Remember Loci? Surds? High school maths? Congratulations, me neither. But even as we indulge in selective amnesia, I think you will agree that school is an indispensable part of modern life. Had it not been for school, most wouldn’t be where they are, wherever that is. That’s good. The bad comes when we have to buy supplies for our children at the beginning of every school year. The ugly is when we have to pay school fees.
Now, I know we’re in Ditheba, in a festive mood, ready to Parte and I’m probably ruining that now but come January 18th, the weirdly crazy, bitter reality will set in and have you queue in bookshops and tailor shops everywhere looking to buy school supplies for CBC and 8-4-4 manenos. Tempers will flare and enough anger will be burnt to probably cause flash floods in Antarctica.
I have a secret that will get you out of the impending jam and since I care about you, I’ll let you into it. OK, listen (or read) carefully. To avoid all the hassle that comes with January shopping, buy your school supplies now. Capisce?
Here’s why:
You are (probably) not broke now
The Kenyan calendar is the third most unique after the Ethiopian calendar. Ethiopians are in 2015 and we have Njaanuary. That dreaded month that people loathe, and wish to purge off the calendar and have it burn in hell in the company of rainy Mondays. For a majority, this is a month of intense heat, unrelenting brokenness, empty wallets, and small fortunes to pay back to Fuliza and its ilk. What’s worse, they have restored the academic calendar to default settings. Meaning that kids will be heading back to school when you’re at your most broke.
However, I’m thinking that you’re not as broke now as you will be in January. After all, you have a Hustler Fund Loan. And the best way to use that money would be to do school shopping now. As Warren Buffet once quipped, be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful when others are greedy. Now is the time to be fearful of spending all your money on merriment. People are greedily spending their cash to indulge themselves, which is a terrific thing, and while I do not wish to be Jeremiah tough times are coming. Do your school shopping now rather than in January and I promise you will not regret it.
If, however, you are strapped for cash, head over to our website or to the Play Store and download our app. We will sort you out to enable you to buy the books, pens, and Daddie’s new uniform. This way, your loan will quickly be paid via a check-off account for tangible school shopping you can see, rather than have Fuliza gobble up your cash for a hangover you only felt and probably hated.
You will have premium peace of mind
The keyword here is premium. The hassles and jostles of January school shopping have seen marked depression among parents to the extent that some have had to take anti-depressants. But that doesn’t need to happen to you, because I know you are smart.
In the space that is post-modernity, mental health, and wokeness, your peace of mind is the most valuable thing you can have. After all, everything in your life hinges on your sanity, right? Improving mental health does not need to happen in large dollops or in big swoops but in small pellets and little sips. Taking one step at a time, for example by shopping for school materials now will help improve your mental well-being.
Come January, parents will face the double-edged sword of school fees and shopping with virtually no defence. You, however, will only face a single-edged sword that is school fees. Meaning that you will have a fifty per cent chance of surviving January with your peace of mind intact. Those are odds I’d be very comfortable wagering on.
You will save money
This is the Holy Grail of shopping. Saving money. And there is no better way to save than to be early, correct? This especially rings true for seasonal goods like books, pens, and other school supplies. The thing with seasonal goods is that their demand and supply rise and fall based on the time we need them the most. For gumboots and umbrellas, it is during the rainy season. For school supplies, it is January.
Buying seasonal goods when their peak demand has not been reached yet or has passed is the best way to save cash. Now, for school supplies, they are best bought before they are needed and that is now. Coupled with the need for stock turnover retailers might get you very good deals on them. This, though, will require you to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Which is shopping for your school supplies now before there is a shift and movement in the curves of demand and supply. Head on to Jumia to see what I’m talking about.
You will have choices
Shopping early gives you an array of choices. Since you will not be scrambling with other shoppers for goods that are not available because of artificial shortages and hoarding, you will have the pick of the litter. This allows you manoeuvrability in terms of the quality of products that you want to buy, ensuring that you give your children a better start.
Having a choice further enables you to dodge shortages that might cause havoc to your otherwise impeccable budget. If you are a stickler for quality products, shortages will see you spending more than you anticipated or, conversely, have you buy low-quality products on the market. Either of these routes will see you spend more in the long run and in this era of high inflation, spending more will derail you badly.
To avoid all this shop early, shop now.