Today, after my daily morning feed of the news I got really scared. It was a reality check and it gave me a serious jitter, especially in regard to money matters. With reports of plans to shutter petrol pumps for a day, every week means my Friday outings to Mawa ghat or Gazipur resorts are to be curtailed with immediate effect. The notice of two-hour country-wide load shedding and my mother stocking up on candles and cleaning her lanterns is definitely a thing to take notice of and worry about. In this scorching heat wave, we will have to do without air conditioning and maybe face a crisis for generator backups too, if things get too much out of hand.

I feel tense about the Sri Lanka issue and the unprecedented economic crisis looming large over my head. Bangladesh will be no Sri Lanka but that tiny 'what-if' nudged me deep down. The Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on the global economy are somehow affecting no-bodies like me at some corner of the earth.

There is actually no good news, not on the global front or national, not even on a personal level. The grim picture is terrorizing me.

I have made a list of three bare minimums I need to do to pass this crisis besides counting my prayer beads. I am sure my list might offend some and might help some, but from my perspective, I need to re-think these unnecessary expenses.

No more tea parties, dinners, lunches, baby showers, get together, lavish wedding after-parties

I will not throw any of these parties nor will I attend them for the time being. The menu and decoration of any events nowadays, however trifling it might be, have been taken to such an exorbitant height that it is almost mind-blowing. We are spending huge amounts of money like we are Dubai Sheikhs and we don't care. In fact, we cater to these inane ideas of excessive spending. The other day I saw a breakfast dawat post, where there was a photo booth, dessert station, tea station and whatnot. I wonder what happened to simple luchi aloo'r dom breakfast addas.

No more going on weekend trips

Outdoor locations or resorts or five-star hotels are brimming to the full with weekenders. We simply cannot stay at home; it is almost mandatory to go out on long drives, eat at restaurants and post on Facebook. In fact, imagine the amount of fuel, money and energy we spend to just give that particular Facebook post; look I am trending and you are not.

No more trips to superstores for miso paste or mirin sauce or cooking's sake

I mean seriously preparing exotic dishes with exotic sauces has become the norm now. We are all master chefs and we need all these to show off on Instagram that our food looks the best and tastes the best too. Let's re-think our recipes.

In one word we must give up our over-indulgent lifestyle to survive the global and national economic recession.

This is only me with my petty issue, but on a serious note, we might head towards emergencies and we must be tight-fisted. The crisis is real.