By Tumininu Ojelabi Hassan
It is no news that the prices of food in the country have skyrocketed. These days, most food items purchased are 100% costlier than the previous prices depending on the consumption and seasons of these food items.
A lot of Nigerians have decried spending over half of their monthly income on food as the surge in food prices on every market trip without an increase in monthly income coupled with the fuel price hike has propelled them into adopting cost-saving methods to survive in this hard economy.
Our correspondent interacted with people who shared their cost-saving techniques which has helped them cope with this harsh reality.
Rosemary Onuoha, a secretary in a construction firm, who runs a family of four shared how she has been saving cost since the hike in food prices. “It dawned on me that I was spending a fortune on foodstuff when I got 5 pieces of plantain for N2000 recently. This same quantity was about N1000 six months ago. When I noticed feeding was taking a lot of money in the home. One day, I made a decision to go to Oyingbo market. I got foodstuff in bulk, which lasted for 2 months. It was then I realised I was wasting money buying food in small quantities at neighbourhood markets.
Although, buying food at neighbourhood markets is more convenient, however it’s high-priced when compared with prices of foods at big markets where they also buy from. Buying food in bulk has made me plan well. Every month, we have a budget for food. I have been doing this since February, it has helped me save a lot of money and one important factor is the fact that it helps a lot when there’s no much money at home especially when we just paid the kids’ school fees, at least we have foodstuff to survive on during this period,” she explained.
For Blessing Ene, a teacher and a mother of 3 children, food and grocery shopping incur extra expenses as they require budgeting double of the actual price for each item.
“Every time I go to the market, I usually pay double for a food item I bought two weeks ago. It was draining. I couldn’t afford to buy in bulk because the monthly income of my husband and I can’t sufficiently cater for this. I’m a primary school teacher. I needed a way out of this rising prices circumstance because we were spending more despite our financial situation.
“There was a time I bought a paint of rice (5 dericas) for N3400, the next time I went to the market which was two weeks later, it was N4000. I was stunned, so I came up with an idea. I reached out to some of my female colleagues, told them if we could go to Mile 12 market every first Saturday in a month, then we can split the bill. We bought a basket of tomatoes, pepper, red bell pepper, we got onions, yam, rice, beans, unripe plantain, palm oil, vegetable oil, stock fish and other food items in bulk which lasted for over a month. The first time we went, we spent about N107,500, it was shared amongst four of us.
“Each person paid approximately N27,000. When I calculated the difference, I used to spend over N42,000 on foodstuff when I used to buy in bits. I’m thankful we came up with this idea, I have been wondering how I would have coped especially during this period when pepper and tomatoes are now expensive, you can’t cook a good meal with N1000 pepper and tomatoes now. The blended pepper and tomatoes in my freezer since April is what I have been using,” she stated.
A Lagos bachelor and a Banker, Temidayo Olaonipekun’s way of saving cost is through outsourcing foodstuff shopping, eating home cooked meals and eating out less. “Due to the nature of my job, I am usually busy and I hardly have time for things other than my job. I used to order cooked food from online vendors which would last me for the month, sometimes I eat out at restaurants. There was a period I was broke because I moved into a new apartment close to my branch, I spent a lot of money setting up the apartment, so I didn’t have a generous budget to play around with. I realized I was spending too much money on ordering food from online vendors and eating out. I searched for people who usually run market errands online, I got one. This person got foodstuff for me in bulk. Then I got someone else to cook different soups for me which can last for one month. I do this once every month, sometimes the food don’t finish in a month, it depends on my consumption. Since then, I stopped ordering food online and I stopped eating out. Before now, I used to spend about 45% of my salary on food, eating out and ordering food is quite expensive considering the hike in food prices,” he said.
Anita Obi, a cleaner explained how utilising her skills helped her save cost in this economy.
“I don’t earn much but survival is a must. I started making use of my skills. I smoke my fish myself, instead of buying the smoked one which costs more, about 40 pieces of smoked dry fish which is popularly called “Panla” fish is about N8000. I buy the fresh ones for N3500 then I smoke them myself. I have saved about N4500. Also, I make my pap myself, I learnt this from my mom. Instead of buying 5 liters ready made pap for N3000. I buy maize and make my pap from the scratch. In total, I spend about N1800. I preserve the pap by pouring water on it. Every two days, I dispose the water and pour a fresh one. This makes it last for as long as I want. In addition, I get to save cost and it is healthier especially for my kids because I made it from the scratch. It’s best to learn to do things on your own, it saves a lot of money,” she said.
For Uju Nduka, a medical doctor who has managed to save cost despite her hectic job and tight work schedule, creating a whatsapp group for bulk shopping is her cost-saving tip.
“I told a friend it was challenging to go to the market due to my busy schedule as going to the market required the whole day. It was getting overwhelming and was affecting my home already. She suggested we create a WhatsApp group where we can buy food in bulk and split the bills. We called some of our friends and they agreed to join the group. We are about 8 people on the group chat. The first time, about 3 people went to Oko Oba abbatoir to get meat, which we all shared, 2 other people went to Daleko market, Mushin for other foodstuff items. We contributed about N40,000 each, it’s been two months and I still have some of the foodstuff. The only way I preserve them is by refrigerating them properly. When we need to eat at home, I defrost the food and microwave it. Another advantage is that it saves gas because I don’t have to cook every time,” she mentioned.
For Mistura Lawal, food shopping at the Kara market saves both time and cost. “I went to Kara market to get meat, when I saw the quantity of meat I got for N20,000, I was startled. Since that day, I stopped going to nearby markets every week to buy N4000 meat. It was cheaper and time saving because I don’t have to go to the market to get meat every time I need to cook,” she stated.
A student of University of Lagos, Judith Coker’s method of saving cost while in school is food shopping with her roommates. This way, they are able to buy foodstuff in bulk and split the bill.
“As a student, it’s hard to survive in this economy because we live based on allowance. We also need to put others at home into consideration. The first way I cut cost is, I don’t eat out. Buying cooked food is really expensive. So I make sure I cook my own food. The second way is, every 2nd Saturday in the month, my roommates and I go to Oyingbo market because it’s quite close to my my school. Everyone would have received allowance, we contribute N10,000 each. We shop for food and groceries in bulk and share,” she said.
Moshood Bakare, a sound engineer explained how his family saves cost aside buying food in bulk. “In this present economy, men have to be involved in market runs too. I dedicate one Saturday in a month to drive my wife to the market. Mile 12 is our regular market for foodstuff, we have trusted vendors we patronise. Before leaving home, we call the vendors and tell them everything we want. This way, our time isn’t wasted at the market. I work at Herbert Macaulay way, Yaba. I have a vendor at Makoko I buy seafoods from. All I do is call her in the morning, tell her what I want. Then I pick up after work. I usually buy enough to last for the month. In addition, one major factor that has also helped us save cost is, creating a timetable. Before now, we could cook 2 different meals at once. But now, we only cook what is on the timetable. This way, we don’t get to waste food and most importantly, we save gas,” he expatiated.
In May 2023, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 22.41% up from 22.22% in April 2023 indicating a point increase of 0.19%. This is according to the May inflation data included in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The CPI measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services. The Food inflation rate rose to 24.82% in May 2023, representing a 0.21% point increase from 24.61% in April 2023. This was driven by hike in food prices such as tomatoes, vegetables, cereals, bread, meat and chicken, among others.
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