By Selloane Ntshonyane
- Bontle Manoto was paying R1,900 in nursery fees and R1,050 in transport every month, pushing her childcare costs to R3,700 on a R4,500 salary.
- She moved her son to a more affordable daycare closer to home, cutting her monthly childcare costs by R1,650 and finally allowing her to buy winter clothes.
Bontle Manoto was handing over 82% of her salary every month just to keep her son in school. Something had to give.
The 24-year-old works in retail in Soweto and earns R4,500 a month. She was paying R1,900 in nursery school fees and R1,050 for transport to get her son from Soweto to Ormonde every day. School activities and the nursery’s yearly programme added R350 or more in some months. Snacks cost another R300.
Her son’s schooling was costing her R3,700 a month. On R4,500.
Then her child’s father lost his job and the last bit of breathing room disappeared.
“I was very disappointed in myself because I felt like I was failing my son,” she said.
Manoto lives with her parents, who cover household expenses. Her job is within walking distance so she spends nothing on transport to work. Without that support, the numbers would not have added up at all.
To bring in extra money, she started selling perfumes on the side. Good months brought in about R700 profit. But the income was not reliable.
She eventually moved her son to a daycare closer to home. Fees dropped from R1,900 to R850. Transport fell from R1,050 to R450. The move saved her R1,650 every month.
“The situation is better now because I can buy clothes for myself and my child,” she said.
She had been worrying about winter clothes for months. After the move, she was finally able to put them on lay-by.
Now she is planning to thrift instead of buying from big retail stores, stretching every rand she can to make sure her son has what he needs.
Pictured above: Children at a nursery school.
Image source: Pexels
