Do what you gotta do

Dr Fahim Chand | Monday February 13, 2023 06:00

The ground remained hard, fortified by winter’s stinging chill. Though cloaked by thick winter clouds, the moon’s penumbra lightly illuminated the sky. While the temperature had dipped below zero, the streetlight expelled its warm glow into the scene.

The circular glow however, remained empty. A quick glance in all directions revealed no kinetic activity. The stark stage was calm and silent.

I surveyed the scene, comfortable in my heated environment indoors. I wandered around before ultimately putting on my headphones to the dazzling tour de force that is INXS’ Taste It. As the final strains of Tim Farriss’ guitar invasion faded into history, I remained restless. I dashed to the window and looked out once more. The scene remained etched into the black night. Nothing had changed. I retired for a further aural onslaught in INXS capable company, as the electrifying opening notes of Suicide Blonde plunged into the deepest recesses of my mind. As the anthem concluded, the restlessness continued unabated.

A contented smile painted my face when I peered out this time. Were the stars literally falling from the sky? Fuelled by gravity, white spheres fell to the barren ground. The scene transformed, as the gentle snowfall began to paint the sterile ground white. It was Christmas Eve 1980 something and through divine decree, at the last possible moment, it would be a white Christmas.

A snowy Christmas is a Christmas like no other. The stark landscape had transformed into a breathtaking winter wonderland. While heart-stopping beauty lay everywhere, it was the peaceful silence that calmed our tumultuous planet which overwhelmed. For one day there would be no wars fought, no peril and no plague. Human physiology would finally understand how life is meant to be lived.

While Christmas is a glorious time on earth, there is one little forgotten treat that comes with it. Boxing Day and all of its sales. As impoverished students, this day took on added importance. It was one of the few times of the year where one could reasonably afford some high fashion items that would ordinarily be unattainable. The pre-Christmas newspapers were always thicker than normal with all of the fashion purveyors hoping to entice consumers to spend their hard earned money at their particular establishment. As such, certain favourites stood out. Holt Renfrew, a high end department store owned by British-Canadian tycoon Galen Weston always had good sales on desirable brands. Incidentally, the billionaire Weston family, up until August 2022 were also the owners of historic Selfridges on Oxford St. in London. With my friends Brent Groh and Damon Shareski, I had planned to go shopping at the famed emporium. In order to have a chance at the best selection, we decided to line up outside two hours prior to its opening. Sometimes when money is tight, you gotta do what you gotta do.

As the doors opened and the guards let a restricted number of people in, we made our way onto familiar ground. At the time, our favourite labels and designers were the still relevant Giorgio Armani, Polo by Ralph Lauren and of course the crocodile adorned offerings of Rene Lacoste. And there it was, Gossypium Barbadense. For those not in the know, you might recognise it’s other name, Sea Island cotton. Sea Island is essentially the pinnacle of exquisite cotton textiles, the finest and rarest variety of cotton in the world. In fact it’s so rare that by some estimates it makes up only 0.0004% of the world’s cotton supplies. And here spun into a striking fashion offering by the Italian master Armani.

A Sea Island t-shirt in the most enticing and exotic purple, embellished with Armani’s flawless burgundy insignia. Needless to say, this became a valued possession in my wardrobe for a number of fashion seasons. While we were tempted to spend more than our budgets permitted, we were fiscally responsible.

One has to question how responsible the populace might be today? A new survey in America found that almost two thirds of the population (166 million people) were living paycheck to paycheck. Astonishingly, that includes eight million people earning more than $100 000/year (P1.3 million)!!!!!!! Which countries have the highest household debt? That’s you and me, not the country itself. Household debt is defined as all liabilities or loans as a percentage of net household disposable income.

Leading the way is Denmark with 256.67%. (For every $100 000 earned they owe $256 670). Norway is next at 246.96% followed by Netherlands at 235.66%. Switzerland and Australia round out the top 5. All advanced economies. The least household debt are the Mexicans at 27.49%, Latvia at 37.20% and Russia at 37.41%. There were no numbers listing Botswana’s household debt as a percentage of income. While excessive debt is never a desirable thing, economic obligations must be balanced. Saving a percentage of monthly income is always advocated by financial experts, along with a cash emergency fund covering 3-6 months of living expenses. Careful planning, no financial worries, and Armani’s latest in the closet. That sounds like a plan.