Steem4Nigeria Weekly Contest- What are the adjustments you have personally made to cope with the present economic conditions in your city by @arinzegod12

Hi steem4nigeria, this is a great contest this is because we are in dark times, it is not just a Nigerian issue but a global issue. All this began with the lock down when the world shut itself because of a virus with 99% chance of recovery and only affected a certain group of people, the old and the very sick or diseased persons. Yet healthy people with immunity were shut in their house, the economies of nations crumble, excessive cash were printed while little or no goods produced, businesses crashed.

Now we are feeling the aftermath, the Russia Ukraine war has very little contribution to the inflation I must say. When you shut down your countries economy for a year, print excessive cash for handouts while producing little or no goods you have just prepared a fertile soil for inflation. Now countries are borrowing large sums from International Monetary Fund and World Bank for sustainability thus increasing the debt ratio. When Supply is too low to meet demands and when government spends and borrows excessively we suffer heavy inflation.

Economic Situation in my city as of today

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Currently I am in the city of Enugu State, South-East Nigeria, I just arrived yesterday and the cost of transport was enough to give me a picture of the economic situation. When I arrived at Holy Ghost, before now Keke ride from Holy Ghost to Timbers was 100naira which is 1.07steem currently I was charged 150naira which is 1.6steem, all thanks to inflation. This implies that there is a massive as regards other route. So I have to spend double the amount I used to spend on transportation alone.

I also purchased Detol from a nearby supermarket. I picked the smallest Dettol size only to hear an outrageous amount of 400naira which is 4.3Steem something we used to buy for 200naira which is 2.1Steem.

A bag of Pure Water we buy for 150naira which is 1.5Steem now costs 220naira which is 2.3Steem. This means that their is a huge increase in the price of goods and that our money is losing value.

Currently A Satchet of water we used to buy at 5naira is now selling at 20naira, now threatening to even go higher. The price of food commodities have spiked.

Okpa a very popular delicacy in Enugu sells for 200naira which is 2.1steem for the biggest size which is not even big enough to be called a breakfast meal something that used to sell at 100naira.

How will the poor survive if things keep increasing like this. The worst mistake we did was giving into fear and locking down an already fractured economy for a virus that had very little impact especially in Africa. Now look at where we are borrowing and begging like paupers. Sadly we are a nation of consumers while producing very little. We cannot even refine our own crude oil, it is a shame and a pity we have found ourselves in such situation.

What are those government policies put in place to help reduce the economic impact

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The Government of Nigeria is clueless and have no plans to reduce the impact of inflation. They don't care about the poor masses. They have gone on a borrowing spree with nothing to show for but an increase in debt ratio. A government that pays terrorist organization off with millions of naira. A Government that's doing nothing about the shut down of universities due to strike action because of unpaid salaries.

Their is no program set out to help people in these trying times, rather people have to figure ways to deal with the hardship. Probably their maybe grants but how many people are receiving it when the money is syphoned to one person's account. Currently the Account General of the Federation is facing trial for the embezzlement of Billions of Naira.

The Naira is losing its value drastically against the dollar and this has contributed to a huge increase in the price of commodities, nigeria has an inflation rate of more than 7% and it is quite alarming. So the government is doing nothing to help the poor masses, they are more interested in the upcoming general election. Spending dollars to buy delegates to be appointed as flag bearers while youths are out of school languishing.

So there is no policy because If a policy is not working for the good of the people then there was never a policy in the first place.

Personal adjustments I have made to help reduce the economic impact

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I have started cutting my clothe according to my coat. What I mean is that I spend within my means and focus more on needs than wants. When I go shopping I go for less popular brands which are not as expensive as popular brands. I apply this to every item or goods I purchase. This is to save cost and cut down on my spending. It is all about management and living within your means.

In my family house we have started some food crops in our garden like tomatoe, pepper, cassava, bannana, plantain and some vegetable plants. This saves us money as it reduces the number of foodstuffs we purchase in the market. Sometimes we sell our produce for cash to buy other things we can't plant on ourselves.

Due to the cost of some food items like meat, we have taken up some other substitutes like egg and fish instead of meat. This is because they are cheaper and stop provide the same nutritious value as meat even healthier. Also I have increased my working rate on Steemit to generate more cash to support household income.

My recommendations to fellow steemians

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I think the time has come to look inwardly and identify our excesses, we must curtail consumerism and spending excessively. The first step to achieving this, is to identify our needs and our wants. Needs are those things we cannot do without while wants are those things we can let go of. If you have your wants in excess it is time to rethink, is it a liability? If yes, let it go.

Have extra source of income and learn new skills, we shouldn't rely on one occupation because right now in my country lecturers are out of work, this means that those lecturers who have no other work are jobless now. Learning a skill will enable you to be self employed and not depend on someone else.

Make wise investments that can fetch you passive income so that when the times are hard you will have something to fall back to.

Thank you Steem4nigeria for this beautiful contest.