Abby* is a 20-year-old marketing manager and final-year student. She talks about the trauma of losing her father’s financial safety net, the frantic hustle of juggling multiple jobs in university, and why, despite achieving her early goals, she still doesn’t feel like she’s done enough.

As Told To Boluwatife

Growing up, I never knew what money trouble meant. I attended an expensive private school and lived a comfortable life. That changed in JSS 2 when my dad passed away.

The cracks appeared. He hadn’t left money behind for us, and my mum had to step in and do it alone. By JSS 3, I was moved to a different school. I hated the change and struggled with being limited to what my mum could afford. I developed a fierce need for my own money.

I started selling everything. I sold bracelets in school. On Sundays, I’d pack snacks and drinks into my mum’s car and sell them to church members. 

At university, a friend told me, “Abby, you’re a great writer. Do you know you can make money from this?” That was my entry into the gig economy. 

I started at a writing agency for ₦1 per word. Then, it went up to ₦1.5. It wasn’t much, but it was mine. Eventually, I realised writing gigs weren’t frequent enough, so I looked for a real job.

In 2023, during my second year, I got a job as a customer service rep for a media company, earning ₦40k/month. Six months later, they asked for a volunteer to manage their social media. I had experience writing YouTube scripts and content writing, so I told them to sign me up. 

By then, my customer service salary had increased to ₦65k. When I took on the additional social media role, the figure jumped to ₦105k/month.

At this point, I’d stopped going to classes. I just stayed in my hostel and worked. It didn’t matter because I’m an avid reader; I’d read my school material at the end of the day and still pull good grades.

In early 2025, I added Upwork to the mix, writing YouTube scripts. I was making at least ₦200k/month from Upwork alone. In the same year, I transitioned completely from customer service to the marketing manager role for the media company, and my salary dropped to ₦100k.

2025 was also the year I made my first million. It didn’t come from one big payday, though. I made it by being an avid, almost obsessive, saver. I never left my hostel or spent money on clothes, so I channelled my earnings into savings. 

I saved every single penny from Upwork. Sometimes I’d make $100, sometimes $300, and I didn’t spend anything. My initial goal was to save enough to buy a laptop. By the end of the year, I had saved almost ₦4 million.

I spent most of it fulfilling my 18-year-old dreams. I moved out of the hostel and rented an apartment for ₦800k, furnishing it with another ₦1m. Then, I bought a second-hand laptop for ₦300k and a phone for ₦500k — though I got scammed and had to spend more to swap it. The rest, about ₦1 million, went into savings and investments.

I’m obsessed with investing. I bought some of MTN’s IPO in 2021, and the value has skyrocketed — I’ve gotten over 100% returns. I have a few stocks, but my preferred investment instruments are mutual funds, ETFs and some crypto. 

Currently, I have three jobs: the marketing manager role (₦100k), a new internship I just got (₦101k), and a community engagement gig (₦30k). I don’t even spend the ₦30k; I split it between my ETFs and mutual funds.

My portfolio currently sits at about ₦600k in liquid savings and ₦400k in investments, though crypto volatility recently reduced the latter slightly to about ₦350k. I use mutual funds because they feel safe, and ETFs for the long term. I even got the apartment just because I’ll soon graduate and wanted a one-year break from the pressure of family and post-grad life.

I’ve ticked all these boxes, but I still don’t feel like I’m doing enough. I don’t believe I’ve made it.

When I was 18, the pinnacle of success was ₦100k a month and an apartment. I got those things, and suddenly, they felt small. The goal posts have moved. Now, I’m 20 and depressed. I feel like I need to be earning ₦1 million a month to feel safe. 

One of my jobs, the internship, is at a marketing agency, and I’m hoping to get retained or find a foreign company that pays better. But I have major imposter syndrome. I’m constantly scared my superiors will realise I don’t know as much as they think I do.

My next goal is to hit that ₦1m monthly income by the end of this year. And for once, I want to actually spend money on myself. I’ve been working since I was 15, and every naira has been tied to a goal. 

People say money is just a tool, but when you’ve been on both ends of the stick, you know that money can be a saviour. If there were a church for money, I’d worship there. I know exactly what it can do for a person, and I never want to be without that power again. 

I’m turning 21 soon, and I’m frustrated because I’m not where I want to be at this age. I haven’t even travelled. I’ve been making money for five years, and I’ve never just spent on a whim.

I’ve achieved my 18-year-old dreams, but now, I’m just looking for the next finish line. I just want to hit that ₦1m/month mark so I can finally chill and stop running for a second. Maybe even take an international trip. I’ll probably want more money when I hit ₦1m, but let me get there first. 

*Name has been changed for the sake of anonymity.

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