There are 3 things that are certain in this life – death, taxes and the presence of crypto bros on the internet. You may have likely run into a crypto bro or you may have not. Either way, consider this an introductory course into crypto bros.
Who are Crypto Bros?
Crypto bros are people who buy crypto, sell crypto or work in the crypto ecosystem. Matter of fact, if you have a crypto wallet, you’re a crypto bro. This community has a very low entry barrier but is very high stress inducing. Think of it as entering a swimming pool that is also a stream, an ocean and a dried up lake.
Without further ado, let’s meet the 10 types of crypto bros you are likely to find:
WAGMI Bro
WAGMI stands for “We are gonna make it”, so you already know this bro is always optimistic. His most used emoji is the rocket emoji. The market can be falling to the depths of tartarus and he will still be posting WAGMI. He’s pitched his tent in the crypto market and that’s where he will remain come hail or highwater.
Elon Musk Lite
Imagine Elon Musk as a Nigerian born and bred in Lagos. Now add privilege and capitalism and excess hustling and crypto enthusiasm to the mix. The Elon Musk Lite bro can be found making cryptic tweets and debating in comment sections. Best believe he owns the top 5 cryptos – BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA AND XRP. He also owns USDT and USDC. But he will never admit to owning them unless backed into a corner.
NGMI Bro
The Direct opposite of WAGMI bro, “Not gonna make it”. The moment the market dips even a little, he starts calling on the ancestors for help and dragging everybody that has ever tweeted about crypto or blockchain or web3.
FOMO Bro
Whenever new cryptocurrency is launched, this bro is right there ready to buy. He is always battling fear of missing out (FOMO) and losing. Yet, he keeps buying coin after coin, and participating in as many airdrops as he can catch.
The Whales
The Whales are the crypto big boys, they own and move crypto in large quantities. They rarely speak about crypto but they’re always at the backend moving the market. You’ll probably see them spending your annual salary on a Friday night at Zorya night club or W Bar.
The Dip Buyers
These ones wait for the market to dip then swoop in to buy coins and coins. Their motto is #buythedip come rain or shine. The bearish market is when they come alive and are most active online.
Yellow Crypto Bro
The chillest of all crypto bros. All they do is Sell USDT, introduce people to crypto and make threads explaining how to trade. If you need the best crypto memes, tips and market advice, they’re your plug. They also know where to get the best rates in the crypto market.
BTC Boys
These bros believe in bitcoin supremacy. If it is not bitcoin, they’re not interested. The amount of bitcoin they’re holding might rival that of the crypto whales.
Founder Bros
Founder bros are always building or announcing a new product or a new round of funding. Their twitter page has a nice balance of life wisdom, finance tweets and blockchain nuggets.
The HODL Bros
These bros are the no retreat no surrender of crypto. If the market likes it, it should fall to the ground, they’re not selling. It is rising to the moon? they still won’t sell.. They will hold on to their coins for dear life.
Crypto bros can be a handful, especially to non-crypto people, but they are also quite interesting once you get past all the rocket emojis and acronyms.
If you want a stress-free way to connect to the crypto community and understand how crypto actually works, join the Yellow Card community by checking out the Yellow Card blog or easily buy and sell crypto in Nigeria by signing up. Who knows, you just might become a WAGMI bro or an Elon Musk Lite.
Most of us (read: certain Gen Zers) agree that capitalism is the worst and we wish adulting didn’t come with having to work.
Still, we still get stories about people staying at jobs they hate due to various reasons and we wonder, how long is long enough to stay at one job? Is there an acceptable minimum?
Here’s what these seven Nigerians think:
“I go where the money is, abeg”
— Lara*, 28
I’m too old to be forming loyalty at another man’s business. I stay loyal to you for as long as you’re paying me. However, I don’t actively start searching for other jobs within six months of a new one, but if something interesting happens to pop up, best believe I’ll take it.
