Different Ways Covid-19 changed our Saving & Spending Habits.

The Pandemic That Caught The World Napping

With different global events and phenomena, come different structures and modes of adjustments, depending (of course) on the generation or demographic affected by these events. The First and Second World Wars greatly affected travel and commerce in Europe and America, the Great Depression of the 1930s shook up the economy of the United States, and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 changed the global approach to security checks at international airports.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 changed the world in more ways than one. Beyond the multiple deaths, alienation of people from their families, and heavy restrictions on travel, the domino effect of the pandemic changed the entire look of the global economy, altered work structures, and reshaped several industries. Many companies had to downsize as they could no longer cater to the welfare and remuneration of employees, while others had to adjust to remote work. With the massive layoffs, many people found themselves dependent on government welfare, leading to a change in spending patterns. There were those, too, who had to pick up new skills so they could fit into “the new normal”.

How COVID-19 Has Changed How People Spend

The world is slowly opening up again, and with the availability of vaccines, travel has become a lot easier, but certain things may have been altered forever. Employment as we know it has changed, as remote work is now more commonplace than ever before. The shift in spending and consumption patterns is also something that is highly unlikely to swing back to the state of affairs pre-pandemic. Here are a few ways in which one virus altered the course of existence:

1. The COVID-19 pandemic created a tale of two economies: those who were able to save, and those who struggled to make ends meet. Many people ended up in debt, some of whom are still struggling to bounce back.

2. Due to the economic hardships occasioned by the lockdown, more people have become more frugal and conscious of financial management.

3. The pandemic has changed purchasing behaviour across multiple demographics, with many cutting spending on movies, clothes and entertainment, but increasing spending on health care and groceries.

4. People have been made to take a harder look at their spending habits, scrutinise their expenses, and pay more attention to budgeting.

5. As a result of layoffs and salary cuts, some people saw their standard of living drop significantly, and things have not been the same ever since.

How You Can Adjust To The New Order Of Things

One necessary human trait to have is the ability to adapt. The world may have adjusted its approach to spending, but it’s up to you to stay ahead of the financial curve, make the necessary adjustments, and live your best life to the extent that you can. Here are some ways to slowly get your financial groove back:

1. Reassess your long-term financial goals.

2. Realign your budget to the new normal.

3. Build an emergency fund for future “rainy days.”

4. Be more deliberate in paying off your debts, or at least reducing them to a bare minimum.

5. Automate your savings and recurrent payments.

Here’s How Paga Caters To New Spending And Saving Patterns

As Nigeria’s leading payment solutions provider, Paga is easy to use, it is secure, and transactions are conducted speedily. Here are the ways through which Paga ensures that people adjust seamlessly to life post-pandemic:

1. Multiple Options: Paga allows users to pay utility bills, purchase prepaid airtime, pay for subscription services as well as internet bundles, and make payments to retailers. You can sort out your cable TV, internet subscription and electricity bills with Paga’s smooth bill payment service. The platform currently caters to payments for DStv, GOtv, Smile, and Spectranet.

2. Recurring Payments: A recurring payment is designed to take away the burden of initiating a regular payment while ensuring you do not miss the payment. It is simple to set up. To do this: 

•  Log into your Paga account
• Select “recurring payments” from the list of services
•  Create a new recurring payment
• Select the service you want to create a recurring payment for
• Fill out the details of the recipient/beneficiary
• Set up the schedule and fill all required fields
• Review the details and confirm the transaction.

With Paga, users can pay utility bills, purchase prepaid airtime, pay for subscription services as well as internet bundles, and make payments to retailers. The platform also enables its users to receive money from outside the country via its e-wallet system.

Paga offers a range of services such as: free money transfers, deposit to bank accounts, buying/sending of airtime, bill payments, remittances, bulk disbursements & collections that are accessible via its online channels and on any basic mobile phone via dialing *242#.

Opening a Paga account is pretty easy. To get started, click here to download the Paga app on your device, then click on ‘Sign Up’, and follow the instructions from there.