Mrs Evelyn Ukong has nine mouths to feed apart from hers. After losing her son, his wife remarried and left five of their kids with Evelyn to cater to.
“She (son’s ex-wife) occasionally sends money to me though, but I shoulder most of the responsibility and it is not easy at all,” Ukong told our correspondent in an interview.
Her elder sister’s three kids are also with her after she passed away in 2021. She also has a child whom she adopted in 2014, who is only 12 years old as well living with her and also under her cover for food, shelter and other basic amenities.
“Dinner time in my house is like a mini-party. There is food and plates everywhere. Legs are coming and leaving the kitchen, and shouting is happening over whose meat is bigger and whose food has no meat. It is not easy,” Ukong notes as she speaks to Saturday PUNCH.
The retired teacher, who is based in Cross River State, also said she had to cut costs because of the rising inflation, adding that she had a meeting with all her family members to inform them that they would only be eating once a day on weekdays and twice on weekends.
“When I told them that I would only feed them once, they did not believe it but that is the only way we will survive this inflation together,” she stated.
Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics states that 63 per cent of Nigerians, which translates to about 133 million people, are living in multidimensional poverty.
Several large families have lamented that it has become increasingly difficult for them to cater to the needs of members without resorting to borrowing.
A father of five, Mr George Tamuno, noted that he had to borrow from different sources in the year following the removal of fuel subsidy.
“When subsidy was removed, goods and services became expensive, and I have had to borrow to survive. My five children do not understand why they cannot eat thrice anymore and why I cannot always give them pocket money like before, but I am cutting costs,” he said.
The NBS in its Consumer Price Index for October revealed that the headline inflation rate increased to 27.33 per cent relative to the September headline rate, which was 26.72 per cent.
This shows that the country is facing its worst cost of living crisis in about 20 years following the surge.
The CPI also stated that the cost of living was worse in cities where urban inflation had risen to 29.29 per cent and a bit milder in rural areas where the rural inflation rate was 25.58 per cent (below the national average).
For instance, residents of Kogi, where the inflation rate was 34.20 per cent; Rivers (31.44 per cent); and Lagos (31.23 per cent), were spending more on goods and services as their inflation rates were well above the national average.
Here are six ways large families can survive the harsh economic situation:
Bulk purchase
A developmental economist and tax expert, Mr Ade Dayo, told Saturday PUNCH that buying in bulk saves families a lot of money.
“When you buy things in bulk, they are sold wholesale most times and they are discounted. It helps to budget more thereby saving money for the family,” he said.
A personal finance expert, Mr Gbolahan Ajidahun, said bulk buying as a strategy for savings was the surest bet for large families if they wanted to survive the harsh economy.
“Buying foodstuffs and other household items in cartons and bags can save the family a lot of cash. When put together, they can be used to buy other things the family needs,” he stated.
Cut costs
“If your family eats five times in a day, this is the time to make it two,” said Dayo, while speaking on how cutting costs could save the family a lot of money.
He also noted that there were a lot of things that families do not need that they end up buying during shopping, adding that large families must begin to learn to trim their budgets.
Always budget
Budgeting is one way experts have identified families can always stay in check when shopping.
Ajidahun added that when one shops without a budget, they tend to either over-buy or buy what is not necessary while leaving out the most important.
“When budgeting, write a list of things you need and those you don’t but may need much later and arrange them in order of preference and see how budgeting can help you achieve all you need with the cash at hand,” he said.
Multiple streams of income
There is a popular saying that two heads are better than one. In this case, two streams of income are way better than one.
A life coach and accountability partner, Esther Ken, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, noted that it was almost impossible for families to survive with just one stream of income in a harsh economy like Nigeria’s.
“Sell something on WhatsApp, offer a service, learn a new skill, change your job but make sure that you don’t depend only on your salary to survive. One day, you may wake up and notice that you have only been living from hand to mouth,” she said.
Cut energy usage
If there is anything that saps the resources of families, it is the cost of energy. From gas to electricity, large families may have to spend almost triple on their energy needs.
Dayo said turning off the lights and opting to bathe in cold water instead of using the water heater were simple ways to keep energy costs down.
“With the price of gas hitting almost N2,000 per kg, large families may need to begin to be wise with the way they use their energy. Instead of boiling rice and egg separately, why not boil them together and take out the egg when the rice is almost ready?” he queried.
Go for cheaper protein
Instead of chicken, turkey and beef, which have become pretty expensive, Ajidahun urged large families to go for eggs and fish.
“The main point is getting the required nutrients and these other cheaper sources of protein will do the same thing,” he said.