Survival mode - n How some Jamaicans scrape by with tiny purchases n ‘Poor Man’s Wholesale’ sells toothpaste for $20 a squeeze

Jamaica's economy might be flashing some green lights, but for many, the reality is a far cry from financial stability. As the cost of living continues to skyrocket, desperate measures are becoming the norm, with vendors, wholesalers, and retailers resorting to breaking down products to meet the shrinking budgets of struggling customers.

Take 'Sample Wayne', the man behind the 'Poor Man's Wholesale' in Kingston. For more than 15 years, Sample Wayne has been the go-to guy for those who can't even afford a full tube of toothpaste. Here, a squeeze of toothpaste will set you back just $20, a single slice of bread costs $25, and a single chicken leg can be yours for $80.

A regular size (6 oz) toothpaste retails for about $480 in supermarkets. The price for a loaf of hard-dough bread is in the region of $550, and a pound of chicken meal is priced at $360.

If you are making dumplings and the flour is spoilt, no problem. Sample Wayne's got you covered with a dust of the starch for $10. And when your thirst needs quenching, and your pocket is dry but you cannot find $280 for a small pack of Lasco Food Drink, Sample Wayne will solve your problem for $100.

"Whole heap a people cah afford one [toothpaste]...and all dem have is a $20 fi di squeeze. Suh weh mi a guh duh, turn dem back because dem nuh have it? Dem nuh need fi brush dem teeth too?", Sample Wayne said when asked about his unusual business model.

This astute and understanding businessman is even slicing up cake soap - the old-school remedy for those pristine white school blouses.

"The cake soap weh yuh see, there is a whole heap of likkle girl weh a guh a school have the white blouse dem cah buy one cake soap. Suh we cut it inna two and sell yuh half a cake soap. One a fi $80 suh we cut it in a half and sell yuh fi $40" he explained, proving that nothing is too small to sell when survival is on the line.

He also told THE STAR that although some vendors may desist from operating the way he does, he continues to do so because he recognises the need for his business practices.

"It's what people can afford. Even people who can afford it, enuh, [have to] minimise," Sample Wayne said, adding that while the economy might be booming for some, others struggle to survive.

But Sample Wayne isn't alone. Doreen Smith has been proprietor of 'Trillion Wholesale' in Kingston for nearly 39 years. She, too, has adapted to the harsh times, selling everything in bite-sized portions.

"People still come here and buy like quarter a bread, an egg, a frankfurter... all a bag a shampoo," she said.

A frankfurter? $60.

An egg? $60.

Quarter of bread? $150.

And if you've only got $75, two slices of bread will do.

Need to wash your hair? Smith's got $50 bags of shampoo and conditioner for sale.

"Some of the people dem really don't have it. Some of them don't want to work for a fact, and some of them budget just cannot meet them needs," Smith admitted.

In other sections of Kingston, the struggle is equally real. In Jones Town, residents buy $50 worth of shampoo or conditioner, $50 bags of ketchup, $60 sausages, and $80 for two slices of bread at shops and stalls all over.