SURVIVING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES

The year 2017 begun on a tough lane with looming drought that actually came to reality.Kenyans are now forced to dig deeper into their pockets for necessities including water, milk, rice and even flour.

Bottom line, everything is a shilling or higher than it used to be. With the situation far from getting better, here are some tips on how to survive the tough times.

Vitamin C goodness

Kenyan norm of a morning cup of tea should not be interrupted simply because a packet of milk goes for Sh 55. No! You can lemon up your tea for Sh10 (Two lemons).

While some may argue that it takes more sugar to take lemon tea, one can result to using just enough and if you are the healthy kind, a teaspoonful will do. This remedy also helps you loose wait and boost immunity.

Leftover makeover

Re-purposing left over food not only saves money but also taps into your creativity by designing recipes.

All you will need to make the food tasty and colourful is spring onions, 'dhahania', garlic, rosemary, and fruit. Leftover fruit or milk can be turned into smoothies giving you a healthy drink and saving you some money.

Plant it up

Herbs like spring onions, 'dhahania', mint, cilantro and even rosemary, do not have to be bought from the market.
In a 2kg tin for each herb, one can have a miniature garden at the balcony or even at the front door.

The herbs can be sourced from tree nurseries which are popularly along the road. They are easy to maintain and do not require too much water to keep alive.
Reuse and recycle.

This is a time to re-use almost every resource of daily life. Washing of clothes is one of the major consumer of water, therefore, do not wash what is not necessary.

Dark jeans, jackets, and sweaters can be reused a number of times before immersing them in water.

One can also drip dry some of the clothes. Dressing light and being economical on the number of times you change clothes also helps. Leftover water from rinsing of clothes,baby and self baths can be reused in the washroom in dire situations.
Rural supply

Lucky are those who have relatives in the rural areas who can send them cassava, sweet potatoes, dried fish and even a couple of tins of grade II maize flour to 'sukuma mwezi'.

This is the time to take advantage of that relationship. A trip to 'ushago' on the weekend (depending on how near it is) is an all rounded savings option.

Survival is for the fittest in this case however the question is are you fit enough to survive?