Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.
What’s your earliest memory of money?
When I was in Primary 3 or 4, my sister proposed that we sell knitted purses. I knew how to knit; she didn’t. So the idea was that I would bring my skill, and she would bring the financial resources. After sales, we would split the profit.
I can’t remember how much she “invested,” but the materials wouldn’t have cost much. I knitted small purses, and we sold them to our friends for ₦30, ₦50, or ₦100, depending on the size.
We ran the business for about three to six months until people started buying on credit. They’d say, “I’ll buy now and pay when I collect snacks money from my mummy.” Then they’d pay ₦5 today and ₦10 tomorrow. The money was scattered, and we couldn’t keep track of it, so the business folded.
Do you remember what you did with the money?
I think we saved most of it. We didn’t do the business to survive; we just wanted the thrill of having our own money.
At the time, we were financially comfortable at home. My dad worked in Cotonou, where he made money from supplying baking flour to companies, while my mum coordinated ajo (daily savings contributions) for market people. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon, but we weren’t struggling. At least, until things changed.
What happened?
You know how it goes: one bad business move or decision sends everything crashing down. My dad’s business collapsed. They tried to manage the situation for the first four or five years, so we kids didn’t really notice, but it became overwhelming.
The first shift was that my siblings and I had to change schools. By 2013, I had completed SS 2 in Lagos, but things were so tight that my parents couldn’t afford my WAEC fees. I was sent to live with my uncle in Abuja to finish secondary school. Nobody told me that I’d have to repeat a class, but I had to take SS 2 all over again.
How was Abuja?
It was a toxic environment. I grew up in a soft home where I wasn’t hit or unnecessarily shouted at. On the day I wrote my WAEC Mathematics exam, my uncle’s wife deliberately didn’t drive me to school until 11:30 a.m., even though the exam started at 9:30 a.m. I barely had time to write anything.
Unsurprisingly, I got an F9 in Maths. I didn’t even stay to write NECO; I just left and returned to Lagos in 2015. I ended up spending eight years in secondary school due to situations beyond my control. My mum still regrets making me go to Abuja to this day.
What did you meet when you returned to Lagos?
My parents had already made the hard decision to relocate back to our village in the East. It was just my younger sister and brother left in the house, wrapping up the final stages of the move.
My sister was working at an eatery in a car park to raise money. Eatery is even a stretch; the owner just sold food there. Anyway, I joined my sister immediately because we needed to survive.
What was the job like?
We would go into the car park in the morning to scout for customers, take their food orders, bring them their food, and do the accounting at the end of the day.
My daily pay was ₦500. My sister earned ₦1,000 a day because the owner had a past relationship with our mum and wanted to give back. We worked Monday to Saturday, and the eatery covered our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We did that for about two months before joining our parents in the East.
What was the situation like back in the village?
Things actually picked up a bit after we joined our parents. My dad travelled to the North with his cousin for business, and my mum started a new trade.
Since I had to rewrite WAEC in 2016, I didn’t get university admission immediately. I opted for a polytechnic instead, starting my National Diploma (ND) in January 2017.
How were you surviving financially in school?
My parents handled my major expenses like rent and foodstuff, and I could always call home whenever I needed money.
Also, whenever I went home during school holidays, I supported them by working on the farm. I’m selectively lazy, but I knew if I didn’t help, there would be no foodstuff to take back to school. We also had fruit trees in our compound, and sometimes I’d pluck and sell the fruit to buyers for extra money.
I survived like that till I graduated from the polytechnic in November 2018.
The Naira Life Conference is returning on August 22, 2026, in Lagos! Come learn from finance experts and industry leaders, and partake in unfiltered conversations about building wealth and diversifying your income stream in a country like Nigeria. Real stories, expert advice you can actually use, and a community ready to build wealth together. Secure your spot here.
What came next?
I returned to Lagos in April 2019. The plan was to do my one-year IT, then go back to school for my HND. But I couldn’t get a job; I only got offered salesgirl roles that paid ₦20k/month in Computer Village. My sister, with whom I was living, insisted I shouldn’t take anything less than ₦25k.
So, I stayed unemployed throughout 2019. I survived on random cash gifts from friends who would call to check on me and ask for my account number. My sister was also working, so I didn’t feel the full weight, but there’s really nothing like having your own income.
I get it. When did you finally get your own?
In January 2020, I got a job at a travel agency in Computer Village. It was an office-standard, Monday-to-Friday role. The base pay was ₦25k/month. I was just happy to leave the house. My job description was basically to open the office daily, keep the space tidy and route customer inquiries to my boss.
Then COVID hit, and the travel industry took a massive blow. People weren’t buying tickets or going anywhere. The first month of lockdown, I got a 50% salary cut. The second month, I was only paid 40%. By August, my boss told me to take the month off without pay while she figured out what to do with the business.
