In 2024, rising inflation and the struggling economy pushed 14 million more Nigerians below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day.
More than one-third of the population earns below ₦100k, and even more earn below the government-approved ₦70k/month minimum wage. With food and overall inflation reaching all-time highs, Nigerian low-income earners struggle to afford basic necessities like food.
So, what kind of life can the average Nigerian afford? We asked six Nigerians, each with a different income, to tell us what they can (or can’t) do with their income.

Joseph, 24
Income: ₦22k/month + ₦10k from extra lessons
Occupation: Teacher
Location: Abeokuta
What can you afford on your salary? Mostly data and [public] transportation. Then, personal needs like haircuts and toiletries. It costs ₦300 to take a keke from my house to school. If, during the rainy season or for whatever reason, keke becomes scarce and the drivers increase the fare to ₦500 for a week, it’d throw off my entire budget for the month.

Sometimes, I buy lunch in school. But most times, I toughen it out till I return home. Fortunately, I still live with my parents, so I don’t pay for accommodation or feeding. If not, maybe it’s only garri I’d be able to afford on my salary. Still, I often ask my parents to bail me out because I’m broke by the third week. Some of that is my fault, though. I gamble a little because I believe my luck can shine one day, and I’ll blow. ₦200 here, ₦500 there, and before you know it, I’ve spent like ₦5k.
Do you ever worry about money? Almost every day. I worry every time I look at my account balance. I’m nowhere near where I want to be financially, and I fear that I’ll live all my life in Abeokuta.
I console myself with the fact that I’m job hunting and a good job can come soon, but my mood drops when I remember I only have an HND certificate. People with BSc degrees are still earning ₦90k. Is it my own that will be different? I honestly don’t know, but let me just keep hope alive.
What safety nets have you built? Zero. I try to save like ₦5k/month because people say it’s good to have something for emergencies, but I always eat my savings when my account hits zero. It’s someone who has eaten belleful that will have extra to save.
Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? Not at all. A young single person like me should be earning at least ₦100k/month. At least with that, I can afford to handle most of my expenses and occasionally relax with friends. But I don’t know many of my mates who earn up to ₦100k.
Are you in debt? I don’t owe the bank or loan company money, but I owe my parents. I don’t even know how much. But they won’t ask me to pay back.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Any amount? Maybe ₦2m/month. I’m not too young to buy a car or own a house. Once these two are sorted, I can enjoy my life and party every weekend. And maybe consider investments that will bring me passive income for the rest of my life so I don’t have to work so hard.
At what age would you like to retire? Maybe 50 or 60. But I don’t think retirement really works in Nigeria. Every old person I know either owns a shop or poultry business for extra money. That’s why I need to make big money so I can actually rest when I’m old.
Faith, 22
Income: ₦70k/month
Occupation: Social media manager
Location: Lagos
What can you afford on your salary? My salary covers my feeding expenses — I cook a lot, so usually around ₦35k – 40k, and ₦10k for data. I also save ₦10k/month to meet my ₦120k half of the rent for the apartment I share with a friend. Sometimes I save up to ₦15k/month.
I actually live a pretty comfortable life. I work from home, so I hardly go out or spend on bus fare. To be fair, I’m basically a hermit.
Also, I rarely buy clothes or hair. My boyfriend is my fashion’s saving grace; he randomly buys me clothes and accessories.
Do you ever worry about money? I worry that I’m not taking advantage of available income opportunities. My boyfriend says I always yap about learning a tech skill but never follow through. He’s right.
I worry that I’m too comfortable with my finances and should upskill to earn more, but I never gather the strength to do anything. I hope to be more intentional this year. I just got my NYSC call-up letter a few days ago. I plan to buy some product design courses and give myself the service year to figure my shit out.
What safety nets have you built? Besides saving for my rent, absolutely nothing. I hope to keep my job during my service year so I can save my allawee. I’ll probably keep it in a fintech app to earn interest.

Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? For my level, yes. I’m still an entry-level professional. But based on the economy? ₦200k is a fair amount. People should be able to live off their salaries; anything less than defeats the purpose. If I were living alone, I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep a decent roof over my head or feed myself. ₦70k is not a livable income.
Are you in debt? No. I keep my expenses within my income level.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Right now, ₦400k would be enough for me to live comfortably and build a considerable safety net.
At what age would you like to retire? 30. By then, I hope to be married to a man who handles all the bills, so I focus on being a stay-at-home mum. That sounds like retirement to me.
Jeremiah, 41
Income: ₦200k/month
Occupation: Admin manager
Location: Abuja
What can you afford on your salary? I’m married with three kids, so not a lot. I give my wife ₦80k for the month’s feeding and child-related expenses, but she comes back before the month’s end to say the money has finished. It’s either the children’s Capri Sonne has finished, or they need something at school. Realistically, I think I spend ₦120k/month on food and the kids.

