Last year, in the preparation for entering 2025, celebration filled the air. Everyone had plans to celebrate, including me, but our plans were definitely different.
I overheard my neighbours planning on going out with some friends, planning the drinks they would take with them, the hotel they would lodge, and the many itineraries for their outing, but I never in my wildest dream thought they would want to involve me.
“We are planning some fun outing to celebrate the new year, and we would like you to celebrate together with us. The venue is this, and you don’t even need to spend anything, just your tfare. Let’s all celebrate the season together”, they said.
I appreciated their kind gesture, however, I kindly refused. Not because I do not like to have fun, but because it was too expensive for me at the time to go out and spend time with them.
Measuring my pocket, In the morning, I planned to make a sandwich with tea, eat to my fill, sleep a lot, then if I wake up hungry again, prepare peppered cow skin, eat with chilled water, go back to sleep again, and for dinner, I would take whatever, if I was hungry. And that’s exactly what I did, and even though the plan is a bit different this year in the hours of sleep I intend to have, I still won’t be spending what I don’t have.
You see this FOMO of the festive season that fills the air right now? I don’t get carried away with it because I know I cannot afford it. So, best, I just keep focusing on working, learning and sleeping that period, and watching movies on my phone if I feel like it.
This season is the season when people go beyond their pockets just to show that they had a good year when in reality, they are broke. But I wonder if people still need to showcase what they don’t have.
Two years ago, when the economy was even still fair, a lot of people suffered the consequence of squandering everything they earned through the year on “Detty December” and then struggled when the party was over. This year, there are people that are planning to do the same, but this can be avoided.
This season, cut your pocket size according to the amount of money you have. You can’t have a shallow pocket and be moving like someone with deep pocket. Leave those that are flaunting what they have, just move accordingly knowing fully well that there are other days ahead.
Buy the drinks you can afford, invite family and friends if you can afford to feed them, and if not, lock up, prepare home made meals, snacks or order in if you can afford it, take yourself to a cinema if you can afford to, or watch movies on your mobile device if you have any on them, or just use YouTube to entertain yourself, and have enough rest.
You don’t have to buy new clothes because everyone is buying when you cannot afford to because the people you are copying have more than enough, while you may cry once the season of celebration is over.
Spending below your pocket has never killed anyone, but living above your means for a short while all because it’s festive season have rendered so many people hungry for at least one month after.
Images are generated on Google Gemini AI.