Did she bring you back?
Yes, at the end of August, she asked if I’d like to come to our Ikoyi office and learn graphic design so I could manage the company’s social media. I agreed.
She kept my official salary at ₦25k but started giving me an extra ₦20k mid-month, bringing it to ₦45k. Then, in January 2021, I started shuttling between the Ikoyi and Ikeja offices on the same ₦45k/month. I did that until I left in October 2022.
Looking back, I really suffered. I don’t know how I survived transport and bills in Lagos on ₦45k. Surprisingly, I was still able to save regularly from that income.
Really?
Even when I was earning ₦25k, I saved ₦5k every month. When my salary increased to ₦45k, I automated my savings and put away ₦2,500 every week.
At one point, I noticed my account wouldn’t always have money on the exact day of the automated debit, meaning I was missing my targets. So I changed strategy: I’d count the number of Mondays in that month, multiply it by ₦2,500, and do a bulk manual transfer the moment my salary dropped. I saved ₦10k or ₦12,500 monthly for a full year.
I never missed my savings. Keep in mind that my sister and I were also splitting rent and utilities at home without any issues.
Were you saving towards a specific goal?
I just never wanted to be at anyone’s mercy again. I saw what dependency did to my parents, and I remembered being stuck in Abuja repeating a class.
I told myself that if I ever have a ₦500k emergency, it’s better that I have ₦300k down and look for ₦200k, rather than looking for the whole ₦500k from scratch. I just needed a financial backup.
Let’s get back to your job. You mentioned leaving in 2022
Yes. The job became toxic. My boss often acted as if paying salaries was a favour to her staff. There was no HMO or 13th month. At the end of the year, she’d give two people a half bag of rice to share and act like she had fed you for the whole year.
When I decided to resign and didn’t go to work that day, she sent a query suspending me for two weeks without pay. I just zeroed my mind that I wouldn’t get paid for that month, but she surprisingly sent 75% of my salary. I got a new job about a month later in December 2022. I still work there today.
What was the new job?
I work at an IT support company. I started as a sales and inventory officer on a ₦50k/month salary, plus random credit alerts from profit-sharing bonuses.
In September 2023, there was an opening for an accountant, and my boss just put me there. I don’t have a degree in accounting — my ND is in Public Admin — but I’m very good with figures. I learned the actual accounting processes on the job. The role change pushed my salary up to about ₦120k. It’s increased again since then, and I currently earn ₦200k/month.
You moved from ₦45k to ₦200k in about three years. How does that feel?
Well, it’s a big relief, but you know how money works. The more your income increases, the more your expenses widen, like your village people are using it against you.
For one, I went back to school. I’m currently in 300-level, self-funding my degree at the National Open University (NOUN). I also pay rent and occasionally send money to my younger siblings. Even though they earn more than I do now, they are still my younger siblings.
Because of this, my salary is not my only source of income. It can’t be. I’ve had my hands in several side hustles since I was earning ₦45k. Maybe that’s how I was even able to survive. But it’s great that I earn more now, so even in the months I can’t get extra, I can still manage.
Tell me about these side hustles
I do anything that brings money. Anywhere belle face na front o. For one, I book flight tickets. I started this while working at the travel company, making a little extra cash from independently helping some clients book tickets. Sometimes I can make as much as ₦60k on one ticket.
It’s not a regular income source, though. For instance, I’ve only done about four international tickets this year. There’s a particular middleman who brings requests to me, and from those deals alone, I’ve made roughly ₦200k to ₦250k this year.
Secondly, I do Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registrations for people. I also picked that up from work. I charge about ₦20k for business names and ₦40k for company registrations. CAC gigs have been slow this year; I’ve done only two.
Also, I do graphic design occasionally, and recently, I started a one-on-one investment consulting service. I’m very big on investments and regularly post about it on my WhatsApp status. People used to reach out for free tips, but this year, I stopped doing freebies. I now charge ₦10k.
There’s no particular window for how long the ₦10k lasts sha. Sometimes, when I’m bored, I tell them the ₦10k has expired, and they need to renew it. But I try to offer support for at least six months. I’ve had three paying clients this year. I also do other random things, like helping people source items for a quick fee. Anything really.
That’s a sizeable number of side hustles
My job gives me the freedom to run them. It’s why I’m not exactly eager to change jobs. My income from side hustles isn’t regular; sometimes they only come in when I really need extra cash, but they actually sustain my lifestyle. I don’t like dipping into my core salary or savings for enjoyment. So, I just use them to supplement until my next payday.
You mentioned being big on investments. What does your portfolio look like?
I have a very structured investment framework across stocks, equity funds and mutual funds. The heavy lifter is an informal investment with a woman in the East who runs an upscale gas business. My mum knows a lot of corporate savings and market investment people, so when I had a spare lump sum of ₦100k in October 2024 that I didn’t want to mix with my regular savings, she connected me to this woman.
