With the summer holidays, Ramadan, Eid and the start of the new school year all coming one after the other over the next three months, many expatriate families are worried about their finances coming under pressure.

Matida Bakri, a 42-year-old Sudanese mother of five, said this period is very tough for the family as they have many children and a large extended family back home.

She added: “It is not easy since my husband is the only breadwinner in the family and we have to use his salary wisely so that it lasts us for the next three months.”

Overspending is common during vacation time. Not only is spending summer vacations abroad an expensive option, catering to the various needs and demands of relatives back home adds to the woes of expatriates.

Mazher Khan, an Indian expatriate in his mid-40s, said: “Whenever we visit our country for the summer, we are expected to take gifts to family and friends back home.

“Shopping for friends and relatives alone is more expensive than one can imagine.”

Khan said regardless of the expatriate workers’ salaries in the Kingdom, families back home always assume they are rich. “Denying the fact that we are not rich enough to bring them presents gives the impression we don’t value family traditions and spending on others.”

The middle of summer is marked with Ramadan and eventually Eid celebrations, a time for treating guests and buying presents for family and friends.

Khan added: “Coming from abroad and being considered rich, we are expected to hold feasts during Ramadan and Eid and invite friends and relatives over often.”

He said hosting such feasts puts a strain on the household budget, especially because the price of goods rises during Ramadan.

He added apart from the feast, gifts are expected during the festival, which adds to the costs.

Zahra Hisham, a 34-year-old Sri Lankan housewife who will be spending Ramadan in Sri Lanka this year, says that she plans everything ahead to avoid financial strain. She added: “To avoid the rush during the vacation time, I do all the shopping for me and my relatives and friends early.

“We save money to spend during Ramadan and the Eid festival and doing so in advance can reduce the stress of having to deal with too many occasions within a period of three months.”

Following the festival, the excessive spending continues when children have to go back to school.

Families have to prepare their children for a new semester of school and pay for new books and stationary. At the same time, parents are asked to pay school fees at the beginning of the school year.

Matida said: “Spending Ramadan with relatives and friends can be very expensive.

“All my five children still go to school and after we are back from our vacation, we have to worry about spending for our children’s school supplies. Some textbooks cost around SR 65 to SR 80 and sometimes it can even go up to SR 100. That’s a lot of money in a period of three months.”

Bakri says even though they plan out their yearly budget, it is hard to stick to it when several occasions fall together.

Each year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will launch a price index ahead of Ramadan covering all categories of goods consumed in large quantities during the holy month. However, despite all efforts to control the prices of consumer products, some goods do tend to get more expensive during Ramadan as a result of increased demand.