IMPORTANCE OF SAVING FOR A RAINY DAY: A CURSORY LOOK INTO THE ECONOMIC EFFECT OF THE CORONAVIRUS (AKA, COVID-19) LOCKDOWN AMONG TEACHERS, FAMILIES AND NATIONS AT LARGE BY:IGWE GEORGE

There is an aphorism that “it never rains but pours,” meaning that, in difficult times, other problems utilize the opportunity to raid.
A nimble search into the history book evinced that, what we are experiencing today as COVID-19, is simply a repeat of the history. A similar case occurred way back in 1918, popularly known as the “Spanish Flu.” The flu was said to have killed over 50 million people across the globe, and destroyed the economies of the world.
Pandemic diseases always wreak much havocs on people, and often accompanied by other problems, such as starvation, crime, economic meltdown, among others. However, the intensity of this scourge can be abated with some proactive measures; one of such is “learning to save at all times!”
The importance of having a saving culture cannot be exaggerated, considering the bumper benefits that come with such. One of such benefits is fully captured by Warren Buffet, when he says that, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted the trees a long time ago.” The shade in this context means “solace” or “comfort,” while the planting of trees means, ‘saving for the future.” Put together, Warren is trying to say that it’s good to cultivate the habit of saving, even if we are earning a peanut.
It is important to note that savings is not meant for the rich alone; it is meant for everybody. Sylvia Mathews once advised that, “Savings is an important tool because it can help the poor deal with the ups and downs of irregular earnings, and also help them build reserves for a rainy day.” This means that, both the rich and the poor need to learn to save.
It is a known fact that the upsurge of this coronavirus pandemic has pushed most countries into a lockdown, crippling all socio-economic activities. This initiative has, in no doubt, left some sour experiences on some individuals, who did not make any plans for such an eventuality. Such people have resorted to begging for alms, stealing, among other things,just to make ends meet. On the contrary, some poor families, who had been saving up, have something to fall back on for the time being.
I must say that the difference between education and ignorance can be seen clearly here. It is expected that, people who are educated, especially teachers, should not be caught in the web of not saving up for the rainy day. This is because, saving is an attribute of the educated. For any 21st century teacher, family and nation, this should be a priority!
To further show the nexus between savings and education, Thomas Munger mused,
‘The habit of savings is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought and also broadens the mind.”
In conclusion, money is very important to our lives. Whether we agree or not, many things cannot work without money. Even some families fight due to lack of money and what to eat, especially during a period like this. That is why we need to work and save at the same time. Though money can never be enough, and there is no amount of money that can solve all our myriads of problems, we should still learn to save because, issues like sickness or illness, natural disaster and other unforeseen circumstances, will not write before they visit, and we need money to entertain them!