KUWAIT: During the holy month of Ramadan, grocery stores and supermarkets experience their busiest season. Even after midnight, people stand in long queues in order to purchase their groceries. Many families complain about their inflated grocery bills during Ramadan. "In Ramadan I set a bigger budget for the coop shopping. Every two days I go to the supermarket as the food consumption in the house is bigger. The main reason is that during Ramadan we sit at home the whole day so we only eat and watch TV. Also, as a part of the Ramadan budget we are preparing for Eid Al Fitr and providing food for the schools," 40-year-old Faisal told the Kuwait Times.
Other families owe the increased budget in this holy month to the invitations and visits from relatives. "During this month we have to invite all our relatives, so we buy more food, and we really have a huge amount of relatives. When we are invited for Iftar, we also have to bring something with us and can't go empty handed. With Eid fast approaching there must also be a budget for new clothes for the kids, as well as money for Eidiya (money given during Eid specifically for kids)," complained 51-year-old Mohammed.
Some families, however, don't feel a great difference in their expenses during Ramadan. "I think that we spend more during Ramadan, as there are some items that I don't usually buy during the whole year, but are a must in Ramadan. What makes it worse is the price hike. Even though they announced that many food items would be discounted during Ramadan, many items are not available or other items have increased. All things considered, however, I haven't seen a huge spike in my overall budget," stressed 43-year-old Manal.
Indeed, many found that they spend less during Ramadan. Yasin, 36-years-old, had a different point of view. "In Ramadan I eat at home every day. Also we are not going out, so we don't spend money as we usually do. Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating at a restaurant. I also don't have many relatives to invite, so that keeps costs down as well. In addition, during this Eid all the people I know are traveling and not in the country, so I don't have to buy them anything or give them Eidiya.
Susha, 30-years-old, agrees with Yasin that she spends less due to not eating out and staying at home most of the time. "I don't like to go to restaurants during Ramadan as I prefer to eat at home, so I'm saving more money. Also, many items were discounted in coops as they have special promotions for this month, which also helps my budget," she pointed out.
© Kuwait Times 2012
