By Buziwe Nocuze
- Nobom Maqhajana pays R2,000 for groceries, R800 for transport, R600 for rent and R500 for funeral cover on her domestic worker salary.
- Her children wake up early to cook maize meal porridge and bake their own bread, and she uses layby from October to buy December clothes.
Nobom Maqhajana, a single mother of three children working as a domestic worker in Cape Town, manages to take care of her family with the salary she earns.
She buys groceries worth R2,000, pays R500 for a funeral policy, R800 for transport, and R600 for rent.
“I had to cut a lot of things, including moving out of a flat to rent a shack. When buying groceries, we buy combos at Shoprite, chicken, and R150 worth of pork,” said Maqhajana.
They also buy Koo baked beans and mix them with tomatoes and onions.
“I only buy clothes for my children in December. I don’t buy them with cash. I do layby from October so I can take my time because I won’t have the money to buy the clothes at once,” said Maqhajana.
She has also stopped buying cereal. Her children wake up very early in the morning to cook maize meal porridge before going to school.
“They know that I am the only one working, and they are now used to eating porridge made with maize meal. They also know how to bake bread so they can have it on some days if they don’t feel like having maize meal porridge,” said Maqhajana.
Sometimes her children eat leftovers.
She has also joined a food stokvel.
“My mother and father are staying in the Eastern Cape. When I go home with my kids, I split the food in half so we have something during Christmas. We leave some behind so that when we come back in January, we have food,” said Maqhajana.
She uses a gas stove to cook everything.
“Paraffin and electricity are expensive. Buying gas for R350 saves a lot of money. We only use electricity to charge phones and iron. For cooking, it is the gas,” said Maqhajana.
Pictured above: A cleaner.
Image source: File
