The Driver Behind the Numbers

2026-09-12

R150 a Day — When the Daily Wage Stops Adding Up.

Yesterday I met another driver at the market. He also works for Bangladesh businessmen, and we started talking about wages. He gets R200 a day. I get R150 a day.

He works six days a week, but that is not really the point. The important comparison for me is the daily wage.

This is now the third driver I have spoken to who is earning more than I am for broadly similar driving work.

That makes a person stop and think.

What I Was Originally Hired To Do.

When I was originally hired, the job was simple enough on paper: drive.

I was not supposed to carry stock or move heavy things around. At the time, my employers were concerned about my health because I had been through a difficult period with blood-pressure treatment and medication adjustments.

The situation is different now.

Today I drive, collect goods, deliver goods, help move stock, carry things when necessary, spend long periods working, deal with suppliers and customers, and handle significant amounts of cash when I am sent to buy goods for the business.

The job has grown.

The daily wage has not.

The Strange Mathematics of Responsibility.

Today I expect to earn R150.

But I may be carrying around R13,000 in cash to purchase goods for my employers.

The R13,000 does not belong to me. It is business money, and I am trusted to take it to the market and bring back what is needed.

But there is an interesting contrast between the responsibility entrusted to me and the value placed on my day’s labour.

R13,000 in my hands.

R150 for my day’s work.

Those are two very different numbers.

R150 Is Not Really R150.

A daily wage sounds straightforward until it has to carry several days of ordinary life.

There is food. There is electricity. There is gas. There are debts and unexpected expenses. There is cat food.

Fortunately, I have no transport costs. I live only about three blocks from the works, I walk where I need to go, and I do not even own a car.

That removes one expense from the equation, but it does not magically make the rest of the budget balance.

Yesterday’s Reality Report showed just how quickly R150 can disappear when it is divided between the necessities of life.

Sometimes the real question is not, “How can I spend less?”

It is: What happens when the income itself is too small for the responsibilities attached to the work?

The Comparison I Didn’t Go Looking For.

I was not looking for somebody else’s wage to compare with mine. The conversation simply happened.

R200 a day.

Then I thought about the other drivers I have spoken to. This is now the third time I have heard a daily figure higher than mine.

There may be differences between the jobs, and I cannot judge another man’s employment from one conversation.

But I can look honestly at my own situation.

R150 a day is becoming increasingly difficult to make work.

This Is Not About Envy.

I do not begrudge the other driver his R200. Good for him.

If he is working for his money, then he deserves to earn it.

This is not jealousy. It is budgeting.

The important question is not, “Why does he get R200?”

It is: Why am I still getting R150 when the responsibilities of my work have grown?

Sitting With the Numbers.

This morning I was sitting outside home waiting for the traffic to calm down enough for me to pull the vehicle in. The cars seemed endless.

While I was waiting, I was thinking about the economics of the day ahead.

I may spend hours working. I may drive. I may collect and deliver stock. I may help carry things. I may solve problems along the way. I may be trusted with R13,000 in cash to purchase goods.

And at the end of the working day, my own income is still R150.

That is the number I cannot get out of my head.

A Daily Budget Needs a Daily Income.

Budgeting is often presented as if the entire answer is simply to spend less.

That is only half the equation. There is spending, and there is income.

If unavoidable expenses are greater than income, eventually something has to change. Either the expenses must come down, or the income must go up.

I have already removed transport costs from my personal budget because I walk and live close to the works. There are only so many other places where I can cut without cutting into basic living.

That leaves the uncomfortable question of income.

What Am I Actually Worth?

This is the question I keep coming back to.

What is a fair daily rate for the work I am actually doing now?

I was hired to drive. The work has expanded beyond simply sitting behind a steering wheel. There is responsibility, physical effort, stock to move, money to handle, time spent working, and the expectation that things will get done.

I am not asking for charity. I am asking myself whether my present wage still reflects the work I am actually doing.

Perhaps the answer lies in a conversation with the employer. Perhaps it lies in finding additional work. Perhaps it lies in using skills I have developed over a lifetime.

Whatever the answer is, it needs to be practical.

The Question for Today.

I could sit here and become angry about the fact that another driver gets R200 while I get R150.

But anger does not balance a budget.

The better question is:

What do I need to do to make my own R150 become more?

That could mean negotiation. It could mean another opportunity. It could mean additional work. It could mean finding a way to use the skills and experience I already have.

I do not yet have the answer.

But asking the right question is a better starting point than simply being angry about the wrong number.

The Daily Budget Continues.

Yesterday I wrote about the mathematics of R150. Today I am looking at the other side of that mathematics.

Sometimes the problem is not that a person is spending recklessly. Sometimes the problem is that the amount produced by a day’s work is simply too small for the life that work is supporting.

Behind the R150 is a person. There is a working day. There is a vehicle being driven. There is responsibility. There is physical effort. There is stock being moved. There is cash being handled. There is a household waiting at the end of the day.

I am not writing this as economic theory. I am writing it as a record of where I am right now.

The arithmetic is real. The responsibility is real. And the question of whether R150 is enough is becoming real too.

✍️ Othello Cody Verrocchio
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