To survive on streets where prices and written in stone, but the laughs are free, one can sometimes end up spending more time and energy haggling for discounts than it would take to earn the extra money needed to pay the original price.
In a world dominated by economic disparities and financial acrobatics, middle-income earners have a secret weapon at their disposal. It's not a top-secret government experiment, nor is it a fancy financial scheme cooked up by Wall Street wizards. No, it's something far more commonplace and accessible: the art of bargaining. Yes, you read that right—bargaining, the age-old practice of haggling for a better deal, is the middle-income earner's nuclear weapon, and the irony is as thick as a stack of discounted coupons.
Unlike some parts of the world where items have fixed prices, in Kampala you are billed based on how you are dressed, your accent, your means of transport or where you live. Statements like “Oyo muzungu”(That one is white), “Abamasuuti mulina sente” (You people in suits have money) among others normally follow through pre/post bargain.
These past few months have seen me hop from one residence to another. Some days am around the slums of kibuli, other days am somewhere in Munyonyo but most of my days are spent with the rich and poor of places like Najjera, Kiwatule and Ntinda. That is an insight in how the “gig economy” is juggling me.
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On some mornings I wake up in a neighborhood where a small walk means finding heaps of leftovers from KFC, Café Javas, Tipsy, and other fancy restaurants. On other mornings talking a walk is risking your life, I mean, all you experience upon talking a walk is dust upon dust and skinny street children reaching out for a coin or two and gangs whose major source of income is robbery. In these places you hold onto your precious items with your dear life so dressing casually is a key part of keeping safe.
My expeditions have made me realize a few things. Wearing a suit and having a nice hair cut will earn you exorbitant prices. A boda boda guy will charge you three times the actual price, the lady at the kiosk will charge you twice for essential items. It’s a dog-eat-dog society, every man on his own and God for us all. On days where I dress up casually, the prices for the same items drop exponentially and discussions with my high-end friends have proven my hypothesis.
To survive on all these days regardless of place, dress code or looks, the middle-income earner, armed with the power of bargaining, can sometimes end up spending more time and energy haggling for discounts than it would take to earn the extra money needed to pay the original price. It's a bit like hunting for loose change under the couch cushions while ignoring the $20 bill on the coffee table.
So, here's the punchline: Bargaining, the middle-income earner's nuclear weapon, is a tool of empowerment and a source of amusement. It's a reminder that in the grand theater of consumerism, we all play our parts, and sometimes those parts involve negotiating over the price of a toaster. As you leave the store with your hard-won discount in hand, remember to appreciate the irony of it all—a middle-income earner armed with the most powerful weapon of all, the ability to haggle, in a world where the price tags are written in stone, but the laughs are free..
Wrtten by;
Mugerwa Joseph
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