Mohamed, 39 years old, works as an administrative employee in the public sector. Imen, 36, is a nurse in the private sector. With two net monthly salaries totaling 2,500 dinars, they raise their children aged 8 and 4 in the El Ghazala housing estate, in the Ariana Governorate.
But when you add up the amounts they spend or plan to allocate for living, the budget reaches 3,225 dinars. An apparent gap of 725 dinars raises a central question: how can they manage with two regular incomes when declared needs exceed the salaries?
Names have been changed at the family’s request.
Two salaries, and almost half absorbed by rent and loans
Mohamed earns 1,400 dinars and Imen 1,100 dinars per month. Their four-person family rents an S+2 apartment in El Ghazala for 650 dinars. On top of this, there are 550 dinars in monthly payments for a used Polo and an old consumer loan intended for furnishings. The couple reports about three years of remaining repayments.
Rent and loans absorb 1,200 dinars per month, or 48% of income. There thus remains 1,300 dinars before food, schooling, fuel, bills, and care.
The car is used for work trips and for accompanying the children. The family’s fuel budget is estimated at 200 dinars per month. The grandparents’ help with watching the children during certain vacations helps avoid additional childcare costs, but the couple does not report any direct financial assistance from relatives.
For the children, 300 dinars of tutoring and kindergarten
The eldest, aged 8, attends public school. His parents allocate 120 dinars monthly to tutoring. The younger, 4 years old, is enrolled in a private kindergarten charged 180 dinars per month. Together, these two items amount to 300 dinars.
For Mohamed and Imen, these expenses are part of the household’s priorities: they seek to preserve learning and childcare conditions for their children, even if it means cutting other budget items.
