Planning for a better 2023

It’s that time of the year, bonuses are rolling in, Jingle bells are ringing, companies are having end of year parties in preparation for their annual shut downs. Parents are running around looking for Christmas clothes because guess what? No matter how hard the year has been those little ones still want Christmas clothes they do not want to hear about Mthuli s fiscal budget and how it was surplus(that’s a discussion for another day)

So how can we all avoid the same trap we always find ourselves in come January?

1. Start preparing for Christmas as early as November. You wondering why well November has massive discounts it’s known as the black Friday month. They have Black Friday Sales which start from as early as the 1st of November till the 30th of November. I can see some of you make funny faces like little kids but if you can save 30-50% discount on whatever you wanted to buy is it not worth it? Yes as a Marketer l admit that we do trick you sometimes when we change a product/service from $10 item to $9.99 but Black Friday is different l think we can all agree.

2. Join grocery clubs also known as stockvel to my neighbors in South Africa. Let’s assume you did not think of it beginning of year or in June, well it’s not too late find one you can join now but please next year do better .These help you not to buy a lot of groceries in most cases what you need is perishables that you normally buy per month and per week, but none perishables like your beans, rice etc. you will be already having those. So come Christmas you can even give some to your in-laws and remain with a lot to push you the next couple of months. January disease will be a thing of the past.

3. Join Money clubs. Now as we all know that the Zimbabwean banking sector does not give interest rates anymore and since 2008 most of us use banks for mainly receiving our salaries and perhaps getting bank loans. That being said money clubs help in saving money, whether it’s to do renovations, school fees u name it the money sure comes in handy especially in January with fees. They also teach you to be disciplined in your spending for example if you are in a club that contributes $100 a month and you earn $300 that means you must fit all your expenses into $200 making you analyses your budget with a fine tooth comb(1drop accuracy as my dad would say). They are many clubs that start from as little as $10 to $1000 or more so please no one has an excuse.

4. If you love travelling like mwaa, well there is a way to do it without breaking your bank and not over spending with Christmas prizes that are exorbitant during the month of December.Phela ngo Dec Accountants and Marketers go crazy with prizes (the prizes are not God fearing l tell you).From a business perspective you cannot blame them really as they try to make the most of people s lose pockets. Have a piggy bank (when was the last time you had one lol) were you will have a savings for that end of year trip, unless of course you are a true Zimbo and you go ekhaya/kumusha everything there is pretty much free lol.Pay for your air tickets and accommodations from as early as January for that December trip it works out to be cheaper(tried and tested) .Still you need to save up for that ekhaya trip it also does not come cheap (l know l just said everything is free, but bus fare/fuel is not all these need to be saved up for.

5. Last but not least have a side hustle this is not only for Zimbabweans but everyone all over the world. It can be selling, teaching, online jobs editing, graphic designing you name it.We will not be employed for ever prepare for the future.

These are just but a few ways we can use to avoid that January disease and the never ending complaints and regrets of what we could have done better. I am not a financial expect but these 5 tips have helped me.

Do share your tips on how you survive January disease and grabe your own journal to start that planning journey.https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn4ZUx5LJjF/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=.