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Rosenthal Mutakati Ghetto Blast
DO you want to see trouble?
If so, easy! Just wait until the Christmas and New Year holidays are over and you really start seeing it in its most splendid colours.
Called Yuletide, the season around December 25 (traditionally extending from December 24 to January 6) is marked by merrymaking owing to high spending power spawned by salary and bonus payments which are effected at once. Needless to say, people go crazy at this time of year. This is the time when fires forget about kissing bases of stew pots filled with lowly relishes like sugarbeans and matemba as all and sundry switch to sausages, chicken, fish and a host of other dishes this writer cannot describe in detail owing to limited exposure and poor economic circumstances.
Gentle reader, people are doing wonders at watering holes throughout the country.
Those running braai spots like KwaMereki, Zindoga, White House and Shambare are enjoying brisk business because people have the cash to spend.
But wait until it’s January and the story will be different.
People’s wallets will be like onions, which make one cry the moment they peel them open.
As I commit pen to paper gentle reader, council refuse collection teams are facing a torrid time collecting copious amounts of garbage because when people spend more, they also throw away a lot of food.
Wine bottles are also thrown into the bins, exposing these defenceless people to the danger of being cut during the course of their duties. Companies like DStv, which offer pay-per-view television channels, are enjoying roaring business as people queue to subscribe to ensure their families at least watch what the affluent also watch.
Chipatapata, hapana achasara.
Also fuelling the spending patterns is the fact that many companies shut down during this time of the year to allow for maintenance of their plants and machinery and to give staff a break; resulting in people spending more time at home, quaffing more alcohol and tucking in more food. In short, we start acting like broilers.
The period we are in is like a sugared pill. This is the time when children experiment with drugs and sometimes sex, leading to unwanted pregnancies and other attendant challenges like exposure to HIV and Aids.
The world is wading through a period during which the not-so-wise spend days in bars drinking expensive beers without worrying about going home and anything to do with their families. Relatives in different parts of the world meet at Christmas and New Year.
But this is not without its own challenges. The police, at this time of the year, have to contend with attending to countless accident scenes and resolving domestic disputes triggered by disagreements over spending patterns.
Dhindindi full time tave kufara isu,
Dhindindi full time sezicazela tina,
Munhu wenyama ngaafare,
Ngaafare, wenyama ngaafare,
Angazofarira kupiko?
Kutadza kufarira pano pasi,
Ukaita munyama unoenda kuGehena, sang the late lyrically-gifted Paul Matavire in this song called “Dhindindi Full time”. True to the wordsmith’s observations, there is need to please one’s body and soul, but there should be a limit.
Festivities that come with the Christmas and New Year period always have a bearing on the pocket. They leave people crying and unable to fulfil their fatherly and motherly roles of buying food, paying rent and sending children to school.
If you are not clever, the holidays will leave you with emotional scars. According to researchers, being broke all the time is about you not caring about yourself as much as you should. If you don’t value yourself, it’s extremely hard to value money well. The choices that you make to spend, save, or borrow money affect your ability to live within your means or beyond them.
“Money, or the spending of money, does not equate with your personal value. Money neither defines who you are, nor does money invest you with power. Real power is personal and comes from within; using money to feel powerful is a way of seeking external validation rather than accepting your internal worth.”
Suze Orman says that we “spend more than when we feel less than. When we don’t feel good about our self worth, spending in an out-of-control way can be a self-pitying reaction to not having what richer people around you appear to have, and it becomes an excuse to avoid looking deeper inside ourselves to sort out what’s really hurting us.
“One major way to disrespect yourself is to buy what you cannot afford. The spiral that entails involves self-inflicted pain, inability to find enough money to pay for other things or even to repay what you’ve bought, and settling for a lifetime of debt over a lifetime of enough”.
Experts say another mistake commonly made by people who earn a reasonable amount of money is to cease to value the bargain. This doesn’t mean visiting the dollar stores; it means learning how to ask for discounts, for repairs or returns, for savings.
Not doing so because you feel that to do so is “icky” or find that it lacks a sense of generosity is a form of deluding yourself.
“We live in a system that runs on sales and profit and you deserve to get those breaks as much as the next person. And for those of you with a college education, the degree doesn’t mean you give up streetwise common sense!”
“For women, remember the big one: A man is not a financial plan. No matter how charming, delightful, and forever he seems, you need to keep your financial head screwed on firmly and to be taking good care of your financial needs in savvy, thoughtful ways. This is not to say people must not enjoy, this Christmas. Let’s do things with limits. Inotambika mughetto.
Even if he is generous to the point of recklessness with your shopping extravaganzas, this is no excuse to give up your financial autonomy and financial common sense. Sticking to a budget is neither mean nor miserable, so lead by example.”
A good mate can help with finances, more often by co-operating in frugality and diligent production of income than by lavish spending, and a bad one certainly can hurt them.
Dig yourself out by doing what’s right not what feels good or simpler.
The intensity of feeling great after a purchase is fleeting, with the item soon old.
Suze Orman suggests that you ask yourself three “gatekeeper” questions before buying things: Is it kind (to yourself)? Is it necessary? Is it true (for yourself)?
If you’re not able to answer all three of these questions in the affirmative, then the purchase isn’t one you should be making.
To make your life enjoyable, avoid incurring debit card fees, and look for a credit union or bank whose fees will not be too numerous or large if you do err.
Credit cards can offer a few marginal benefits over debit cards. But if they tempt you to spend more, like most people, it’s normally better to just avoid using them.
This is not to say people must not enjoy, this Christmas. Let’s do things with limits.
Inotambika mughetto.
Online Reporter