A monster which is called inflation

Why do you look so worried Zara?” asks Tania, her neighbour. “Today, I went to buy monthly groceries and as expected all the prices of goods have gone up. Last time I did my basic groceries in Rs 12,000/- including oil, pulses, spices, toiletries etc but this time it cost me 13,000/-. In a month’s time I had to pay an additional 1000 rupees, which is way too much,” replies Zara. “You are right, we get increments on yearly basis but we have to face price hike every month, and this thing is killing us,” says Tania. “This is one thing; I still have to pay school fees of my kids and utility bills, and after that I will be left with little amount. Besides that, I have to keep a separate amount for weekly vegetables and fruits. I don’t think I will be able to attend my cousin’s wedding next week as I don’t have money to buy a gift for her,” tells Zara. “No wonder, you are so worried. Seriously, it has become difficult for middle-class people like us to maintain a decent living in this inflation,” says Tania with a sad smile.

Sounds familiar? Most working women from middle class can relate to Tania and Zara. Inflation has manifested in the middle-class households in areas other than the bare necessities. The cost of education has gone up manifolds. Most middle-class families live in rented houses or apartments as buying houses is beyond their reach. The biggest dent comes in the form of soaring petrol prices. All prices go up with increase in the fuel prices.

Middle class, which is the backbone of any society, is facing a dilemma. They also have to maintain a certain lifestyle (something which poor don’t need to worry about). Shopping malls with foreign retail brands and fast-food franchises have proliferated in recent years, serving the middle class who “define themselves by what they can buy and where they can eat,” says Ammara Maqsood, author of The New Pakistani Middle Class.

Since Covid-19 has hit the economy hard, it has also affected the purchasing power of middle class. In this context You! spoke to a few working women who share their views and how they are coping with inflation…

Saira Ahmed lives in Karachi and is a banker by profession. According to Saira, most of her earnings go on utilities and groceries. “I don’t make a monthly budget but I know in my mind how much I spend on what. Inflation is here to stay. No one can curb the inflation but IMF. My home strategy to fight inflation is simple: less domestic help: drive yourself, cook yourself,” reflects Saira. She believes that if one stops being conscious of maintaining a social status and stops trying to look richer than one is, then it is not so tough to live peacefully within your means. “Honestly, I have always tried to maintain simplicity. I like to entertain but only with what I can afford. What has restrained my social life is Covid SOPs. As salaried people, we have survived well. Businesses have suffered more than salaried people. During Covid-19 expenses have actually gone down. Less dresses to buy. Less gifts to give,” expresses Saira. She urges all to distinguish between wants and needs, and prioritise spending accordingly. “For example, spending on healthcare, treatment, good quality food, basic comforts, and education is priority. Other things are luxuries,” emphasises Saira.

Maria Shirazi is a journalist and lives in a rented apartment in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, with her husband and a 10-year-old daughter. She keeps aside some amount for utility bills, groceries and basic necessities. “A significant chunk of my earnings goes into bills, which is quite frustrating. Even in lockdown, when we are mostly home, it is next to impossible to save money,” elucidates Shirazi. While giving her two cents on inflation she says, “Curbing inflation is not in our hands. The poor are getting poorer and the rich richer … well we are quite aware of that. People belonging to the middle class and the lower strata of society are struggling the most and just trying to get through the day. I think the only thing we can do is to raise our voices.”

“With inflation literally putting a huge dent in our pockets, I can’t afford to splurge the way I used to. The way I used to hang out with friends, go out for lunches and dinners, and hold parties at home, everything seems to have come to a halt. This is all because of the rapidly increasing prices and taxes. Truth be told, I have to think twice before spending extra money on luxury items. If you have kids, you become even more restricted and limit yourself from spending. It’s like life has become all work and no play, due to financial restraints,” she elaborates.

“The prices have skyrocketed and the major reason is Covid-19. The economy suffered massively and once things began getting normal, the prices doubled, even tripled in many cases. Food items and basic stuff have become so expensive that I have cut down on many things like frozen food items etc,” she adds.

Shirazi advises salaried women to keep aside a certain amount as soon as they get their salaries for paying the rent, utility bills, school fees and groceries. “By doing that you will know how much you are left with and spend accordingly. Since I have been working from home, I’ve been applying this strategy. Though I’m not left with much at the end of the month, at least I am satisfied that all the necessary amounts are taken care of,” maintains Shirazi.

Based in Islamabad, Dr Rakhshinda is an activist and is a proponent of women rights and gender equality. She is of the view that middle class needs to be redefined. She agrees that inflation has affected her purchasing power. “A big portion of my earnings is spent on groceries and utility bills. I have prioritised my expenditures. I do not attend weddings, birthday parties etc. I do not wear brands. I still wear years-old clothes. I spend on quality food and health needs,” states Dr Rakhshinda, who runs her house single-handedly.

