Head of European University of Lefke Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Department of Business Prof. Dr. Harun Şeşen gave some recommendations to the consumers for the period of crisis and made statements about budget analysis.

Şeşen: Consumers should plan how they are going to spend their budget

Şeşen said that, “Periods of economic crisis are periods of uncertainty. At such times, money control is quite difficult. Crises occur quickly at unexpected times. There is not much that consumers can actually do with the outbreak and end of crises. However, crises do not last very long. That’s the good part. Yet, there are some issues that consumers should pay attention in order to overcome the periods of crisis more easily”. Şeşen touched upon the necessity of budged planning on how to spend money and pointed out that budget planning should always be conducted, whether it is a period of crisis or not, but it should be of priority in the times of crisis.

All members of the family should be included in budget planning

Şeşen said that, “Budget planning is not complex. All that needs to be done is to write and analyze the income and expenses on a monthly or weekly basis”. Şeşen pointed out that, as a result of the analysis, unnecessary expenses should be reduced, balance of income and expenditure should be maintained and added that at that point, all members of the family especially children whose age is appropriate should be included in the budget planning. Şeşen also added that, with including the children to the budget planning, the budget planning will much be easier and children will be provided to raise awareness on the issue.

It is important to maintain balance of income and expenditure

Şeşen stated that, after the budget planning, one important thing is to go downsizing, just like companies during the periods of crises, consumers should also limit their expenditures in order to achieve an income-expense balance individually and even save some money and emphasized that with measures such as saving on fuel while going to work or postponing the needs of electronic devices, expenditure control can be maintained.

Şeşen said that, “You can estimate how much of your money you can spend after the budget analysis. Consumers should not make any purchases over their monthly income by establishing a good income balance. For example, preparing a list before shopping and staying faithful to this list during shopping will help them to maintain the balance. People need to keep their income higher than their expenses”, and added that another important issue for consumers during the periods of crisis is staying away from moves that will increase the debts.

Şeşen said that, “Of course, nobody wants to get into debt during the periods of of crisis. This is the right approach because the lending rates of the banks increasing during these periods. If possible, debts with high interest should be cleared. This is also possible by providing budget planning and income and expense balance. Of course, during the periods of crisis, the priority is to clear the debts and provide the budget balance. However, if the payments and expenditures of the consumers are settled and balanced, the remaining money should be evaluated with the savings. Savings will be assured at some point to the person and will provide support in difficult times”.

Şeşen finally said that, “When we look at the course of historical, we see that economic crises have emerged from time to time in every society, even though they differ in intensity,” and added that from time to time there might be different crises, and that consumers should always make some preparations for such unforeseen crises which would be possible with an income expense plan.