Survival - Beating a Recession

• Frugal does it for the Andersons

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

As
the local economy struggles under the weight of rising food,
electricity and other costs, Jamaican families across all socio-economic
groups have entered survival mode.

Consumption
pattern data provided by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the
Statistical Institute of Jamaica indicate a reduction in household
expenditure across nearly all areas since 2008. The data suggest further
that there has been significant belt-tightening in households,
especially in rural townships, as residents grapple with less-available
cash as a global recession ravaged incomes worldwide.

Real
mean per capita consumption decreased in the Kingston Metropolitan and
rural areas by some 13.0 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.

The Gleaner takes a closer look at families as they make critical adjustment in hard times.

THE RECESSION and high inflation over the last few years did not affect the Andersons as badly as it should have. Head of the household, Jerome Anderson, was always an economiser, making sure each dollar was spent wisely.

"I learnt from my mother about wise spending from an early age. She knew how to make a dollar stretch and was very smart in how she spent the little money she had, and was very creative around the house. I saw my mother run a house out of practically nothing and she still made sure we were taken care of," he stated.

"From before the recession and inflation jumping that big, I always instilled in my family to be frugal and to never waste anything, so I'm sure if I wasn't practising that from early it would have been worse."

But it did affect them. No one was exempt from it.

Occupying a three-bedroom house in Mona, St Andrew, the five-member family comprises 42-year-old Jerome Anderson; his wife, 35-year-old Ann-Marie; sons 15-year-old Akeem* and 11-year-old Tariq; and his 75-year-old mother, Enid Anderson.

With the inflation over the last few years, they have seen their expenditure skyrocket, although their consumption pattern has not increased much. Nor have their salaries.

Thankfully, it has not affected their monthly $15,000 mortgage, but they were not so lucky in other areas.

Their electricity bill has jumped from approximately $4,500 per month three years ago to now $12,000, while the water bill is now $6,000, up from $1,800.

He disclosed that despite the fact that they use strictly energy-saving bulbs in the house and turn off everything when not in use, the light bill is still climbing. But he figured it would have been higher if they were not employing that practice.

Massive petrol bill

"Not to mention petrol. That has gone through the roof. When you used to pay $50 or $60 per litre, you're now paying up to $120. I try to drive as efficiently as possible, but it's hard to conserve on gas, given my job as a contractor," Jerome noted.

With two vehicles in the family, petrol can run them approximately $13,000 weekly.

The head of the household said they practise using only one vehicle whenever possible, but that is quite infrequent, given that "I work out of town and come in on weekends, while my wife works in town and has to take the boys to and from school."

Where clothing is concerned, the head of the household stated that the family's spending has not changed much.

"I was never a heavy spender on clothes. You'll have to talk to my wife about that. I'm always seeing her with a new outfit or shoes. Clothes and shoes last me for years. The kids' grandparents, who live abroad, always sending down new things for them, so I don't worry much about that," revealed Jerome.

"My wife and mother are responsible for the shopping, so I'm not certain of the average amount we spend each month. But what I do know is that once you could walk into a supermarket and spend $10,000 for a reasonable amount of groceries, these days that amount isn't giving you much anymore," he explained.

Healthy food is the order of the day for the Andersons. According to Jerome, he has always strived to ensure that his family eats healthy, consuming mainly fish and chicken as meat kind, and a lot of fruits, vegetables and ground provision, in addition to rice and bread. The children are allowed the occasional snack treats.

"Sometimes we add other types of meat to the table, but I don't want my family consuming too much red meat," noted Jerome.

He added, "To cut down on unnecessary purchases and conserve on the food bill, I have also instructed my wife not to make repeat purchases. For example, instead of buying bread, dinner rolls, hot dog rolls, and so on, she can just purchase the bread. It is the same thing and can be used for multiple purposes."

Mother Anderson, who is the expert on smart spending and getting creative in the kitchen, makes her weekly trip to the Coronation Market in downtown Kingston to purchase fruits, vegetables, seasoning and other ground provisions.

"But I never go to market in the mornings. I always wait until in the afternoon to evening hours when the vendors are ready to go home after being there from early morning. You can get some of the best things cheap cheap," stated Enid.

"They will tell you to take the whole lot and just give them a money. Two thousand to $3,000 can get me a good amount of goods."

In the kitchen, mother Anderson is skilled at 'turning har hand mek fashion'. A favourite of one-pot meals, she is known for using the most basic things to create a tasty dish for the entire family.

For beverage, instead of buying a lot of pre-packaged juices and drinks, they prefer to blend their own natural juices from fruits bought at the Coronation Market.

"When you shop in the evenings, you can also get the soft fruits that are bruised or squeezed up that most people don't like to buy. The vendors will sell you for little or nothing. They are perfect for making juice and you don't have to add much sugar, which works out much cheaper than buying the bottle juice," revealed Enid.

Jerome places an extremely high value on education. For him, nothing is too good for his children, despite the fact that he has seen a 30 per cent increase this September in sending the two boys back to school.

"Between books, uniforms, school fees, and so on, I spent about $80,000 in total on the two of them and I didn't buy the usual five uniforms. This year I only bought three suits of khakis each, which they can mix with last year's uniforms that are in good condition," he disclosed.

Akeem is in grade 10 at high school and plans to become an architect. Tariq, who is yet to choose a career path, is looking forward to passing his Grade Six Achievement Test for the high school of his choice.

"I want to see my children achieve their goals and I will sell the shirt off my back to see them get that, because I know it will be difficult for them to confront this world and the world that is coming without a proper education," he stated.