I think one year is a reasonable minimum — I can stay more than a year, but I don’t do less than that. I figure that I need that time to learn new things, make a difference and work at advancing my career. It also helps to avoid potential recruiters thinking you’re fickle and might be a waste of resources if they hire you.
I have a five-year rule, mainly because I’ve spent most of my career in multinationals, and I believe this gives me enough time to establish myself as an expert in a particular market and rise through the ranks. It also shows loyalty, and when recruiters try to poach me, they’re more likely to come with very attractive offers in a bid to get me onboard.
“I never spend more or less than two years”
— Max*, 27
Two years is my minimum and maximum duration. I’m at an age where I need to pay attention to intentionally growing my career and finances, and I believe there’s a limit to how much you can earn in one place.
For instance, a raise on a ₦120k job will probably take years before getting to ₦300k, but you can get to ₦300k immediately if you can find a higher-paying job.
“Six months should do it”
— Crystal*, 22
I don’t think anyone should want to quit a job before spending at least six months there. Sure, there might be peculiar cases where the workplace is toxic, but think about your CV. Unless you plan to remove the whole experience from your CV, it might not be a good look.
“I move whenever I like”
— Joy*, 26
I used to believe that I needed to spend at least one or two years at one job in order to build myself as a professional, but one company made me change my stance. I worked there for three months, and they never paid me one full month’s salary — they kept paying in instalments, and no one had to teach me before I left.
I think this idea of needing to stay for a particular period at one job does more harm to the employee — do I really have to endure an employer’s excesses so that I don’t “spoil my career”?
If there’s one thing I dislike, it’s job stagnation. My mentor thinks three years is ample time to demonstrate growth and contribute significantly to team goals, and I agree with him. However, if you’re no longer aligned with the company’s goals, it might be time to consider quitting, even before the three-year mark.
Another thing is — if you’re sure you’re doing fantastic work and your team or company just doesn’t recognise it or makes you feel like you’re not doing well, throw the three-year mark away and move to where you’ll be respected. Life’s too short to be managing jobs.
*Names have been changed for the sake of anonymity.
Ahead of the festive season, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, Nigeria’s largest Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), has unveiled the Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Loyalty Program tagged Umatter. It is a reward scheme targeted at the customers of the PFA, to reward them for their loyalty and patronage through exclusive discounts as they shop with their e-loyalty card.
The loyalty program is available at the PFA’s partner merchants’ locations and stores across the nation. It is aimed at providing Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers’ customers with exciting shopping discounts to help them spend less and save more when they shop.Some of the participating merchant outlets are Maybrands, Café Royale, Hubmart Stores, Chocolate Royal, La Campagne Tropicana, Physio Centers of Africa, Medplus, iStore, Oriki, Launderland and Active Leisure. The discounts range from 5 to 12 percent on products and services purchased.
Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers’ partnerships with these major outlets will enable customers to seamlessly enjoy instant discounts on their purchases during this festive period, thereby making life even more easy and affordable for customers who use the Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers e-loyalty card. Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers will continue to initiate valuable programs like this that encourage people to continue saving for their retirement and building their financial future.New and existing customers can be a part of this exciting loyalty program by visiting www.stanbicibtcpension.com or calling 01 271 6000.
After “Detty December” comes “E choke” January, but that will not be your portion. If you follow these six tips religiously, “insufficient funds” will have nothing on you.
Pro tip: Number two always works.
1. Break up with your partner
You guys can make-up later, but you have to remain focused on securing the bag. Break up now, love won’t feed you.
2. Take Buju’s advice
Don’t go outside ooo. There’s debit alert everywhere. You never know where you’ll enter and your account will suddenly become minus 100k. Take heart ehn; it’s only a while. The outside is not running away.
3. Befriend your boss
Who else has the future of your account balance in their hands if not your boss? Start dusting their shoes and washing the plates they use for lunch at the office. If you don’t see your salary in January, at least you know who to fight (not us, plis).
4. Start planting what you’ll eat in January
Why spend money on food when you can harvest? See, carry hoe and watering can and transform that barren backyard of yours into a food court.
