admin10-minute interval someone would bring something to roast, much to the delight of the butcher and bottle store owner.
A stake of firewood on one corner of the bottle store had become so low that people could even sit on it, showing just how brisk business was.
So high was demand for the braai stand that roasting meat was not without incident.
Coarse characters enjoyed stealing from those who were too drunk to monitor their portions while gutter language was no anathema.
But the pleasure was short-lived.
A police truck pulled by, forcing revellers to flee in different directions, abandoning their roasts and beer.
Such are the goings on in most ghettoes during this time of the year when people generally have more disposable incomes.
From dawn to dusk, people are making merry.
It is now almost unusual to visit any shopping centre in the ghetto and not see someone struggling to stand on his own after taking one too many.
Quite unusual it is that one can visit public places and not see someone roasting more meat than he can consume just to show whoever is present that they have the financial muscle.
We are in a period where it has become almost normal to hear that someone has not been home for almost a whole week while busy squandering cash with people of loose morals.
This cuts across all sexes.
Women are doing their own bad things inasmuch as men are also doing their own.
Children are also crying out loud. They want a share of the cash to spend on trinkets to prove to their friends that they have parents worth their salt.
“My father is a rich man.
“He has bought me three new cellphones, new clothes and given me wads of cash to spend at the cinema,” yours truly heard a small bloke telling his peers in a restaurant recently.
“Who said men are the only ones who should enjoy,” a woman who was donning a body-hugging costume which left her body contours well-defined, purred.
“Ipopano pandimire handimbonzi pwe-ee. Takatofanana. Iye achidya nekukuku iniwo nekokoko,” she continued.
Hamawe-e imba inonetsa,
Ndaiti kunyepa sekuru vachitaura,
Ndazozvionera shuwa shamwari,
Kana mumba musina chekubata,
Mutauro hauperi,
Mari muenzi mukadzi wangu,
Tisaparadzane nekuda kwemari,
Inouya inchienda iyoka mari, sang seasoned lead guitarist Edias “Solo” Makore and the Fogo Fire.
And he was not wrong. Money spawns both happiness and a trail of destruction.
When times are good, we rarely consider how our spending can affect our financial future.
People usually buy things they may not truly need because they have the disposable income to do so.
Unfortunately, when times change and money isn’t quite so available, they wonder what to do and how can they survive.
People are losing jobs at an alarming rate and it doesn’t seem like that downward trend is even close to stopping. With each passing day, someone finds out their job may no longer be secure or they may already have been given their walking papers.
What then will they do when they are used to high spending?
Very few people, yours truly included, admit they have problems handling cash, much less admitting to having bad excessive spending habits.
They would like to believe their spending is normal and under control. This isn’t always the case.
Instead of using the money they earn to take care of their living obligations, people with spending problems choose to spend money on things they want.
They may feel they “deserve” the things they want instead of waiting to purchase it until they have the money saved. In other words, is this a want or a need buying decision?
Some people spend money to deal with stress. Kungorambwa nekasikana chete zvaipa.
Things that tempt people to spend are many and varied.
What’s in your surroundings tempts you to spend.
This may be going shopping with a specific friend; shopping while you’re angry or when you’re upset may also be a trigger.
Rather than going shopping with your friend, suggest you do something else such as learning to play a sport.
Instead of running to the shop whenever you’re angry or something has upset you, find a friend to talk to who can help you through those feelings.
It pays to limit the number of trips you take to the store. According to experts, some people who spend excessively don’t have a problem with actual cash in their hands.
They do, however, have a tendency to spend without thought when it comes to using credit cards.
It may not matter to them if they have a large balance and are paying interest for it each month.
Knowing what triggers you to overspend is a great step to getting your spending under control.
Learn self-control when it comes to using your credit cards, or cash on hand, and you can begin to see light at the end of the financial tunnel.
If you find you simply cannot change your excessive spending habits, you may have to use drastic means to make it happen.
You may have to cut up your credit cards and ask the accounts to be closed. Of course, you’ll still have to pay the balance you accrued, but you won’t be able to add anything to that balance!
It’s really hard to listen to friends, family, or co-workers talk about the new things they have. Maybe they bought a new car, a big screen television, or something else you’ve wanted. Even though you’d like to own the same things, there’s nothing that says you have to. You don’t have to fall into the mindset that you must “keep up with the Joneses.”
Maybe you’re used to going out to lunch with friends every day. Over the course of the month, that can add up to quite a bit of unnecessary spending.
Satellite or cable television: Can you reduce the programming for satellite or cable television? Instead of having the “everything” package, can you do without all the movie channels you never watch?
Cell phones: Does everyone in your family really need their own cell phone? In most cases teens and children simply don’t need cell phones; they just want them because their friends have them.
Electricity: Do you often go through your home and find lights on in rooms that are unoccupied? If you do, your family is wasting electricity. What else are they leaving on?
Does the television run when no one is watching it?
Adjust your heating or cooling to help reduce costs. It may be a little cooler in the wintertime or warmer in the summer than you’re used to, but it can make a dramatic difference in the amount you spend monthly for your electric bill.
Transportation: Use public transportation where possible. It may be this isn’t an option, but you may still be able to save.
According to the Financial Planning Resources, there are millions of people across the country who struggle with spending more than the income they make.
“It’s not something that is specific or limited to one country or one ethnic group. People from all walks of life may struggle with this problem.”
As I commit pen to paper gentle reader, some bottle store owners are failing to balance their books owing to people who want to drink round the clock.
Whenever they find workers cleaning these pleasure centres, they demand to be allowed in. Kamunhuwi kebhawa vanokada.
But all this they do before they have paid rent where they stay. People are prioritising liquor than food for their families.
Countless workers have not enough clothes to wear to work and other functions, but the moment they lay their hands on cash, beer comes first.
A quest to be identified with riches has seen most people failing to do that which they should do first to live a decent life.
They would rather be seen downing expensive cidars and splashing cash on women of easy virtue than looking after their families.
But leading an armchair lifestyle is not without a cost.
It makes you live in captivity because of the need to maintain that absent public image one would have created for themselves.
This partly accounts for the harrowing effects of the January disease because they would not have reserved cash for later use.
It is an open secret that children need school fees and uniforms in January and the time to prepare is now.
But how do you build without a foundation.
Planning wisely helps conquer problems. Don’t spend to be seen.
Inotambika mughetto.
Online Reporter