Zawaya

How parents conciliate between the expenditures of Ramadan and the start of the school year

By: Adel Rochdy

Managing the family budget is not an easy task in normal times, let alone when families are facing additional costs of the different life cycles in Tunisia.

Sometimes, timing is “ruthless” and has little respect for the budgets and financial potential of families, with two or even three events happening simultaneously. Such a situation is a huge challenge for pocketbooks.

With an average yearly income of about 3,000 U.S. dollars per person, it is easily understandable that Tunisians hardly make ends meet every month.

The trick that Tunisians use in order to support their families is, so to speak, universal; it consists of getting loans mainly from the banks where their salaries are transferred, or from social funds.

Regarding the period of Ramadan and the start of the school year, one must first know that these are two events that do not leave Tunisians with many options.

Like all Muslims, Tunisians are strong believers, but they rarely or averagely practice their religion, except during the month of Ramadan. That is why they do not hesitate to spend considerable amounts of money during this month, motivated solely by their desire to reward their faith with generous meals and delicious desserts.

The expenditures of the holy month are thus sacred and oriented almost exclusively towards food.

The start of the school year is another event that is almost as sacred, and whose resulting expenses are a must because they are for the sake of children and their irreversible right to education.

Debt is however a double-edged sword. Some economists argue that the Tunisian case is rather special, and that Tunisians should take advantage of consumer credits, since over 90% of consumer products sold in supermarkets are manufactured in Tunisia. Therefore, the more one consumes, the more jobs are maintained and created. Domestic consumption is thus a lever for an economic boost. For that reason, Tunisians may continue to consume and get loans.

This idea is mitigated by others who think that there is a risk of slip-up because loans are indeed perceived as a salary supplement due to the lack of income.

Since they are granted without moderation, consumer loans seriously hamper consumption ability, as a large part of the income (or salary) of a client that is heavily indebted will be used to pay debt interests.

However, a figure announced by a bank manager cancels this finding.

He says, in fact, that the situation in Tunisia is not worrisome, since the debt per capita is equivalent to €110, while it reaches €200 in Morocco and €2,160 in France.