Families on edge as cost of living crisis hits hard

The past two years have been difficult for many Kenyans. But nothing to compare with the past few months, which have seen cost of living hit through the ceiling pushing many families struggling to stay afloat below the breadline into the deep of poverty. Soaring bills, taxes and wage cuts continue to batter household budgets. Food prices are skyrocketing every single day, making life tough, especially for poor households who survive on less than a dollar per day.

Basic commodities such as cooking oil, flour, milk, bread, cooking gas have skyrocketed, pushing many Kenyans to the edge wondering how they will survive. 

A spot check in various shops shows how prices of basic commodities have continued to increase. Refilling a six kilogrammes gas that used to retail between Sh800 and Sh1,000 now sells at Sh1,500 while the 13 kilogrammes gas that used to sell at Sh1,800and Sh2,000 is now being sold at Sh3,000 or even higher in some places.

A litre of cooking oil sells at Sh400, a loaf of bread sells at between Sh55 and Sh60 while one litre of milk sells at Sh150. A packet of milk that used to sell at Sh50 is now being sold at Sh70. One bar of  soap is now being sold at Sh210 up from Sh150.

A kilo of sugar is being sold at Sh140 while a two-kilogramme packet of maize flour is being sold at Sh150. A two-kilogramme packet of wheat flour now sells at Sh180 up from Sh120

Making hard adjustments

Groceries have also not been spared as a kilo of onions now sells at Sh120 up from Sh60 while a two-kilogramme bucket of potatoes costs Sh200 up from Sh80.

As the entire country feels the heat of the rising cost of living, sharper consumer prices have hit low-income earners and many Kenyans in rural areas hard. For an average low-income household, a large portion of income goes into purchasing food.

Billian and Nerima Okoth Ojiwa, who have one child  reside in Nairobi. They share how they have had to make a lot of adjustments in their budget and way of life.

“We began by adjusting our diet. Meat is expensive; hence we have resorted to having meals with more vegetables. Our son was on formula milk, but now he has to be fed on cow milk since formula is proving to be too expensive. I feel bad about it, but have no choice,” says Nerima.

“Whenever we run out of gas, I get worried and anxious about it because refilling it is another nightmare, especially when you don’t have any money at hand,” she adds.

Nerima says they have also resorted to cooking a lot of food, which they can eat for two days just to save on some things. The couple has also had to cut down on luxuries just to save some money for essentials.

Some of the measures they have taken include buying items in bulk and whenever there is an offer at the supermarkets, they take up the opportunity to shop there.

“We have been collaborating with my sisters such that when we see sales of household items at the supermarket, buy in bulk and distribute amongst the family. This has really helped us to save some coins,” says Nerima.

Financial conflicts

Money is already one of the most common causes of marital strife. Decreased income increases the potential for strain on the relationship due to conflicts on how to prioritise different types of consumption, and psychological strain increases that in turn, result in reduced relationship quality due to worries of how to make ends meet. 

 “A lot of marriages fall apart due to finances. It puts a strain on the home. With the current high prices of commodities, many marriages are struggling. We have even witnessed our neighbours being evicted from their houses due to rent issues while others have had their power or water disconnected. It’s a sad state of affairs. If couples have to survive, they have to be financially smart,” says Nerima.

Ceciliah Kwamboka, a single mother of two says life has never been the same again since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is so difficult raising children single-handedly bearing in mind that I don’t have a stable job that can help me foot the bills and buy the basics. The children sometimes want us to go out and spend some time together, but I can’t afford that because I’m always focused on the major bills that need to be settled such as paying school fees and providing them with food and clothing,” says Kwamboka.

“Last year in December, I bought five litres of cooking oil at Sh800, but this week, the same costs Sh1,700. Life can push you to the edge, but I am trying to be tough than the situations I am facing and trusting that it shall be well one day,” she adds.

Gumato Guyo, a pastoralist and father of four says the high cost of living has had a bad effect on his family since they can hardly afford three meals in a day.

“There are days when we just survive on one meal — taking beans for supper and only white porridge for breakfast. Our animals, which we rely on as our source of income are dying due to effects of drought. Some people have even died due to hunger pangs and lack of clean water. There is also a lot of insecurity amongst pastoralist communities as they end up stealing each other’s cattle, something that we have witnessed in some parts of Isiolo. It is a sad situation and we can only hope that the rains will be enough for us to survive,” says Guyo, Isiolo resident.

Differently affected

While poor households have relied on Kadogo economy (where people purchase goods in small packages) and has worked well in the past, it is rarely working in the current economy. “With Sh150, I could buy a day’s meal:  I could buy half a kilogramme maize flour at Sh40, cooking fat enough for the day at Sh20, sugar at Sh10, sukumawiki, tomatoes and onions at Sh50 and paraffin at Sh30. Nowadays it’s impossible because everything has gone up,” says Mary Ouma a resident of Kibera.

Liz Nkukuu, an investment professional says with the high cost of living, families will be affected differently. “The low-income earners and families with only one breadwinner will be worst hit as they spend the bulk of their earnings on food and transport. They may have little wiggle room other than readjusting their diet to slightly affordable diets,” says Liz.

“For the middle income earners, they might need to readjust their budget and reduce consumption of non-essentials and even look at the amount spent on necessities such as rent to see if they can get better bargains. As far as transport is concerned, given that it is necessary for most families whether going to work or running errands, people need to adjust on the modes of transport they use. For instance, instead of using private means, one can opt to use matatus. Scaling back on non-essentials and bulk buying is the way to go,” she adds. 

Susan Catherine Keter, a transformation life coach says Kenyans need to demand cushioning from the government.

“The government should not look at overtaxing Kenyans as the way to support its operations. Instead, it needs to check on corruption and high government expenditure. There is also need to reduce imports by growing locally produced goods. For example, a lot of the cooking oil available in the Kenyan market is imported or is at least produced from imported raw materials. Why is this the case, yet there are locally available raw materials such as coconuts, groundnuts, pumpkin seeds, maize and sunflower seeds that can be used to produce cooking oil?” pauses Keter.

Value addition

She notes that there is need to improve the lives of Kenyan farmers through value addition of the products they produce.

“For example, coconuts are not that expensive and coconut farmers don’t earn good income, yet making them a major raw material in the production of cooking oil can boost farming of the crop. Boosting production of cooking oil from locally available materials will bring down the cost of imports,” Keter says.

Sheila Mmboga, a financial literacy expert says rising cost of living affects every economic unit of the economy — consumers, firms, business units, and the government. “Fixed income earners such as daily wage earners, manual workers, small vendors, workers in small enterprises and in private low-income jobs are all badly affected by the continuous rise in prices.  Their income does not change during inflation. So, they are forced to cut down their consumption, which again reduces their standard of living as they have to pay more for everything,” explains Sheila.

To compensate, consumers buy less, switch to cheaper substitutes, or look harder for bargains. It’s, especially difficult to keep up with the rising cost of living when your paycheck isn’t growing at a similar rate.