The smart housewife beats the Indian Finance Minister

Every time the finance minister addresses a press conference she raises hopes amongst the middle class of getting lucky this time. After all the pandemic has been a double whammy for them. On one hand, the salaries of the working class have been cut and on the other, the prices of essential commodities have gone up.

A vortex of salary cuts and job loss — **A twister of challenges thrown up by the pandemic**

And caught in this vortex of salary-cut and high inflation, another set of people have lost their jobs and are surviving on savings. The migrant laborers and the blue-colored worker have been severely impacted by the shutdown of the factories. Despite the setbacks, the smart housewife knows how to find a way out of this vortex.

The appearance of the finance minister on television is like a new suspense thriller premiering on a streaming channel. As the suspense unfolds, the audience realizes that they have been taken for a ride. The climax of all such appearances of the finance minister turns out to be anti-climax.

When expenses are more than savings and pockets are empty — **Like in the past this is the dole for the salaried class**

It was a Monday afternoon (28^th June 2021) and the husband had just taken some time out of his WFH schedule to listen to the Finance minister’s address. He was expecting that after the second wave of the pandemic, the minister will have something for the people who pay their taxes on time. Alas, his hopes were dashed. The smart housewife seeing her husband disappointed asked her to cheer up!

But why was she so cheerful despite the setbacks? Well, the answer lies in her smartness in managing a home. The housewife has always faced these challenges in life but has overcome them with smart solutions.

The smart housewife’s tight grip on household expenses

While the government uses a whole lot of economic parameters for studying inflation at wholesale and retail prices, the smart housewife has all the prices at her fingertips. She knows that the price of mustard oil has gone up by Rs 40 a litre in a month and that tur daal has become expensive by Rs 25 a kilo in just a couple of months. The finance minister may try to convince the country that inflation is under control by releasing the wholesale price index but a smart housewife is more bothered about the prices at the retail outlets.

Ordering grocery online — **Everything has become so damm expensive**

The parameters for her to judge the inflation is by looking at the prices of daily consumed items like vegetables, milk, eggs, grocery, etc. In a situation where the family income has shrunk due to a cut in the husband’s salary, she uses her acumen to control consumption. The frequency of ordering from restaurants is cut down by half. At home, the choice of individual dishes for each family member is over. There is a common menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and nobody has a right to veto.

The housewife understands that the dole announced by the FM is a mirage

The common man is not happy with the relief package — **Reactions to the relief package announced by the FM**

During season 1 of the pandemic, the FM had given out doles for a week-long amounting to Rs 20 lakh crore. The housewife knew that it’s a mirage and the middle class will hardly get to see even a rupee of it. She was right! The dole either benefited the corporate world to recast their debt or the poor through direct benefit transfer. For the middle class, it was just a five-episode show with one telecasted every day. The irony was that season 1 of FM on television neither had a script nor a climax. With poor direction and a missing storyline, it failed to get the audience’s attention.

Season 2 of the pandemic telecast by FM on 28^th June announcing an additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore was a figure only to count the zeros. It had zero value for the housewife who understood the smart move of the FM.

The smart housewife understands economics better than the FM

Most of the schemes announced by the FM are targeted towards building the supply side. The additional credit line guarantee to small and medium enterprises will help them keep manufacturing and producing goods. On the other hand, providing ration to the poor will help them survive the pandemic. But where are the people buying these manufactured products? Till the time people don’t have the extra money in their pockets, they will not splurge on buying. It’s simple economics.

I need more money — **Darling, it’s difficult to run the house in the salary you get**

The smart housewife knows that till the time her purse doesn’t get fattened she will not indulge in buying. Her focus will be only on buying essentials whether on e-commerce or retail. No more new clothes for son and daughter till the time school starts or social gatherings are back. She has stopped surfing Myntra and Amazon for those sequenced tops, colorful bags, and cosmetics. The husband has been instructed to refrain from buying any new mobile or other accessories till the office starts.

With petrol prices touching sky high, family movements are restricted. A lockdown with everybody confined to home has further helped her in cutting costs on fuel.

She is more compassionate

Despite the lockdowns of phases 1 and 2 she has not asked her maids to go on furlough. On the other hand, she compensated them with the full salary even though they couldn’t come to work during the lockdown. She asked them to collect their salary from the colony gate as they were not allowed to enter the complex. It was clear in her mind that if she doesn’t stand by them in this hour of crisis, how will they survive. The government of India and the FM both missed this point when it came to migrant labour.

A smart housewife has stood by her maids — **Ma’am, I just want to thank you for standing by me**

The smart housewife has been using the e-commerce portal intelligently to buy the best value-for-money deals. But this doesn’t mean that she has ignored her local grocery shop-wala. She makes it a point to buy daily essentials from him ensuring that he stays in business.

For the smart housewife, health is a priority

The govt goofed up on the vaccine but not the housewife. She ensured that all her family members who were eligible for the vaccine got their jab on time. Apart from this she even sponsored her maid and driver for a paid vaccination at her RWA camp.

The overdue vacation

Smart housewife understands that a family vacation is the need of the hour — **Ok! We all are going on vacation.**

The husband and kids are pressurizing her for a weekend vacation to a nearby hill destination. Though a bit apprehensive she has given a go-ahead. With the entire family vaccinated the risk is low. She has been tipping the service staff at the hotel with a great deal of generosity. After all, the hotel staff and their family have gone through hell. The tip may be a drop in an ocean but collectively with other vacationers, it will help the staff to stand on their own. The FM has also come out with a scheme to revive the tourism sector but it doesn’t even count as a drop.

If only the FM was large-hearted like a smart housewife, things would have been different for our country.

You can enjoy more such stories on my blog by clicking on the following links:

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