Inflation forces people into debt cycle, asset sale
Growing up in a Pakistani household, lessons in “saving something for a rainy day” are inculcated into children from a young age. These savings could be in the form of cash or assets, like gold. For every family, the definition of a “rainy day” varies, but in our parlance, they broadly refer to any event that throws the family’s finances off the rails — a wedding, sudden illness and business losses, etc. Such savings were allocated for major expenses, not meeting day-to-day needs. However, in recent times, amidst a spiralling economic crisis and ballooning inflation, this distinction is fast eroding. More families are now compelled to cut into their financial safety nets to meet daily needs, like power bills, school fees for children, house rent and other expenses. Zubaida Bibi is a widow who lives in a rented house in Taxila’s Bilal Colony. When her electricity bill for August upended the household budget, she was left with no other option but to pawn her three-decade-old engagement ring with a neighbour and borrow money to pay the bill.