Justus Mbalu, 38, is an accountant at a city firm where he earns a net monthly salary of Sh75,000. His wife used to work in a beauty shop where she earned Sh50,000 a month. Since Covid-19 struck, she has been jobless and not even her attempt to start a groceries business is bearing fruits.

The couple used to live in a two-bedroom house in Umoja, Nairobi, where they paid a monthly rent of Sh20,000. Their two children aged 14 and nine were attending private schools where their total school fees were about Sh200,000 annually. With their basic family financial needs settled including house shopping, Mbalu and his wife would save Sh20,000 a month - funds they partly allocated for an upcoming housing project back in Kamulu, Machakos, where they had purchased a residential plot through a loan.

With the economy hit by inflation that has led to a high cost of living, Mbalu and his family can hardly afford the life they used to live in the city. He has been forced to send his wife and children upcountry, where the living standards are a bit low. Now, he has downgraded to live in a one-bedroom house in Kayole where he is paying Sh7,000 a month.