She also gives some tips to middle-class women who are facing problems in running their house-hold within their limited budgets. “No strategy is 100% effective against inflation but if one spends judiciously, one can be out of debt. Limit your expenditures as much as possible. You are not competing with anyone. Identify what makes you happy. For instance, I prefer to have coffee with friends at a decent hangout rather than at a fancy restaurant. Budgeting helps. Try to save first and spend later.”

Hina Khwaja Bayat (an actor, anchor and producer) along with her sisters Mahvash Khan and Sadaf Kamal responded to our questions collectively. According to them, a major chunk of their earnings goes into paying utility bills – electricity being the highest. “With Covid-19, the purchasing power of people has also shrunken. When work has dwindled, people have taken pay cuts to retain jobs, businesses have had to scale down or shut down, and managing finances means dipping into savings. Added to that is the uncertainty of times to come,” observes Bayat. “We try to curtail unnecessary usage of electricity and have stopped buying expensive grocery items in a bid to fight against inflation,” tells Kamal.

The biggest challenge they all face while maintaining a certain lifestyle is entertaining their guests and retaining domestic help. “In this time of inflation, it has become a challenge to meet your basic everyday requirements, catering to guests completely disrupts the household budget,” remarks Khan.

While sharing some guidelines to curb inflation, the sisters suggest, “It is important to prioritise the expenses. Perhaps review where the belt can be tightened. Whatever one can manage at home (cooking, baking, sewing for example) will help in lessening the load. In fact, since people are confined within their homes because of Covid-19, small homegrown businesses (especially in food items, online teaching, fitness programs, tech services etc) can help in supplementing income.”

“On a government level, it is imperative to pass land reforms, bringing the agricultural sector in the tax net. There is also a need of serious implementation and recovery of taxes from large businesses because the medium to small business and salaried class are carrying most of the burden. And there should be a reduction of perks and privileges given to public representatives, Parliamentarians and public servants. It is the salaried middle class who pay taxes and these people enjoy the perks at our expense,” they add.

Shahrezad Samiuddin is a communication consultant at AKUH (Aga Khan University Hospital. She has a fairly good idea of her monthly expenses and spend accordingly. “There are a few areas that take up large chunks of my earnings especially children’s education, transport (car and fuel),” says Samiuddin. She feels that one figures out ways of doing things even in inflation if one is wise enough. “People find ways of doing what they really want to do regardless of the cost. Inflation has been around for as far back as I can remember, but I don’t think it has ever affected hospitality and socialising. Also, I don’t believe hospitality eats into your budget. But yes, I think Covid-19 is the reason my family has cut back on socialising and hospitality in recent times,” she comments.

For Samiuddin, Covid-19 hasn’t affected her purchasing power. “Since we are restricting our movement as a family and not going out as often, we end up saving more. So ironically the effect of Covid-19 has been positive on our finances. However, the pandemic is not a positive development and I hope that we are able to control this disease soon,” she clarifies. She urges women to focus on what is best for them and their family. “This is important and no one else matters. Spending to impress others will only lead to disaster,” she warns.

Shahana Naqvi is a professor. She lives in Garden Area, Karachi with her husband and three grown-up children. Her line of action to fight against inflation is a bit different from others. “The first things I try to do is paying all the bills, groceries and children's education. I like enjoying and relaxing, and traveling. But my ‘fun’ activities don’t have to be expensive and I like doing simple things – like going to a park, if I need to travel within country then I don’t mind travelling by bus,” explains Naqvi.

She agrees that with prices going up; the customary hospitality which is the hallmark of our society is starting to diminish. “I think inflation is one of the reasons that people have to cut down on entertainment and socialising, and people now refrain from having lavish gatherings and are cutting down spending on many things like festivities and sharing goodies during festivals like in the past. Like during Shab-e-barat, people used share all kinds of sweets like halwa. I don’t see the same kind of generosity as before,” she notices.

While talking about Covid-19, Naqvi feels that it has certainly affected her purchasing power. “Covid-19 inflation keeps rising but unfortunately incomes are the same. Everything has become expensive most importantly fuel and electricity prices which affect prices of everything else,” she laments. She recommends that in order to curb inflation the government has to focus on giving relief to masses and tax the higher incomes. Direct taxes need to be removed from salaried class up to a certain income group. “Utilities need to be cheaper so that these don’t put pressure on incomes, leaving an amount to help people improve their standard of living,” she concludes.

Erum Noor Muzaffar is the editor of You! magazine. She can be contacted at: iram29@hotmail.com