The arrangement is a fixed 5% monthly return, and she holds the capital unless I give a one-month notice to liquidate. My ROI continues as long as my money is with her. I started with ₦100k and got ₦5k that first November. When I noticed she was paying promptly, I kept adding every extra bulk cash I made from my side businesses.
Right now, I have ₦1.1 million with her, which brings in ₦55k every single month. If I top it up to ₦1.2 million this month, my ROI becomes ₦60k next month.
I’m curious. Is there any legal structure around this? Like, if you ever need to prove your money is with her
No. There are no documents or anything like that. I don’t even know her in person. If I ran into her, I wouldn’t recognise her. All communication happens through my mum. I know it’s risky, but she has been consistent for almost two years.
I liquidated half of my investment with her last year, and she paid without issues. I just decided to continue because my ROI has been steady and the money is practically working for me. Last December, she even sent gifts and extra cash to my mum and me. As long as we’re both alive, aluta continua.
Also, the monthly ROI is what I put into my other investment channels. Once I get it, I spread it across my stocks and funds.
What do those portfolios look like now?
I have about ₦150k – ₦200k in stocks and close to ₦400k in mutual and equity funds. The stock market and equity funds took a massive dip recently, so everything is currently in the red. If we had this conversation two months ago, my portfolio would have been around ₦600k, excluding the gas business. But as a smart investor, I’m not panicking; we buy the dip. The only stable one is the mutual fund because the rates are fixed.
Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses
This savings figure is separate from my investment portfolio. It’s strictly an emergency backup. Currently, I have ₦258,600 sitting there.
I don’t have a fixed amount for food or household bills because it really depends on my needs or how I split the bills with my sister. Right now, my sister isn’t around, so I don’t buy foodstuff in bulk. I just buy cooked meals or shawarma on the go.
How would you describe your relationship with money?
I’m incredibly tight with money. I’m unapologetically frugal because I refuse to ever be broke or at anyone’s mercy again.
I don’t spend on unnecessary things. I won’t upgrade my phone just because I feel like it; there must be a major reason, like the screen breaking four times or the upgrade directly increasing my chances of earning more money.
This year, I’m trying to be a little more open with spending on myself, but there’s still a limit I can allow. I’ll only spend randomly if someone gifts me money. Little money excites me. If you gift me ₦20k today, it’s a big deal because it means I don’t have to touch my own money. I read Naira Life stories of girls my age who have money in real estate, bonds, and gold, earning millions in dividends. That is my ultimate goal. If being heavily frugal is the price I have to pay to get there, I will pay it.
Do you think your attitude to money somewhat ties back to your family’s financial crash?
To an extent, yes. But it’s also just my innate personality. My younger siblings went through the same thing, but they are way more carefree with money. I am the family bank; if any of my siblings needs a ₦500k loan today, they come to me.
Right now, my siblings owe me no less than ₦700k. I don’t even like calculating it because it makes me angry at them for no reason. They pay back, but it’s always a cycle of paying half today and borrowing a new amount tomorrow.
Is there an ideal amount of money you think you should be earning monthly?
I don’t have a specific figure. If I say ₦100 million, my wants will just scale up to ₦500 million. I just want to be comfortable enough to afford my lifestyle. I’m planning a trip to Ghana for my 29th birthday this year, and it will cost at least ₦400k. I want to be able to execute that without blinking. If I want to visit Greece with my friends, I should be able to.
An average Nigerian is just one medical diagnosis away from being flat broke. If I get a tooth issue, I can pull money and fix it comfortably. But God forbid it’s a major illness like kidney failure, everything I have saved would barely cover the initial dialysis before I go broke. I don’t pressure myself over things I can’t control. If I die today, no problem, glory be to God, my siblings will just inherit my investments. Me sef no small.
What was the last thing you spent money on that made you genuinely happy?
I recently spent ₦58k on two gowns and a skirt from Shein. Old me would have taken that money to Iyana Ipaja or Yaba to buy a full bag of clothes. Shein may not be much for some people, but knowing I can deliberately transition my wardrobe to a higher quality on my own makes me feel like I’m handling this adulting thing well.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1 to 10?
6. It’s a little above average because I can comfortably afford my day-to-day needs and the things that matter to me right now. I know I can do better, but I’ll leave it at a 6 for now.
What would make it a 10?
More money. Do I know how to get it? Probably. Am I ready to start chasing it right now? I don’t know yet.
I think I’m at the intermediate level of my financial journey. I’m definitely no longer a beginner because I have solid investment knowledge. I’m just right in the middle, building the basics before hitting the high points.
The main goal for now is to get my BSc next year, then kickstart my master’s degree by 2028. We fight our way upwards from there.
If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.
Find all the past Naira Life stories here.