5.
Stock up on vibes and Insha’Allah
For every event, hangout or fun memory you make, keep a portion of the vibes aside for rainy days in January. It’s just thirty days, insha’Allah, you will survive.
6. Fast and pray
If people ask how come you are beginning to look thin and poor in January, tell them you are observing a special prayer and fasting period for supernatural blessings. Kabaya!
7. Lock your funds till mid January
Then throw away the key and forget you have anything called money somewhere. Your January self will thank you.
There’s nothing as annoying as slow network, errors or getting your card rejected when you need to make an important payment online.
If you’re in Nigeria, one of these 5 situations must have given you headache at some point.
1. Online shopping
After finally summoning courage to move all those items you’ve saved since 2019 to cart, paying will be another wahala. On top your own money you want to spend oh. This life.
2. Buying airtime when stranded
God help you if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and Tunji, your mechanic, is not on WhatsApp.
3. Paying bills
If it’s your village people working through your bank to make EKEDC embarrass you, pray against it.
4. Booking flights
Oh you think you can just up and go? Lemao. Wait till your bank falls your hand with network failure minutes before booking elapses.
5. Subscribing to Netflix
Something that you’re paying for because of Money Heist and King Of Boys, that’s how you’ll see that your card is not accepted for international payments.
Having a virtual card like that of Chippercash can help prevent all this headache.
The Chipper Card is a pre-funded and reloadable virtual card that can be used for online payments globally. Here’s what makes it cool:
It is absolutely free to acquire.
For a limited time, you can automatically earn 5% cash back on all purchases.
You can use it for online purchases anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
Limit spending by only using the amount uploaded to your card.
Easily book flights or buy anything online.
The Merchants accepted at the moment are Ali Express, Amazon, Facebook, Bolt, Apple iTunes, Spotify, Google Playstore, BoomPlay, Youtube Video & Music, and Netflix.
The payment industry in Africa is fast rising, and as the industry continues to grow, the market is expanding and evolving despite the challenging global economic conditions. More often than not, this topic has been seen as boring, but with the recent developments, talking about it has become inevitable.
According to Statista, the total about of investment in the Fintech Industry globally since 2010 has been over $215.4 billion. This shows that the Fintech space is one that is growing and changing.
If you have ever made payment for a product or service using your mobile phone, personal computer or any other smart device, then, you are familiar with the Fintech industry as the payment industry is now commonly called.
This emerging industry may however in future, overrule the traditional banking system in Africa as Africans are gradually getting immersed in it. The payment industry has impacted many local businesses as most business owners now make use of the payment systems provided by companies known as Financial Technology (FinTech) companies.
FinTech refers to new technology that disrupts old or traditional ways of conducting financial transactions. This involves doing away with paper money and human interaction through digitized processes.
In recent times, several FinTech companies have emerged in the African payment industry. The common and widely used FinTech Companies in Africa today include Paystack, Branch, PayWithSpecta, Tala, Paga, Cellulant, Fawry, Jumo, Yoco, Zoona, MyBucks, Fluterwave etc.
These payment trends have created and are still creating both opportunities and challenges for industry players. Some of the biggest challenges include infrastructure development (especially sustainable electricity and telecommunication), low literacy levels, security and a host of others.
The different payment options available in Africa include:
Cash payment option
Check / Cheque payment option
Debit cardCredit Card
Mobile payment / Electronic bank transfers
Now, let’s look at the common terms associated with the payment or Fintech industry in Africa:
Crowdfunding: This is basically the use of capital gathered from a large set of people individually to finance a business or project. A common example is gofundme.
Chargeback: Let us assume you got debited for a product or service you did not purchase, the refund made into your account or payment card after you lodge a complaint is known as a chargeback.
USSD: It is an acronym for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data. USSD transactions occur during a particular session after dialling a code. The good thing about USSD is that it can be used on both smartphones and feature phones.
