In an updated report, the World Bank confirmed that the Omani families spend about 24 per cent of the household budget on food, which is the highest percentage in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Living life in the present days has become expensive, due to the high prices of consumables, not to mention the electricity, water and telephone bills, which places a burden on households. The prices of commodities such as food, consumer products, energy and minerals have gone up as a result of the global events such as the Russia-Ukraine war.
The World Bank stated that 19 per cent, the highest percentage of spending, of the Omani families goes to transport and communications compared to 15 per cent in the UAE, 8 per cent in Kuwait, 18 per cent in Bahrain, 10 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 15 per cent in Qatar.
The rising prices, especially of food, have made many families balance their spending in line with their financial situation.
The World Bank also stated on its website that, “Oman is expected to grow in 2022 to reach 5.6 per cent, supported by more than 8 per cent of the growth in the hydrocarbon sector, while the non-oil economy continues to grow by more than 2 per cent.”
Setting a family budget is very important to facilitate the management of money and benefit from it, and one of the most important ways is to spend in a wiser way; by spending money on necessities to live and stop spending thoughtlessly. Also, develop savings plans to buy what family members want other than the basic needs of living, allocate savings for emergency situations and reduce the family’s concern about money by increasing control over it, by tracking expenses and setting priorities.
