5 ways to manage Njaanuary

gloria mari

December 27, 2017 12:26 PM

How to stay afloat in Njaanuary

After the Christmas and New Years holidays coinciding with weekends, the following month of January will have most of us Kenyans completely broke.

Such holidays call for overspending and overindulging.

Here are 5 ways to manage that brokeness through Njaanuary.

1. Review your spending

Balance your books. Check the receipts of your expenditure and see how much you may have left. Track what you bought that is vital and that is luxury and set them aside. The luxuries may be used later for a rainy day. Don't take them out of their packages.

2. Work with what you have

Don't go on overspending through January. If all you have is fare, strictly adhere to that. Don't start compensating expenses. Like, say, a samosa for fare. You'll end up spending more than you have.

3. Clear your bills

Before much else, make sure that you sort out your bills. They always come like clockwork and you should have had enough foresight to set aside money for that. If you didn't you can okoa small loans to cover that or sell things you don't need.

4. Discount shopping is your new bae

If you have to do any shopping, it will have to be thrifty. But from discount sales, shops that have buy-1-get-1-free types of offers or go to the market.

5. Prep meals in advance

A lot of money gets spent on food. To remain afloat in Njaanuary, try cooking in bulk over the weekend then freeze the food. Divide it into different days to help you navigate the week.