Then, there are transportation and utility bills. I don’t have a full picture of how much goes to what, but I’m always broke long before salary enters. My wife supports me with half of our ₦800k/year apartment rent — she has an online store and saves most of her income to help with rent — but the rest of the load is on me. I’m struggling at best.
Do you ever worry about money? All the time. No day goes by that I don’t lament about how the price of an item has doubled. I have health insurance courtesy of my job, but my wife and kids don’t. I’m in soup if they ever fall ill.
What safety nets have you built? My entire safety net is the ₦20k I hid in a savings app. I don’t even know if that can save me from anything. It’s just so I can also say I have savings. My salary barely feeds my family, so I can’t save or invest.
My wife and I have been talking about buying a car for ages, but we can’t even save. How will the car happen? To make things worse, car prices climb up daily. In 2023, you could get a decent Tokunbo car for ₦4m. Now, you need to hold ₦7m for a Nigerian-used or ₦15m for Tokunbo. It’s crazy.
Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? No. I have 10 years of professional experience, and I should be earning at least double my current income. But the economy is bad, and there are no jobs, so I have to hold the one I have very tight.
Are you in debt? Yes. I owe four different loan apps about ₦300k in total. I turn to these apps when it’s time to pay rent, and I have nothing. I also turn to them when my mum asks for money, or I need to buy her medicine. I’m the first child, so I can’t tell her no. My wife often helps me repay these loans. Sometimes, I give my wife the money back. Most times, I don’t.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Over 95% of my problems would be solved with a job or business that pays me ₦4m/month. I could buy a car with just two months’ salary. I’d also be debt-free and be able to afford health insurance for my entire family. I could even build my own house.
At what age would you like to retire? When I was younger, I thought I’d retire at 50 and enjoy my free time. But now that I’m just a few years shy of 50, I know that’s impossible. I can only hope to earn enough money to be comfortable when I’m 50 and maybe stop working at 70.
Veronica, 28
Income: ₦550k/month
Occupation: Content Marketer
Location: Lagos
What can you afford on your salary? I can afford a certain degree of comfort. For instance, I could spend about ₦2k jumping danfo and a BRT bus from my place in Shomolu to visit my parents in Ikorodu, but I prefer to take a ₦16k cab ride. I don’t want to struggle in BRT queues or jump inside moving buses. I can’t always do that, but I can prioritise my comfort twice or thrice a month.

Do you ever worry about money? Yes, mostly because I might soon be unable to afford the new taste for comfort my salary used to give me. I started earning ₦400k in 2023, and I could afford things that made my life easier, like buying a generator and running it for most of the day, registering at a gym and taking cabs.
Now, I earn more, but I have to cut back. Fuel prices have forced me to run my generator for only two hours at a time. My gym recently increased their rates from ₦35k/month to ₦62k, and I remembered I could exercise at home. I feel like I have to keep earning more just to keep my quality of life and match inflation.
What safety nets have you built? I try to save at least ₦50k every month. Right now, I have ₦600k. It’d have been more if I didn’t have to pay ₦700k for a new apartment in mid-2024 — I have roommates, that’s why it’s so cheap.
I want to try investments this year or next, but I want to grow my savings to ₦1m first so I can have ₦500k locked up in investments and ₦500k in liquid cash for emergencies.
Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? No. ₦550k should be middle-class income, but the cost of basic comfort increases every day. I feel like a low-income earner who has some wiggle room. I believe I have the potential to earn up to ₦1m/month, based on my skill set and expertise. So, I still have a long way to go.
Are you in debt? Yes. I took an ₦800k loan from my bank to buy an iPhone 13 last year, and I’m repaying ₦60k+ every month. I think it was a wise decision because the phone price would have likely gone up if I waited until I had all the money. I have about ₦200k left to pay.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Maybe ₦2m/month and ₦50m in savings and investments. With that, I can decide not to work for a few months and not worry about going broke.
At what age would you like to retire? I’ve never thought about that. I guess whatever age I am when I amass up to ₦50m in savings and investments is a good time to rest.
Dare, 30
Income: $1k/month. With the current exchange rate, that’s ₦1.6m
Occupation: Software developer
Location: Ibadan
What can you afford on your salary? An apartment in an area with good electricity. I got my current job in 2023, and I thought keeping my ₦200k/year mini flat was a great way to prevent lifestyle creep. But the power supply was terrible and I realised I was spending close to my rent on fuel monthly.
So, I took a spur-of-the-moment decision in 2024 and moved into a new mini flat in a better area. The rent is ₦850k/year, and the total package was a little over ₦1m. I could make a major decision like that because of my salary.
Also, I can afford a savings culture. After spending on necessities like food, data and the occasional hangouts with friends, I save around ₦150k/month.

