Corona benefits .. 10 steps to reduce the Ramadan budget in half

Zahraa Magdy

Most families ’expenditures increase during Ramadan, yet the holy month this year is a different story, as with the spread of the Corona virus, we must strengthen our immunity in the first place, and adhere to the plans to confront the virus, the first of which is social separation, which may make us feel less joy than usual.

But there are many ways to cut our expenses and enjoy Ramadan at home:

1- You should develop a clear and measurable financial plan for Ramadan in order to avoid losing control of your financial resources, provided that the needs of the home include not what is imposed by the social custom to celebrate the holy month.

This will help you follow the major stores in your area on Facebook, download offers magazines, and then compare prices. And if you find more exaggeration in prices outside of Ramadan, do not be ashamed to postpone the purchase of supplies that can be deferred for some days, as sellers raise the prices of their products in the first week of Ramadan.

2- If we shop while we are hungry, our emotions will prompt us to buy things that we do not usually desire, and this is what happens during the month of fasting. And if we really avoid going to supermarkets and markets to avoid crowds, we will be able to order products via mobile applications, or call a nearby store to send orders to the home, without forgetting to clear them before using them.

Or if you decide to go to the store, do not take your children with you in order to reduce their harmful demands on their health and protect them from touching contaminated surfaces.

3- Adhere to your budget planner and make sure to stick to it during the purchases, once the budget is established it will make it easier for you to follow it. And before the purchase - whether electronically or going to the stores - write down your needs on paper or on the phone, so as not to be tempted by offers and advertisements, so buy more products for entertainment during the long ban nights.

4- We may buy a lot of what we do not need as a defensive method because of the hunger we suffer during the day in Ramadan, but this can be overcome by focusing on how.

You can add an atmosphere of joy to the Ramadan table by focusing on choosing new foods or rarely cooked throughout the year, in quantities commensurate with the number of family members, and also by renewing the ingredients for appetizers and soup dishes, and even salads by adding grains and aromatic herbs to them, and interest in providing an item of vegetables to enhance immunity Face your family in the face of the Coronavirus, and replace desserts filled with sugar and fruit-damaging fats.

5- If you find in the budget for nuts and sweets a pressure on the home’s budget, especially since our salaries are fixed throughout the year, you can dispense with another item in the month’s budget, and put these nuts in place of it.

You can dispense with soft drinks, processed juices, and potato chips, and reduce the number of times you order food from outside the home, as well as currently we must provide items such as cosmetics, clothes, and summer resorts.

6- Do not buy Ramadan supplies in one go at the beginning of the holy month, as the experience of past years confirmed the failure of this step, as prices decrease after the first week and demand for them decreases. So, you can divide your supplies you need into parts for the four weeks and buy your portion each week.

7- Try to spread happiness and love among your family without spending a lot of money, such as distributing nuts in appropriate quantities after breakfast as a gift from you. Be aware that the natural ration per person per day is between 5 to 10 grains of almonds or nuts without salt, and 3 dry dates to maintain weight.

8- Ramadan comes with many invitations to break the fast, reunite, and spend happy times. Unfortunately, you should refuse all breakfast invitations outside the home when friends and relatives, as well as not to hold annual banquets to return the favor, whatever the emotional stress.

Social spacing is the first and easiest step on our way to curbing the spread of the Corona virus, protecting our children and the elderly in the family, and that will save you a lot from preparing huge amounts to set up a table for ten, or by guiding with expensive desserts.

9- The Holy Prophet did not provide us with a model of a luxurious life, but rather a model of humility and simplicity. So we have to follow his Sunnah, eat a small amount of food immediately after the call to prayer, and if you feel full and satisfied, and stop eating more, it will be easy to return after an hour and eat reasonable quantities so that you will not suffer from indigestion and weight gain. 

10- Distinguish between needs and desires, and repeat to yourself a question: Do we need this or can we dispense with it? Do you really need to spend a lot on Ramadan curtains to decorate the windows of your house, or can you use decorations last year, or do decorations with simple efforts at home, in which you share the Ramadan atmosphere with your family members?