Inflation + Dyscalculia = Surreal
I’ve decided that grocery shopping is unreal. Nothing costs what it should. Prices keep changing every week, and the store I shop at constantly tries to fool us by changing up the aisles. Even discounts or deals look immediately suspicious, because how? Why? What’s the problem with the product?
It was bad enough learning how to manage a budget with dyscalculia. Whether I have it or not, money is a constant source of anxiety. It’s the counting it that’s stressful, the stretching the coins to make ends meet, the fear of wasting it, the fear of being embarrassed at a checkout counter because of a miscalculation.
But with the witchcraft happening with our economy, I feel completely clueless. Even with my trusty shopping list, I still feel overwhelmed walking into a store.
A simple example: pineapple.
Pineapple is my go-to because of my tummy issues. It turns out that the enzymes in pineapple help me to tolerate other types of fruit. Otherwise, I will be in a special kind of digestive nightmare.
Thankfully, I get fresh pineapple cut into cubes, which are portioned into plastic cups. I just need a few pieces every day, so that cup often lasts a week or so.
My precious pineapple cup used to cost Ksh. 69 ($0.47). This was very reasonable, because a whole pineapple would be too expensive and too much. One day, I found the pineapple cup with a new price: Ksh. 120 ($0.82). The jump hurt my brain. It blew my budget completely out of shape. So I started rethinking and planning on the go: what could I skip that week just to afford the pineapple?
A few weeks after that, the price of the exact same pineapple cup changes again. It’s Ksh. 79 now ($0.54), not Ksh. 120. It was a relief. But then I don’t know what to expect. Will it jump up again? To how much? Will I be ready for it?
The margins at small shops feel insane
On my last grocery run, I forgot to buy some all-purpose flour. It was literally the first item on my list but somehow my eyes glazed over it. I figured I could get a packet of flour from a small kiosk on my way home.
Now, if I’m not picky about brands, I know I can get a kilo of AP flour for Ksh. 100 ($0.68). It used to be way less before the inflation voodoo happened, but that thought is too depressing. I go to the kiosk and ask for the flour, and I’m slapped with Ksh. 110 ($0.75) for the cheapest flour available. That bends my mind again. It feels like that margin is way too high.
I know. Bigger stores have their own calculations, greater sales volumes, etc. But if the kiosks and the big stores are getting the flour at a wholesale price, then I feel like the kiosk is ripping me off. I can’t prove this in any way, but my instincts flared up when I was paying for the flour.
Then of course I panic about the expiry date. At that price, I fear the flour had sat in the kiosk for longer than the owner would admit. But it turned out fine. Lesson learned: I will not save money at kiosks.
I don’t know what currency fluctuations mean
Over the last week or so, the US dollar and the Kenya shilling have been confusing the nation. At one point, everyone was saying that the exchange rate will be almost at Ksh. 200 for the dollar in a few months; it had hit an all-time high of Ksh. 160. But then some witchcraft happened and the value sank (or did it rise?). As I write this, the dollar exchanges at Ksh. 146.
I remember when it was Ksh. 100 for the dollar because it was the only time in my entire life that I could do a mental currency conversion: just add two zeros. But when it’s at 155 or any such odd number, I must use the converter on my phone.
What I don’t understand is how this exchange rate thing will affect prices. The keyboard economists say that the “cost of production will reduce and make goods cheaper.” Okay, but when? By how much? Because I’m still worried about walking into a store to find completely unfamiliar prices on everything.
I fear breaking or losing things
I like to think that I’ve made smart purchases over the years, from utensils to shoes to appliances and everything in between. Before, if for any reason something broke or got lost, I could be certain that replacing it would cost about the same. If the price rose over time, it wouldn’t be by much.
Today, though, I’m terrified of even breaking a mug.
Just last week, one of my extension cords fell into a bucket of water. I was embarrassed to be that clumsy, but I also knew I absolutely would not buy a replacement. I shook all the water out and left it out to dry. I’m using it now, no issues whatsoever. I’m still aware of the risk though.
A few years ago it would be as easy as, “Oh damn, my bad. I can’t risk using a wet extension cord. I’ll buy a new one next week.” These days, the immediate thought is either to DIY a solution, repair what’s broken, or do without.
Why? Let’s say the extension cord cost me Ksh. 1,200 ($8.22) when I bought it in 2019. The same item, if I could even find an identical one, would be almost double the price today. Most likely, I’d find a more updated version, which would cost even more.
The thought scares me. I look around my humble possessions and imagine the cost of replacing anything in it, and my brain just can’t compute. So instead I move very carefully and deliberately in my spaces. Handle with extra care.
Startups are confusing
This particular worry is on a bigger scale. It used to be that every time I’d leave my house for groceries, more and more businesses were closing. There were new “shop to let” signs popping up everywhere.
The trend lately is business premises popping up everywhere. Some new shops are built from stone, others from converted shipping containers. In a month or so there’ll be even more “shop to let” signs, but on shiny new real estate. This confuses me.
What changed? Are loans more accessible now all of a sudden? Are these builders and future business owners being fed the wrong data? Are there numbers to prove that there’s hope in starting a business now? Or am I crazy? What am I missing?
From my observations, spending power is simply not back where it used to be. Unless you’re part of the chosen few who are not impacted by inflation, you won’t have much to spare beyond the most basic needs. I hope I’m mistaken, but I fear startup owners may end up sitting on their stock and deeper in debt than they expected.
Again, business is a numbers thing. I don’t have the numbers to prove or disprove my instinct that starting a business right now is a bad idea.
How are “normal” people doing?
This inflation BS is painful across the board, but my dyscalculia is making me paranoid. The numbers all around me keep changing all the time. The numbers in my head are making things worse. I’m afraid that of any statistic I see about the Kenyan economy. I feel constantly lied to. I’m starting to lose faith in my calculator.
I wonder if people without this struggle simply have standard-issue stress and anxiety about the economy. Their budget calculations don’t warp and stretch and slip away and jumble up in their minds. They adjust to the price changes without second- and triple-guessing every digit. Their grocery shopping doesn’t feel like a bomb is ticking when they get to the checkout.
