How most people escaped the January Cash Blues

So we have hit the 4th day of the second month of the year 2021. We beat January, the longest month of the year. January decided to get 45 days when all other months asked for an average 30 days from the creator. Our pockets and wallets were really on a strain with budgets shoe-string ones. We became overnight vegetarians and health junkies, some became monks and started fasting to “save” their spirits. Peace was a rare commodity in some households as families had to choose between a pay tv subscription and paying pre-school fees for the bundles of joy. We lost our soldiers, we lost our soldiers to unofficial micro lenders, bo machonisa while some to cash crusaders- the exchange of goods for cash was their only way out.

How did the wise ones beat the January blues, what can we take from them?

1.     They planned well for December

The month of festivities was not a surprise to them, they had actually developed sound spending plans for the month from day 1 of 2020. These people knew how much they would need, what and where to buy. They even had the exact amount of beverage they would be consuming during the month of joy.

2.     They used shopping lists

Yep, they did just that. These people had shopping lists in black and white, the organized bunch. You see when we were busy bathing and putting our make up on, drawing our eye leads and combing our beards before going for a spree, these bunch always allocated a few minutes to drawing their shopping lists. A written list does something to the brain, we tend to trust, follow and abide by what is written down more-the reason God had the first commandments on a scroll.

3.     They used cash for December 2020 shopping

Studies have shown that we overspend when we use our cards than we do when we buy with actual cash- notes and coins. The pain of seeing your wallet literally getting empty is unbearable. These people had shopping lists and took just enough cash to cover their buy. They were literally delivered from the temptation of adding that on sale Russel Hobbs kettle, which was not in the list, to their shopping cart.

4.     They paid their January dues in advance

Dues such as school fees, uniform, utility bills as well as groceries are always well known well in advance. So, some people bought vouchers- yes vouchers, they bought vouchers for booze, groceries as well uniform shop vouchers well in advance. This way, they escaped the allure of being generous with the January funds in December 2020. They paid fees for the joys and school bus charges.

These were indeed the wise men from the East who saw the star first. We have now seen the light too and have 11 months to work on giving our January 2022 a different color. Let’s give it a bubblier color now. No more Blues!