Our new travel blogger and columnist, Carl Joshua Ncube, shares his tips on making it through what promises to be a challenging 2017. He says, “these solutions  do not suit everyone, just those that are willing to take the time out to think outside the box.”

1. Pray
I am a born again Christian so my connection to God is very important to surviving such a harsh and hostile environment like Zimbabwe. Spirituality gives you clarity, answers, perspective. Spirituality has a way of taking you away from your problems and seeing things the way your God sees them.

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2. Grow your own food
Most Zimbabweans have enough space to grow their own food. Even 2m X 2m will make a huge difference. Growing your own food is going to save you and serve you in many ways, but it also will teach you a lot of lessons about determination and survival. If you do not have the space, then find someone who does. Ask. The worst they can say is “no”. Community farming is a great idea. Join forces with friends to grow things you need and trade with each other or share.

3. Find Alternative Revenue Streams
Remember if you are like me, you are Zimbabwean and probably unemployed. Find other ways to make money. Start by learning how to sell today. Start small, you won’t regret it later. Three or four revenue streams at a time is a good idea. Sell airtime anything to get you to understand revenue and costs as soon as possible.

4. Work from home
Do not rush to starting a company and getting offices. Start working from home. Only work with clients that understand and have no problems with this. The time to worry about how you look is not now. You need to reduce your overheads completely. One of the benefits of working from home is that the business will pay your living expenses at the end of the day.

5. Use technology
Make sure you are using technology to do the majority of your tasks. Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, etc, are all very powerful tools. Use those to grow your business or brand and remember technology connects you to the world and technology can teach you much more.

6. Mind your own business
The majority of our costs come from wanting to get too involved in other people’s lives. Focus on your small unit and don’t get involved in drama. Drama costs a lot of money, so stay clear and save yourself the headache. Do not get into doing things for appearance’s sake. Ask yourself if you really need to go to that family meeting or if you really need to be having an argument with people in Whatsapp groups or on Facebook.

7. Community
The more stuff you do in your own neighbourhood the more money you save and the more you enrich each other. Host farmers’ markets at your home. Attend social gatherings within a walking distance, buy from your local shop, car pool, employ food banks and go to a church within a walking distance. All these community-based activities will save you money in the long run. Even for drinkers, a bar within walking distance saves you not just fuel costs, but also you don’t have to drive while drunk.

8. Recycle
Recycle as much as you can, repurpose, reuse. Every little counts. The more you do that with water, electricity and waste management you make your life a little better.

9. Get off the grid
Invest as much as you can to getting off the grid. Use less council water by investing in borehole or inverters, solar panels, solar lights, energy saving bulbs and solar geysers. Try and find alternatives to the grid and wean yourself over time. Make it a plan that starts today you will get there eventually.

10. Change your social life
I can’t emphasize this enough. My wife and I used to think we needed to go out a lot, then we started hosting our friends at our home instead. People would come and bring food and drink and we would hang out more at home. Movie nights, game nights etc with people in your neighbourhood  and friends will save you a lot. For example a bottle of whisky at home is $19. In a bar it is $3 per tot.