By Joe Noutoua Wandah, Media Advocate/Contributing Writer
Now that the much anticipated festive seasons holiday celebrations in Liberia are over, some Liberians may now be reflecting on how they unwisely spent the scares dollars just to get satisfaction.
Now as the dust of the celebrations settle, what is widely seen as the long January is setting in, bringing with it a number of financial obligations such as children school fees, food money, rent, etc!
Liberians are known to settle down in complacency not taking into consideration what constitutes a day’s celebration and their future expenditures which come after all of the so-called big celebrations in December of every year!
It has become the daily remarks by many in this country that, “the month of January is so, so hard”!
This is a way of life some say is increasingly becoming unproductive–eating all and not keeping some for the pending raining days, giving room for the “January hard time syndrome”.
How in the world would one go on with celebrations without any future plan? But this has become the way of life for quite many impoverished Liberians.
Some during the festive seasons go at length to spend many dollars on fixing their hair and those of their many female kids, buy new clothes, shoes, extra pocket monies! In some cases, the source of the thousands of dollars spent is one single parent who is a struggling government civil servant.
photo: The Author Joe Noutoua Wandah
The culture of eat some, keep some seems not to have resonated with a vast majority of citizens in our Liberian society, who believe that what one eats/wear is what he or she will take with them just in case of death or any eventualities!
This way of life has been handed down from one generation to another, but this must be rethought of to conform with present day realities and the need for savings for the rainy days.
As, I write this piece, there are some parents are all over the place asking the privileged few both at home and abroad for their wards tuitions, purchases of uniforms, books, etc, despite lavishing all that came their ways during the festive seasons which has not brought concrete dividend.
Well, I think there must be some drastic change in Liberians’ habit of wasteful spending before and during the annual festive seasons.
Most Liberians lack the culture of turning monies around in term of investments to better meet their future financial obligations, which is necessary for the sustenance of the family and households!
If it’s possible, children in schools must be taught these principles of life, so that when they grow into adults they can be guided.
Well, as the year 2026 begins, Liberians must take into consideration that there are increasing global economic challenges facing even their relatives/loved ones in the diaspora, some of whom laboring hard to eke out a living daily, with some doing manual labour or working in factories to earn weekly/monthly incomes.
The eat some keep some mentally must find its way into our Liberian psychic, in order to reduce the dependency syndrome and reconsider the lavish spending on celebrations before and during the annual festive seasons!