- File
A vendor assists her customer in the Spanish Town market , St. Catherine.
Glenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
JULIET PLUMMER, 37, sells small items like cigarettes and alcoholic beverages at the Ministry of Labour's East Street recruitment centre.
For her, the ice-box with dozens of bottles of beverage floating around amid the chunks of ice, and the cardboard box with cigarettes and sweets represent savings, investment, and 'daily bread'.
Two streets away at Gordon House, Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Omar Davies, was delivering the National Budget.
Scores of Jamaicans were tuned-in in fearful anticipation of the tax burden they may have to bear. But this didn't stir much response from the mother of two who was getting ready to share details of a budget of her own, as head of her household.
The children, who live with her, have different fathers and Ms. Plummer says she foots every bill alone.
Data from the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (2002) put the figure of female-headed households in Jamaica at 45 per cent of the total population, with the figure highest in the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
The survey revealed too that despite being the larger group, female-headed households consumed less or were often poorer than male-headed households.
Juliet, with a monthly income of roughly $20,000-$28,000, has crossed leisure and entertainment off her priority list.
"Mi nuh have time for dat at all," she states emphatically.
Her work week runs to Saturdays with half day on Sundays. That's when she does any personal or family washing and ironing.
She lives at home with her mother, but monthly utility bills include: electricity $1,500, water $1,000, while bus fare to and from home in Mountain View Avenue in East Kingston sets her back roughly $500 each week (lunch money is optional).
Her son and daughter attend high school in the Corporate Area, and while she needs to find at least $200 each day for them both, she relies on the cost sharing programme to help out with school fee of $10,500 each quarter. She now pays half ($5,000) for each child.
But each item also has its own budgeting arrangement as 'the selling' is heaviest during January to September.
To straddle the grocery bill, for example, she says she stocks up on tinned foods and always shops downtown (Coronation Market) for 'cheap' produce like yam at $20 per pound, callaloo at $15 a pound and fish.
She saves for school expenses from each day's sales.
"Them (children) on the cost sharing but memba you have to put down something so that when September come you have it there," she says.
Sales can run in the region of $5,000-$7,000 each week, but "you can't spend off all of it. Mi put down my money like $1,000 a week."
She gets some support for her mother from her brothers. She admits to having no savings account but tries to monitor the business carefully to maximise her earnings.
"I out here between January to September, every day. I start like around eight, and finish up by 'bout nine. The earlier the better because you get more sales."
Stocks can last for approximately one week, and costs roughly $2,000/$3,000 depending on the sales. She buys a case of soda for $450, 12 bottles of beer at $600, a full case costing $1,200.
Still, this is only the latest in a series of subsistence jobs.
"I use to do machine embroidery, but in 1986 my employers went overseas and sold out the machines so no more work for me. I could do it on my own, but I don't have a machine and you need contacts and then again everbody going ready-made clothes," she explained. "Work hard fi get and some pay so little bit, but up here so better. It's just that when it come to September it's slow so yuh haffi put down yuh money."
The question of a tax increase or not was all the same, she said.
"It's gonna be rough still for everything going up, and even the people yuh selling stuff they bawling now, they saying it's expensive."
Yvonne Brown, 32, teaches at an infant school in Kingston, where her two children also attend. This, she says, cuts out her school fee concern.
Her husband, a police trainee stationed out of the Corporate area is almost out of the picture as his monthly contribution rarely makes a dent.
She owns a car and drives to work and instead of rent, makes payments towards buying a home on the open market.
But still she says budgeting is a tricky feat each month.
"My salary is $31,000. Food will cost us say $9,000, light bill is $4,000."
She puts aside $3,000 for telephone bills, with lunch and car expenses at $4,000 to $6,000, as they often go out of town.
She attends classes for a diploma in primary education, with school fees costing $20,000 each term, loan repayments of $7,000 as well as a monthly $5,000 contribution to a 'partner' saving scheme, completes her list.
"With all the advantages, I still don't have any money. The reality is that at the end of the day, 'though you budget for things, other things may pop up that you have to deal with," she said.
SCOFFS AT ASSURANCES
She scoffed at Thursday's assurance from the Finance Minister that there would be no new taxes or tax increases.
"Although they say that, remember we are not getting a salary increase either, because we signed that thing (Memorandom of Understanding), so inflation is still gonna catch up on the money, and there are investments (a home for example) and other things that you would want to do."
Still, while most men will not admit to "penciling out every detail" of a monthly home budget, making ends meet is also a priority for males.
Research from the survey showed that male- headed households "continued to consume at higher levels than female-headed households in 2002", but the data showed too that yearly expenditure in both households had also decreased.
Alfred Panton, a self-employed businessman, is the sole breadwinner in his family, which includes two young children.
He says four areas take priority over everything else.
"Food, mortgage, utilities and the insurance, that's it." He says light bill comes in the range of $1,500 to $2,000, with water at between $800 and $900. The telephone he says is 'hardly used' so it runs at $1,600 monthly.
"The grocery, we buy in bulk at the wholesale for the month and that can go to $3,000 per week. Then we'll pick up any little thing that run out in between."
The family vehicle, he says is fairly new so that expenses are mainly limited to gas, (a full tank) every few days for his regular out of town trips.
Names withheld
JULIET'S MONTHLY BUDGET
Income
$20,000-$28,000
Expenses
Electricity $1,500
Water $1,000
Transport $2,000
School fees $1,250
Save $4,000
Goods for re-sale $8,000 - $12,000
YVONNE'S MONTHLY BUDGET
Income
$31,000
Expenses
Food $9,000
Electricity $4,000
Telephone $3,000
Lunch & car expenses $4,000-$6,000
School fees $20,000 per term
Loan repayments $7,000
Partner $5,000
