This 29-year-old baker lost her life savings to a romance scam, dropped out of university and became homeless in one year. Over the years, she’s survived multiple depressive and suicidal episodes. Her friends have consistently picked her up, but she wants a life where she doesn’t need to depend on them. She hopes to get there by achieving her culinary school dreams.

This 27-year-old got into photography at university after his dad lost his job and could no longer pay him an allowance. Eight years later, he’s still at it. Add that to his 9-5 as a communications officer, and he earns an average monthly income of ₦1.4m. With things looking up, he’s confident about his finances hitting the next level — $10k/month — in the next four years.

The 28-year-old mobile engineer in this #NairaLife has come a long way in his relationship with money. He’s gone from careless spending to building an impressive $80k safety net by living below his means. He’s now navigating the insecurity that comes with a tech career, after surviving two layoffs in seven months.

This 37-year-old’s adman's first job paid him ₦2,500/month. 19 years later, he’s earning ₦1.5m/month. One thing that changed as he earned more was his attitude towards being his family's highest earner. He’s gone from being at odds with his black tax responsibility to taking it in strides. Now his sights are set on earning ₦5m/month to make the lifestyle upgrades he wants.

It’s not until you melt.

In 2021, the 33-year-old admin officer in this #NairaLife was forced to leave her seven-year marriage with her two children. Years of financial abuse had begun to evolve into physical abuse. She also went from having zero income for years to juggling three jobs and then solely providing for her children on a ₦45k salary. Her life is much better now, and it started with one job change.

The 41-year-old software developer in this #NairaLife had built considerable wealth over a 10-year career and was on his way to achieving his second-passport dreams when he lost his entire life savings to a botched crypto project and cryptocurrency exchange in 2022. Two years later, he’s rebuilding his savings and investment portfolio and chasing a $1m/month payday.

Phoebe* (35) and Joe* (41) have been married for 11 years, although a money-related fight almost ended their relationship before it even started. They run a traditional one-income household, and Joe manages the family’s finances. How did they get there, and how is this dynamic working out for them?

Now, I’m too scared to take career risks.

Michelle* (24) and JC* (32) are both freelancers who started their Aba - Keffi long-distance relationship almost three years ago. In this #NairaLife, they talk about working through their different spending habits, coming through for each other during bad financial periods because of their income instability, and plans to move in together later this year.