In terms of one's financial status, some days can be so good when we are very buoyant; some days can also be just fine, and that is when we have just the right amount of money to meet our needs, while some other days can be very bad, and those are days when we are broke and have nothing at all.
These days, I prefer it when I am buoyant and have enough, and I hate it when I am broke.
Edited on Canva
We've been told that one of the ways to avoid being broke is by ensuring that we don't spend more than we earn and also do not spend so much on things that we do not need. But, do you know that one can be very careful and still go broke? What do you think is the cause?
A few days ago, I was shocked to hear that the price of cooking gas has increased and now costs over a dollar. This was something that one could still get for a few cents.
In economics, there is something we call Griffen goods under the topic of demand, and it is a situation whereby people keep buying a commodity despite the price increase, and this is because they are things we cannot live without. In a situation like this, the best thing people do is to cut down on the list of things they will buy, and that's where the scale of preference comes in. It is at that point that one only has to choose the commodity that is the most important to them.
Earlier today, I returned home from school feeling completely drained of all the energy I had. My head felt hot internally, I was hungry and was feeling dizzy, and that was the reason why the only thing I could do as soon as I got home was to lie down on my bed and sleep. And when I slept, it took 3 hours before I woke up, and I felt recharged again and ready to do anything.
A lot of things happened this morning and they contributed to my tiredness and frustration.
I woke up as early as possible this morning, had my bath and got ready for school, while I was arranging my books and other writing materials, I discovered that my calculator was missing.
I do not know how it happened and did not notice on time that it was missing because all through the week I never studied any calculation course, all I did was study the theory aspect of the exam we would be doing on Monday morning.
I felt so sad when I couldn't find it, and it also meant that I had to buy another one as soon as possible before the exam day. Students are prohibited from borrowing writing materials during exams and it could attract a penalty if they are caught.
I misplaced my calculator in the period that I am broke and do not have enough. Already I have incurred a lot of expenses, ranging from the electricity bill at home to the security bill for my apartment I live in, food expenses and other recurrent expenditures like that, and they are driving me crazy.
Due to the low income, I plan to sleep at school from Sunday night until we finish our exams because I can't afford the transportation cost of coming to school and going back home every day.
Even as we speak, I still don't know how I will feed myself during my stay at school because all I am focused on now is to get the transportation fare ready and also the money I will use to pay tutorial masters to attend their tutorial class in preparation for our first paper and other calculation courses.
I mentioned earlier that something happened this morning before diverting to the issue with my calculator.
My dad who has a bike decided to drop me and my sister off so we could cut costs and spend less. Unfortunately, while we were on our way, his tire got punctured, a long nail on the road entered the tire and condemned the tube completely.
My dad who was also trying to cut costs decided to push the bike to where he would get the tire fixed. It wasn't easy and was tiring but he had no choice. I and my sister had to walk with him and assist him in pushing the bike when we got to the places that were like hills.
We were out of breath and tired for the few seconds we tried to assist him by pushing the bike. I felt so bad and wished that I had enough to give him so he would not have to go through all that stress.
We trekked to a point where we finally saw another bike that took us to our destination for an amount that wasn't so costly.
As if the problems weren't enough already, a close relative of mine called and informed me that he was stopped by the police on the road as he was driving a customer's car to his workshop. He didn't expect that they would disturb him because he felt the car was an old car.
The issue was that he had no driver's licence, and did not tell the customer. Also, because he needed to do the job, he had to take a customer's car to his workshop so he could work on it and get paid. In the end, after contacting his customer, he did not get any assistance but was told to sort it out himself. He tried as much as he could to beg the policemen, but they did not listen to his plea.
In the end, he had to spend about $30 to bail himself and the car out before the police released him and the car keys.
It isn't always a nice feeling having to spend on impromptu things.
I would have written and published this post about 6 hours ago, but I had to sleep first because of how tired and drained I felt.
Now, I am sitting on my couch, thinking about how I will get a calculator for my exam on or before Monday morning. About the other expenses like food, tutorial fees, and transportation costs, I will just manage what I have and see how far it takes me.
Expenses are one thing we can't live without, but when they become overwhelming, they drive me crazy and sometimes make me lose my sanity.