Do you have an item for emergency and crisis in your family budget?
Some problems people face:
• Emergency Fund is an idea that I offer to every wife.
• Setting a monthly schedule then monitoring items to control the budget.
• My wife is struggling throughout the month so as not to resort to borrowing.
• Expensiveness eats up the salary, so how can I save some money?
(You are lavish and always you do not pay attention to future time. You do not pay attention to money: How did it come? You spend it in things that you do not need just to satisfy your purchasing desire).
Thus husband and wife exchange accusations whenever a crisis or a case of emergency faces them and they need money, and when they search for money, they find out that they have run out of credit.
The problem of most houses is that they used to spend without measure and they have not been accustomed to saving money, leaving it to “blessing,” or following the proverb says: “Spend what you have and your future sustenance will come to you!”
However, Islam commands us to think and resort to reason and to work for tomorrow as if we shall live forever. Moreover, Islam commands us not to be wasteful, especially when there is no benefit so as not to deplete our resources and fall into crises that can be avoided if we spend as planned.
In order to examine this issue, we have to ask: Who is responsible for managing the budget: The husband or the wife? Is it a shared responsibility between the two? Why did not we teach our children the meaning and importance of saving?
How to develop a spending plan for the family budget so that it includes saving part of it for emergencies.
My salary for future time:
Um Jumanah says: Man is the responsible for the house and he is entitled to bear the responsibility, but the financial management is my responsibility whereas my husband gives me the monthly salary to distribute it on several items. As for my salary, I save it to future time and sometimes I add to it from the rest of the household expenses. Sometimes, I come across monthly emergencies that swallow all my savings as happened few months ago when my daughter fell ill and we did not have enough money to conduct a necessary surgery. So, I resorted to my savings, and it is known that Arabian women master these stuff very well unlike men who are wasteful and do not care for the future.
Expensiveness swallows all the budget:
Abu Saleh -an employee of a governmental body- says about saving: Salary is not enough with all these price hikes in everything, for I have four children in different school years, so how can I save money while my wife is struggling throughout the month so as not to resort to borrowing.
I had a money box:
Um Himdan, a house wife, says: Long time ago when I was young, I had a money box in which I used to save part of my pocket money. I remember I heard my father complaining to my mother about the stumbling of his business and that he needed a large sum of money. So, I rushed to my money box and gave him all the money I had, thereupon my father laughed and hugged me saying: May Allah bless you, my dear. But now and despite the abundance of money, there is no blessing and the salary ends before the end of the month because of the multiple children’s demands, eating in restaurants, and others things that affected our life.
Emergency Fund:
Leila (or Um Mashary) says: My mother accustomed me to make an emergency fund in the house and we only open it in emergency cases such as treatment or travelling abroad in holidays or other things that are not included in the budget items. Parents and children save part of their monthly allowances in that box in addition to part of the salary and the rest of the house expenditure under my supervision. It is a successful way of facing emergency and I have spread the idea among my friends which saved all the money they needed and now I am offering the idea to every wife.
Are you a saving housewife?
If the wife is the manager of the house and the one who disposes in the budget, she can answer these questions to know how much she is able to control her purchases and whether she is economical or not?
1- When you go to supermarkets:
A- Do You buy and fill the bag?
B- Do you keep to a previously prepared purchase list without going out of the limit?
C- You do not waste money in purchase?
2- When you decide to buy:
A- Do you go alone to buy supplies from the market to avoid the impact of others upon you?
B- Do you go to stores that offer discounts every now and then?
C- Do you specify the things you need to buy and write them in a list?
3- Very often you go shopping in the company of:
A- Your neighbor who is famous for her love for purchase.
B- Your friend who is an expert in wholesale shops.
C- Your family to make sure that you only buy the things you need.
4- When you like a too expensive dress:
A- You cannot restrain yourself and you go immediately to buy it.
B- You take a long time to think then you buy it.
C- You forget it and say to yourself: Perhaps later on I find something better.
5- When you pass by a shop which liquids goods, you:
A- Take the chance and buy all you desire.
B- Buy some goods you need saying to yourself: This is enough.
C- Wait and observe the prices perhaps the goods go down.
6- When you go out to buy certain requirements:
A- You take the whole house allowances with you.
B- You take part of the allowances and leave the rest.
C- You only take the value of what you are going to buy.
7- Upon the establishment of an annual sale:
A- You do not miss the chance and buy things for the next seasons.
B- You buy only what you need.
C- You list the things you shall buy.
By answering these questions, you can judge yourself whether you can save money or not, consequently it will be a pause for you to rethink in your purchasing behavior.
Instructions to adjust the budget:
There are some matters must be followed when a wife goes shopping so that she can control her budget, of which are the following:
Arrange your priorities:
Arrange your priorities to start with the most important down to the less important, and the priority pyramid is divided into three degrees: Necessities that we cannot do without, necessities that add leniency to life, and improvements to cross to prosperity. Do not forget that priorities differ from time to time, from a place to another and from a family to another according to their circumstances. Therefore, we have to define priorities in the light of time, place, and the conditions of every family without looking to or imitating other families. When a family feels abundance in its expenses, it would set a monthly schedule to know where are these funds spent then watching the items that exhaust the budget, so it arranges the items according to priorities.
Stop money depletion:
Put before your eyes that when you stop the depletion of your income in useless purchases, you shall have adequate liquidity to invest in other items that will add value to your life.
Rationing eating outside:
Setting a rule that all family members must abide by which says that eating outside should be one time a week.
One-day shopping:
Fix one day for shopping because paying frequent visits to the market leads to many purchases. Furthermore, it is important to write down a list of you needs before going to the market and know the times of sales. Be keen to benefit from sales by purchasing your needs, list the wholesale shops and deal with them because they are cheaper.
Life without purchasing is easy:
When the desire for buying luxuries increase, you have to postpone them to next week, then to the next and you will find out that life is easy without purchasing what you really do not need.
A meal for two days:
When preparing lunch for a day, double the amount and use the rest to tomorrow’s lunch which will save a lot of the budget.
Beware of debts:
Many marital problems that almost reached divorce were due to debts, so do not resort to debts except for extreme necessary and do not make them your habit.