Mobile Money: In this case, your mobile phone is used to access all financial services such as payment of goods/services, money withdrawal, money transfer and more.Digital payments/e-payment: This is similar to mobile money. It is a method of making payments using digital platforms such as Paystack.
Mobile wallet: This is more like a wallet or purse but a virtual one.
Internet Banking: Almost all banks have this feature nowadays. It is the use of a web application to perform banking tasks. These days, people get to skip the line, i.e. they don’t have to queue at the bank.
It is safe to say that Fintech is the future of banking and payment industry in Africa as consumers are constantly looking for a single service that can manage all their payments in a simple, fast and secure way.
One of the biggest and best innovations in Africa currently is a platform called PayWithSpecta. PayWithSpecta combines both lending and payments into one solution. So, not only can you get credit, you can settle payments all at once without any stress or challenges.
Some of the benefits, of the PayWithSpecta platform, are;
You can pay back on installments
You can payback with a 0% interest if you pay back between 1-3 months.
You don’t have to expense cash when making payment in-store or online from any of our merchants.
You also get rewarded in cash when you refer merchants to the PayWithSpecta platform.
Never worry about getting important bills settled.
Some of the benefits of PayWithSpecta to a business are;
Increase your profitability
Increase your customer base
Enjoy value added services
Get credit to support your business
Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.
After a series of lootings in Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of the state, declared that the state will need ₦1 trillion to fix the damages incurred.
There have also been allegations of fraud and financial misappropriation against the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Due to this, there has been public scrutiny on the Lagos State and the Lagos State House of Assembly’s disbursement of funds. We decided to break down the financial statement of Lagos State to get a true picture of the financial situation of the state.
1. Lagos State earned ₦644 billion in 2019
The total amount paid to the state for the economic value it offers is calculated as revenue.
Economic value includes the services that the state renders to its citizens and the country, from which it is paid back in taxes, allocations and other monies.
This revenue is divided into “non-exchange transactions” and “exchange transactions”.
Exchange transactions are transactions where two people buy and sell from each other. In a non-exchange transaction, there is no sale of any goods, and only one party takes from the other. An example of a non-exchange transaction is taxes and levies.
The money Lagos got from non-exchange transactions in 2019 include:
Taxation income – ₦348,001,113,000 billion .
Levies, fees and fines – ₦26,597,553,000 billion.
Statutory allocation – ₦229,495,389,000 billion.
Grants – ₦483,934,000 million.
Other revenue from non-exchange transactions – ₦3,958,723,000 billion.
Exchange transactions include:
Income from other sources – refers to money gotten from private sector development programmes, such as the Lekki-Ikoyi toll revenue, proceeds from hospital units and other miscellaneous revenues. This revenue was ₦24,014,757,000 billion.
Capital receipts – ₦8,972,888, 000 billion.
Investment income – ₦2,077,847,000 billion.
Interest income -₦1,161,184,000 billion.
The total operating revenue of the state was ₦644,762,788,000.
From the gross revenue of the state, the state spent ₦278,551,391,000 billion on expenses, leaving it with ₦366,211,397,000 billion.
The ₦278 billion expenses went to:
Wages, salaries and employee benefits – ₦107,132,214,000 billion.
Grants and other transfers – ₦16,626,164 billion.
Subvention to parastatals – ₦53,445,714 billion.
General and administrative expenses – ₦101,347,300 billion.
3. Other losses, charges and expenses amounted to ₦366 billion
After spending ₦278 billion on operating expenses, Lagos State further incurred losses in these respects:
Capital expenditure – ₦134,521,650,000 billion.
Public debt charges – ₦62,533,163 billion.
Net loss on foreign exchange transactions – (₦2,332,949,000 billion).
Depreciation – ₦104,491,678 billion.
4. Lagos State had a ₦66 billion surplus for the 2019 financial year.
After spending ₦278 billion on recurrent expenditure, and losing ₦366 billion on capital expenses, foreign exchange losses, public debt charges and depreciation, Lagos State had a surplus of ₦66,997,855,000 billion for the 2019 financial year.
