky few who received Christmas bonuses and thirteenth month salaries to enable them to travel during the holidays. Temitope, who works at a fintech company, received a 13-month salary. Our company pays on the 13th month. This was one of the factors that attracted me. So I used my December salary to flex, and I will use my 13th month salary to survive in January. “
Eventually, like all good and bad things, January will come to an end, but what is important are the lessons learnt. Which is to be prudent during the holidays. Enjoy yourself and have fun, but remember that there is life after December, and January lasts for 60 days.
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Nice write up
Nice write up
I’ll still enjoy myself jor. January will be fine
Detty December >>>> Financially secure January sha.
Wahala for who no collect 13 month