Do you ever worry about money? I worry that something can happen, and I’d lose my job and be unable to afford my lifestyle. I’ve been laid off once in 2022, and I know how much I suffered. I feel like I should have more money stashed away in case something like that happens again. Right now, if I don’t get a salary for two months straight, I’d be in serious trouble.
Also, I plan to get married in a few months, and I predict my salary won’t be enough to raise a family comfortably. I mean, I spend about ₦300k feeding only myself monthly. That would likely double if I wanted to maintain my standard of living after marriage.
What safety nets have you built? I have ₦500k in naira savings and $1k in dollar savings. I’ve also been toying with the idea of buying land, but that will likely gulp all my savings.
Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? Is there a bigger word than no? Because it’s a big no. Three years ago, I imagined earning ₦1m meant I’d have two cars and a house somewhere. But the reality is, I’d have to save my entire salary for a whole year to buy a used car, not even a new one.
When I think of my monthly expenses, I often wonder if I’m making wise financial decisions. But I take a closer look and realise I’m not even doing too much. I’m spending on things like transportation, caring for my parents, data and going out a few times. Surely, that shouldn’t be too much for someone earning ₦1m. But here we are.
Are you in debt? No. I used to be super against owing money, but I read something about how loans protect you from inflation because you’re repaying a fixed interest that is unaffected by how much the naira falls. So, I might consider taking a loan for a big project like a piece of land or a car soon.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Hmm, I don’t want to stay in this country much longer. But if I have to, maybe ₦10m/month. I’m sure that the income category has its challenges too, but let me get there first.
At what age would you like to retire? 60 feels like a good age. I don’t know if there’s a specific amount of money I’ll need as my retirement safety net, but I should have houses, at least.
Tunde, 31
Income: $2900/month. With the current exchange rate, that’s about ₦4.6m
Occupation: IT freelancer
Location: Lagos
What can you afford on your salary? I’m a single man with zero dependents, so I can afford a pretty good life. After Lagos takes 19% tax, I save and invest 60%, leaving me with 20% to spend. I comfortably meet all my needs with this 20% and rarely have to touch my savings.
Food is my biggest expense, as I don’t like to skimp in this area. That’s about ₦240k/month. I mostly meal prep, but I treat myself on weekends.
I’m a minimalist, so my rent only comes up to ₦2.5m/year. I live in a serviced self-con in a highbrow area in Lagos — I don’t need a big space.
I also like to save for my subscriptions and service bills (around ₦145k) for the coming month, just so that I am always ahead of bills by one month. Then, I can get my protein powder and use whatever remains of my salary to go out and do whatever I can afford.

Do you ever worry about money? All the time. I have no family members I can depend on financially, and I live in Nigeria where, as a man, nobody is coming to save you. It’s just me. That’s a consciousness I have all the time.
What safety nets have you built? Crypto, the US stock market, and dollar funds are my preferred investment channels. Right now, my net worth is around $17,000.
I’m building this for my future and for possible emergencies. Most importantly, I’m doing this so I never have to ask anybody for financial help. I grew up during the 2008 economic crisis, and let’s just say the effects of that make you see realities of life at a very young age.
Do you think you’re earning enough for your level and the state of the economy right now? I feel like I could be earning a bit more, but that is on me. I should be earning around $50k per annum and above, but I’ve not put in the work, so I can’t really make that demand.
Are you in debt? I’m so glad you asked this. This time last year, I was living paycheck to paycheck due to some poor choices. I also owed three different banks about ₦2m and was stuck in a loan cycle. Basically, I was spreading myself too thin for family members and a woman. I kept saying yes to unreasonable requests and couldn’t keep up even though I earned the same amount of money I earn now.
Thankfully, I cut these people off, and I’ve been debt-free since June 2024. That’s when I started actively building my savings and investment portfolio.
How much money would you need to live the life you want in Nigeria? Right now, I comfortably meet all my needs, and I can say I’m living the life I want.
However, if I were in a relationship, I wouldn’t mind an extra $300 a month. My ideal family setup is one wife and one child. I should be making around $4500/month for that to happen.
At what age would you like to retire? Late 50s. I don’t want to work past the age of 60. I strongly believe if I maintain living way below my means and get favourable returns from making dollar investments in the long term, I’ll be able to reach my retirement goals.
Names have been changed for anonymity.
NEXT READ: I’m 22, and This Is How I Grew My Money by 29% in 2024