House keeping 101: How To Make The Most Of Your House Budget

I have been having very busy days recently that it has been really hard keeping up with every aspect of my life. There are times I wonder how women that work in distances that are farther than my house to my office do it. Those women are the true heroes, it is real hard-work juggling career, home, kids and every other thing life throws into the mix. There are times I am tempted to stay back in bed and just enjoy a movie while sipping hot coffee but I know better.

This journey into womanhood has taught me many things and I feel obliged to share. See, I never used to be a good bargainer, I was that person that bought tomatoes for N500 when every other person bought for N200.  I guess I trusted the sellers too much probably assuming they also had my interest in mind,how wrong I was.I blame that on my mum and elder sister because they used to buy everything for me so when I found myself alone in  a different town I had a really hard time adjusting. I found out that I was too conscientious for the real market place bargaining, How could I ask the meat seller to sell meat he called N5000 for N2000? That’s what my sister and mum can do without battling an eye. Man! Do they always get the best things for the lowest prices? Well, that is story for another day as I am fast adjusting now that I no longer live on pocket monies and free food. I am so prudent now that if I ever have to grab a meal from a fast food joint, I’d buy my soft drink from a street hawker because of the N100 difference in price.

I had to teach myself how well to manage the budget due for the house while trying very much not to dip my hands into money meant for other things. In the course of doing that I have learnt a few things that I will love to share with you. Some I learnt the hard way though.

First up,make a list of all the important things you need to buy and pay for. Tick them of in order of importance. Then when it comes to stocking up on items and food, bear the following in mind;

• Don’t go shopping without a list: One of the greatest mistakes I ever made was going shopping without making a list . I find myself forgetting some important things while picking things that I later find are absolutely unnecessary. To curb this, make sure you are armed with your list of things to buy before going to shop.

• Shop in bulk: If you can afford it, shopping in bulk is so much better, it saves you the stress of visiting the market often and also saves you a few thousands in Nigerian money. I learnt this from my mum. I wonder if it is because we were five kids but my mum had an addiction for buying food in bulk even clothes and household products.

• Avoid retail markets: If you have the time and energy, go to the main markets. That way you are more likely to get fresher and cheaper things. I used to waste money buying things from my neighborhood mini market before I discovered most of the retailers also buy from the main market thereby making the price margin between the two markets quite much.

• Long as the price is not fixed, bargain: I have bought something in the past that was priced at N10,000 for way lesser because of my crazy bargaining skills(well, I had to learn fast, i have been ripped off too often).

• Watch out for store promos and sales: If an item is not very important then you can just wait for the prices to come down so you can get a good deal. It always feel nice to get more stuffs with less money.

Saving a little more cash for other things is always nice.

I would love to read how you get by. Kindly use the comment box below.

PhotoCredit; bloomberg.com