After feasting, welcome to January blues

By Alex Kiprotich

With the holiday season coming to an end following celebration of the New Year, that January will be a difficult month is not in dispute.

Many people threw caution to the wind as they engaged in extravagant shopping, expensive holidays and massive indulgence.

The holiday season all over the country is characterised with people treating their families to a decent meal, buying gifts for friends and revellers staying late into the night in social places.

But this entire spending spree comes to an end as January bills loom.

Schools begin to open tomorrow, apart from the fees the students need new pair of uniform, shopping for those in boarding schools and books for those who get promoted to the next class, but this is just one aspect. What about rent for the landlord, bus fare to work or money to fuel the car?

Mr Dennis Oraro says he will not step into a bar the whole of January because he spent a lot during the festive season.

Oraro, a businessman, says it will be a difficult month financially but he hopes to bridge the gap even if it means borrowing from friends and business associates.

"I spent substantially and as part of cost cutting measures for this month, I will not enter a bar because I need each and every coin for other family commitments," he says.

He said the festive season is associated with spending and it is difficult to stick to the budget plans.

"People talk of prudent budgeting but that is just on paper and especially if you have family and children who will always need presents and a unique treat," he says.

Mr Benjamin Otieno, who has two children in secondary school, says his nightmare is where to get school fees.

Otieno says though he did not over-spend; he could have saved the little to cater for school fees.

"I do not have an option but to send them to school with the minimum basics then later in February shop for them," he says.

Otieno notes apart from heavy spending during the Christmas season, the fact that employers release salaries by mid December exacerbates January’s impecunious nature.

"It is a good thing for employers to ensure that their employees celebrate well but it is also contributing to difficult economic times in January," he says.

Mr Silas Okoth could not to travel to the rural home for the festivities because of economic hardships in January.

Okoth said he learnt his lesson in 2008 when he was forced to survive on debts in order to remain a float financially.

"I did not travel home because I knew it could be a very long January for me and my family without money," he says.

Most parents, he says, would be hoping that schoolteachers would understand their economic hardships and keep children at school at least in January.

Ms Beverly Kamau said she partied during the festive season and is worried that she has no money to even pay rent.

Kamau, however, is planning to take a Sacco loan if she does not get a friend or relative to bail her out.

"The beauty of being single is that you can spend with wanton abandon but the problem is that you later realise you have obligations and can’t escape," she says.

Though she was planning to enrol for a course in one of the Kenya Institute of Management branches, the possibility remains slim.

"I had promised myself to enrol for a management course this month but for now, I do not see the prospects and I have to wait till March," she said.

And for Mr Zablon Nyakundi, a security guard, he will be forced to relocate his small family back to his rural home in Mosocho until things gets better in February.

Nyakundi said he exhausted his December pay in the festivities and his family will go hungry if they remain in town.

"At least at home they can get food from the farm unlike here where without money, you can’t eat," he says.

He is, however, happy because after he received his salary two weeks ago, he paid his rent.

"For now I know the landlord will not be chasing me," he says.

Mr John Ngige is putting his trust in God because he cannot figure out how he will survive for a whole month without money.

"I did not spend so much because I did not have although I will have difficulties within the month," he says.

He adds: "I do not see where to get extra money but I trust God will see me through."

Ms Hellen Nkoina hopes she will be able to re-organise her business to recoup what she spent during the holidays.

"I am going to work extra hard in my business so that I can get quick revenue to sustain my family within this month otherwise I will be financially constrained," she said.