5. Lagos State’s total asset is ₦2.4 trillion
Assets are divided into current assets and non-current assets.
Current assets include:
Cash and cash equivalents – ₦33,349,831,000 billion.
Receivables from exchange transactions – ₦325,268,000,000 billion.
Receivables from non-exchange transactions – ₦31,961,939,000 billion.
Inventory – ₦3,076,959,000 billion.
Non-current assets include:
Available for sale investments – valued at ₦49,665,927,000 billion .
Other financial assets – valued at ₦16,453,704,000 billion.
Property, plant and equipment (PPE) – valued at ₦2,271,309,527 trillion.
From this breakdown, Lagos State spent ₦134 billion to build infrastructure in 2019. So, spending ₦1 trillion to rebuild the state would equal the state’s capital expenditure for over six years, if we take into account the impact of inflation.
For more on Lagos State’s audited financial statements, check here.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about how to unfuck yourself when the Nigerian government moves mad. Check back every weekday for more Zikoko Citizen explainers.
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.
When would you say you first “knew money”?
I have always wanted to be rich since I was 10. I started reading newspapers at an early age, and I learnt about MKO Abiola’s money and generosity. I would write on my school notes the number of houses I wanted to build, the number and names of companies I wanted to start, the number of chieftaincy titles I wanted to have.
My mum came from a poor family somewhere in the South West. She always prayed (and sang when doing chores) to have children that would change her fortune. Even at that age, I was gingered.
Since you remember being so driven, what was the first thing you ever did for money?
I was not really a business person. I was a book worm focused on my studies, so I could get good grades and land a good corporate job after school.
My first job didn’t come until after I graduated.
Tell me about your first job.
It was more like an internship at an investment management firm. I got it a few weeks after I graduated. My CV was submitted at the company by a brother. I was invited for a test, I passed, did the interview, got the job. This was 2007, and it paid ₦50k.
I got the real job after NYSC in 2008. Oil and gas. This one first paid ₦163k, then ₦196k after a few months.
What did it mean to get into an oil company in 2008?
Let me take you back to when I graduated in 2006. The economy was booming. Banks were recruiting en masse, absorbing people. Any second class upper graduate could get a bank job as long as they passed the job tests and interviews.
The capital markets operators, including the firm I worked for, were also doing well. So it was a period of boom.
Now, I must admit I was lucky. Oil and gas was not an easy industry to get into. It was and still is fiercely competitive. I remember ExxonMobil would invite entry-level candidates, and you’d see a sea of heads at a test centre. The test would hold in at least three centres. All for less than 20 slots.
My good grades really helped me. I got invited to five major international oil companies in Nigeria — Exxon, Shell, Chevron and Total Upstream. I had a shot at downstream too. The first offer I got was from one of the downstream companies a month after my NYSC. I took it and settled there. That was my launch pad into the industry.
Tell me about how your income grew from ₦163k.
By the time I left the downstream industry after four years, I was on ₦330k per month. An upstream company offered me ₦500k per month and I grabbed it. A year later, my role was upgraded and my salary rose to ₦762k. The next year, I was on ₦869k due to inflation adjustments. A couple of promotions and cost of living adjustments later, I now earn ₦2.4m after tax and pension.
Love it. Between your first salary and now, what important life events have happened?
I got married almost 10 years ago and now we have three kids. My initial plan was to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife in Paris, but God had another plan with Corona.
Another thing, I enjoy building houses, so I would say I have never stopped building houses.
This is interesting.
I started my first housing project in 2009, and now, I have completed five houses — four bungalows and a duplex.
As soon as I finish one, I move to the next. I’m very bad at keeping cash, so I prefer to spend my money on these projects. I love decent cars too.
What’s a decent car?
Well, I’ve used a Range Rover, Land Rover and Chrysler at different points. That’s my personal indulgence. I also travel for fun.
Tell me what an average trip looks like.
