The current economic challenges have, according to some residents of the Federal Capital Territory, made saving money for future use almost unattainable.
In Abuja, residents, speaking in separate interviews on Sunday, voiced their grievances, lamenting the steep prices of essential goods and underscoring that their incomes are no longer sufficient to meet family needs.
The respondents, expressing their dissatisfaction, decried the challenging situation, stating that things have been tough since after the yuletide.
Mrs. Precious Okere, a resident of Karu, revealed that the last two years have been extremely challenging, leading her to exhaust all her savings on food and essential needs.
‘After paying rent, light bills, foodstuff and others, almost nothing is left because the prices of goods and services have greatly increased by almost 300 per cent.’
‘Transportation cost is even the worst; then there are school fees for the children too.’
‘The situation has made it extremely difficult for a lot of us to save especially to meet up needs at the beginning of the year after Christmas.’
‘Money doesn’t seem to be enough anymore because, just after you solve one issue, another is waiting; it is a terrible situation,’ she lamented.
Okere observed that numerous individuals, herself among them, had made a conscious decision to reduce expenditures in order to endure the harsh economic conditions.
However, she pointed out that even though she and her family had made adjustments to their spending, the importance of savings still played a vital role in addressing unexpected situations.
Mr. Bright Samuel, an educator, shared that his inability to save in the past year was attributed to the inadequacy of his take-home pay, which barely covered his living expenses.
He remarked on the discouraging trend of the economy continually inflating, posing challenges for those with limited or no sources of income to effectively manage their financial affairs.
‘Things are really expensive now; everything is on the high side.’
‘Some can hardly eat three times a day, others don’t even have a source of income and those with it are complaining it is not enough.’
‘Inflation is on the rise and economic development is moving slowly; it is tiring.’
‘Although, I advise people to save if they have enough or get the opportunity and if not, make do with what you have and live life one step at a time,’ Samuel said.
Mrs Joy Bayo, a public servant, said that she still found the means to save up for the rainy day.
She pointed out that, according to her perspective, government workers finding supplementary genuine businesses had become a necessity to support their income.
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Explaining further, she detailed how implementing this strategy could fortify their monthly wages and fulfill the vital requirements of their families.
She mentioned that even though her earnings from the side business weren’t substantial, they managed to settle some debts and enable her participation in monthly contributions.
‘Although I don’t save as much as in the previous years, I still get to make some contributions that allow me to pay off small debts and also contribute to foodstuff.’
‘I do this mostly because of my children so that when they want to get things for school, I can assist my husband.’
‘We need to support each other in times like this,’ She said.
She highlighted that, despite the modest income from her side business, it successfully cleared certain debts and facilitated her involvement in monthly contributions.
He outlined that the money saved served a dual purpose, specifically allocated for covering the house rent and contributing to the school fees of his children.
Makama emphasized that his savings did not factor in expenses related to travel and other indulgences.
‘I used to spend money so much on clothes and shoes but at the moment I have to adjust because of the increasing bills I have to pay.’
‘Any job I get, I calculate, save the profits away from the capital, and spend the extra on what is essentially needed at home.’
‘I set a target for the year which I try to meet; this makes me limit excess spending and my wife contributes some percentage from her salary to the savings too.’
‘We have gradually adjusted to living within our means which is another way of saving and cutting costs,’ Makama said.