hygiene and household cleaning, child nutrition and school-related outlays

PMBEJD baskets put basic hygiene near R1,033/month, child nutrition near R973, while surveys flag school fees and uniforms—here’s what households buy and how th

From township supermarkets to discount chains, the household purse is a single queue: transport and electricity are often paid first, and everything from maize meal to toothpaste competes in what is left. For South Africa’s majority poor and working-class families, that makes hygiene, cleaning, feeding children and keeping them in class simultaneously “essentials”—not separate luxury categories. Breakfast and everyday foods: what the basket shows The Pietermaritzburg…