Audio By Vocalize
National Treasury CS John Mbadi holds the Budget Briefcase at Parliament, Nairobi, June 11, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]
I was in my late teens when my mother first introduced me to the hard arithmetic of adulthood. In a moment of youthful indignation, I had insisted that my personal desires should take precedence over the needs of the family. Rather than dismissing my complaint, she responded with a lesson in economics.
She placed her payslip beside a list of the household’s monthly obligations and asked me to examine the figures. If my wishes were to be accommodated, she said, I should identify an existing expense that could be removed to make room for them.
After an hour of pouring over the numbers, I arrived at a sobering conclusion. The family’s essential needs already exceeded the combined earnings of both my parents. My demands, far from being neglected, simply could not compete with more pressing obligations. Chastened by the exercise, I set aside my frustration and began looking for holiday work to supplement the household income.
