Only poor, not unsavvy

Feizal's ten-member family lives on a household monthly income of $36, largely comprising his earnings selling aluminum pots and supplemented by his son's earnings as a tailor's apprentice. His wife and daughters roll bidis (cheap cigarettes) to sell. Although their income is low, the family stocked away significant savings in preparation for one daughter's wedding. When Feizal fractured his thigh bone, the family was suddenly without its main breadwinner Have you ever wondered how, in these times of galloping inflation, your office boy and household maid manage their day-to-day expenses on a meagre salary? Food, clothes, housing, primary education for children, transp

This article was originally published on June 11, 2010.