MADINAH: With Eid approaching many government and private companies deposit salaries early so that workers can use the extra funds for the end-of-Ramadan holiday shopping season when the banks are closed.
But the early disbursements can also mean a lean month following Ramadan, which this year coincides with back-to-school expenses for families. Add to that the summer vacation season coming before and during Ramadan and many families are seeing their finances hit with a perfect-storm of expenses from different sides.
Some are better at budgeting than others, leading to incidences of borrowing money that has to be paid back in the following months. Some new workers are unfamiliar with employers’ tendency to deposit salaries early.
“I was employed in a private company and before the last Eid holidays my salary was deposited into my account. I thought it was a Ramadan gift from the company,” said Abu Saeed, 32, about his first job.
“My happiness knew no bounds.”
His happiness quickly diminished after Eid when he discovered he had to survive on SR500 for nearly three weeks until his next payday. Not wanting to borrow money to survive, he sold some of his wife’s jewelry to get another SR1,000.
Saudi Muhammad Abdul Aziz, a healthcare worker in Madinah, says the month after Ramadan (Shawwal) is the “financial crisis month.”
“The culture of managing money or saving or budgeting does not exist in most Saudi families,” he said.
“We quickly use whatever money we have and only think later of the consequences. That’s why people call the month of Shawwal the financial crises month. It is not because of the month itself but because of the way we spend our money.”
Saudi housewife Um Salem has a suggestion for proper holiday budgeting: let the unemployed housewife handle the expenses, because she is used to dealing with one source of income.
“When that salary is deposited early, I cut it out of the budget and I refuse to touch it until Eid is over,” she said.
“It can be difficult because money is needed to buy Eid gifts and clothes. Nevertheless, I scrimp and save, knowing fully well that there are house and school expenses to be met soon after Eid.”