I used to do Dubai every other year but got tired. I like London and Paris. I love Scotland too. I have done the major cities in Scotland — Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. I have done Turkey. I had fun in Istanbul, but the time spent at Hilton Glasgow was my best ever.
A typical trip lasts between 8 to 14 days. I travel economy class, but I use top hotels just for the experience. I try to use Hilton because I’m building my Hilton membership points so I can get subsidised booking.
I just love seeing the flashy modern cities. I really don’t fancy all these historical sites people talk about.
What’s on your to-do when you enter a new city?
I love football, so if there is a popular football monument in the city I’m holidaying, I try to visit. So I’ve visited the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Dundee United stadium, Wembley and Etihad.
I don’t club, so that’s out of it. I do a lot of shopping though. I buy most of my wears when I travel. TM and Zara stores are two of the first places I look for in any city. When I travel with my family, we go out in the evenings for sightseeing. When I travel solo, it’s sports monuments and shopping.
I can spend as low as ₦800k when I travel solo to one country. If I do more than one country and use top hotels, I may do up to ₦2m. With my family, ₦3m. I hardly spend more than ₦3m.
Back home here. I’d like us to break down your monthly expenses now. Let’s use your last income.
I spend about ₦1.1m on loan repayments — about ₦500k from it is actually Ajo. I have some short-term loans, banks throw loans at you when you earn that much. I spend about ₦1.5m on school fees per annum for my children plus that of a family member’s child under my care. In school fees months, I cut other expenses.
I spend about ₦100k on household stuff. I have about 10 people on my payroll, from my mum to family members. I spend about ₦100k on that. I always have an ongoing project, and I throw at least ₦300k on that. I keep about ₦200k for regular expenses — from car maintenance to gifts — during the month. I save a very little portion, less than ₦50k.
That ₦50k, hmm.
I’m very bad at keeping cash. I’ve been working for 12 years, and I can count on my fingers the months in which my salary lasted till another month. It never did when I was earning ₦163k and it still doesn’t do now that I earn over ₦2m. It’s the weirdest part of my personal finance. I used to complain, but I’ve realised there is little I can do.
How do you fund your holidays?
Several ways. But mostly from lump-sum payments, like bonuses and 13th month received towards the end of the year.
Raising ₦800k to ₦3m is not difficult by the way. Most of those expenses up there are not fixed. I may decide to not spend the ₦300k project budget for three months.
And of course, I pay school fees only thrice in a year — January, April and September.
I also stagger my travel costs. If I want to travel in December, for example, I won’t spend all the money then. I can buy flight tickets in July, book hotels in September and by the time I travel in December, all the money I need are my shopping and feeding expenses. With this planning, it’s not difficult.
Let’s talk about projects. What type of projects do you spend on?
Houses.
I’m curious about the unit economics of building houses.
They are usually small houses that cost between ₦15m to ₦30m. Three are personal. Two of the houses are commercial. I only recently finished the ones that will be commercial, so returns have not set in, but I’m hoping to get the returns in 10 years. To be honest, I did not build the houses for immediate economic consideration. I see it more as a store of value. Together, the five houses are worth about ₦100m.
I think you have an interesting relationship with money.
Well, I wish I could be good at saving though, I don’t think I have had ₦5m in my bank accounts for over a month. I realised early in my career that I am bad at keeping cash, so I decided to spend on things I could see: houses.
There’s also me trying to help people within my means because I believe I am lucky to have such a decent job. I try to have fun too, as permissible by faith. Travelling is my main indulgence. Then cars. So these are things I spend money on.
I’m poor at investments too. If I invest in liquid assets, I can easily sell them and spend the cash, hence my reservation about it.
This is not necessarily the best personal finance strategy, but this is what I do.
Has this “lack of cash” ever backfired?
A number of times. I once needed a huge sum for an unforeseen family event, and they expected me to just transfer the money immediately or after a few hours. No one believed me when I said I didn’t have cash. I had to screenshot my account balance to convince a sibling. How much? ₦400k.
What comes to mind when you think about retirement?
Relocating back to my country home in my village and enjoying a stress-free life. Hopefully, I would have built more commercial properties and rent would be a good source of income.
My pension account balance is currently above ₦30m. Hopefully, it would be up to ₦100m at retirement.
I have a small side business too; a small consulting firm that is not yet profitable.
So, I’m banking on rent on my properties, pension and retirement benefit from my employment. One of the good things about the upstream oil and gas industry is its decent retirement package.
You could go home with as much as ₦100m after 25 years of service.
I also hope my saving culture would have become better before retirement, so I should have a decent saving balance.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your financial happiness?
I would say 8. I am lucky to have a good job that pays more than ₦2m per month. It hasn’t translated to a heavy financial chest, but I am still happy at the projects I have done. Even more, the number of people that have benefited from it.
You know, I built one of the houses for my mother. Handing it to her remains the most fulfilling day of my life.
Click the photo to get started!
Every now and then, your phone buzzes and you see a bank alert. In this moment, your mind races through a ton of possibilities. Is it credit alert? Debit? What do they want? Why are they messaging me if its not credit alert?
Here are 5 stages your mind runs through when you receive messages from your bank.
Credit alert
Unarguably, this is the king of all alerts. Nothing in this life beats a credit alert notification. You watch as your account balance has swollen and you start budgeting which food platter you’re going to buy because you’re forever a foodie (no need to be ashamed. This is a safe space).
Debit alert
The instant you receive a debit alert, your heart starts to race. You start thinking about your weekend and all the things you spent money on. This is where the regret starts to set in as you wonder whether that tray of small chops is really worth the heartbreak your account is going through.
Monthly account statement
I’m sure banks send this to you so that all your reckless spending in the month is laid bare to you. Cast your eyes upon your spending habits and be ashamed. You bought that mad shoe that you’ve always wanted, but at what cost? Your monthly statement will show you the cost.
Card maintenance fee
First of all, why does my card need maintenance? What exactly is the maintenance? Are they changing the engine oil in the card or what? Card that is in my wallet all month? What is the meaning of this?
SMS Notification Charge
If there’s an award for the most annoying charge, this would take the price. Because can anybody explain why your bank is charging YOU because THEY sent YOU a credit/debit alert? Lord make it make sense.
Birthday/Holiday Messages
When you realise that your bank is going to charge you an SMS notification fee for the birthday and public holiday messages nobody asked them for, your blood starts to boil. Who asked them for birthday wishes? Instead of them to send you money for your birthday.
For many young Nigerians, investing is a very treacherous undertaking. Between the tanking economy and growing responsibilities, you might find it nearly impossible to set money aside for investing. I mean, things are so bad, Shoprite is shuttering operations after 15 years. No, I’m not crying.
Back to the topic. Investing is certainly a great way to grow your finances. While saving money is nice and all, investing is a much better way to increase your wealth. One of the reasons for this is compounding.
Compound That Monayyy
Compounding interest basically means earning interest on your interest. Let’s say you invest N50,000 in government treasury bills with an interest rate of 18% per year. If you decide to reinvest your original investment and all the interest you acquire, you will receive N114,387 at the end of 5 years.
Let’s assume you decide to be disciplined and continue reinvesting your principal and interest. At the end of 10 years, you will have earned 261,691.78. While this might not seem like a lot of money, it is a great way to let your money make money for you. If you add this to the fact that investing in government treasury bills is one of the safest ways to secure your funds, you really have nothing to lose.
If you’re like the average Nigerian, you probably just set aside money for saving rather than investing. The rest is for balling. However, investing should be separate from saving. Saving is great so that you have a stash of cash for emergencies and other expenses. However, you should invest to grow your entire financial profile.
No, Seriously, You Should Invest
You should keep in mind that the reason for investing isn’t necessarily to become rich but to create a financial safety net for yourself. At some point, due to any reason, you might/will stop working. Having an investment portfolio is a great way to secure your future against what Nigeria tends to do to your personal finances.
