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  • 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.

    Tell me about what it was like growing up.

    I was born in ‘95 in Lagos. My dad was Director of Finance in a government agency at the time. He became DG in ‘99 when Obasanjo came into office. So life was really good. I had everything I needed growing up. 

    We, the smaller kids had a car and a driver attached to us, we mostly just needed permission from mumsy to go chilling. 

    Mad o. What level do you have to be to become a director?

    Level 16 in most places. I think 1-3 have been eliminated. You come in at level 4 if your highest qualification is an SSCE and you max out at 7 unless you bring extra qualification. Degree holders start at 8, MSc holders at 9, PhD/ICAN at 10. 

    There’s 3 years between each level up until 14. There’s no level 11. 

    Why?

    To be honest I don’t know. At GL 12, you’re a Principal Officer; at 13 a Chief; 14 you’re an Assistant Director; and 15, Deputy Director. You can still be a Deputy Director on 16 if there’s no vacancy in the organization. 

    Tell me about your mum.

    She was a teacher before they moved to Lagos in ‘92. That was also the year my dad became Director. She stopped working since then. My dad died in the mid-2000s. She became a businesswoman afterwards; poultry farming, buying stuff from Dubai and reselling. 

    Sorry about your loss man. How was it for her? 

    She was devastated but had to worry about us. I remember when she started the poultry. We had just moved houses in ‘07. The farm was my dad’s but it had no structures. So she built the structures and put the chickens in it. It became huge in two years but we kept having issues with the farm manager. It was always chickens dying or the eggs not adding up. 

    Ah, farm managers and eggs.  

    Sha, she sold the farm in 2011 because she said she was running at loss for like 2 years.  She got around ₦15m for it. 

    That was when she started trading fabrics from Dubai. That lasted for about three trips over like 2 years. Since then she hasn’t really been into any business, apart from a few catering contracts from senior government relatives here and there. 

    How’s she been getting by?

    Rental properties. We all work apart from my younger brother, the last born – he’s in his third year – so we all chip in at the end of every month. We’re 7 kids; 4 of them are now married; 1 man, 3 women; and the remaining of us, 3 boys, are at home. 

    7 kids. Your mum raised 7 kids?

    I swear down. Big ups to her. 

    I’m curious about your dad’s inheritance.

    From what I can remember right now; a house and 3 plots of land in Abuja, a farm in Niger State, three houses and two plots in the Northwest. I loved snooping around since I was a kid and I can remember seeing cash figures of about 70 million before they divided it. We also got $100k death insurance. It was actually the airline that paid us – he died in a plane crash. 

    Eish. So sorry man. What were the first things that changed financially when your dad died? 

    No more pocket money obviously. Our cars went from 8 to 4 – official cars were returned. We could no longer sustain 24 hours light and only used the generator overnight. Along the line, we started turning it off at 11 pm. 

    We had to move houses and get a smaller one – I think it was because of maintenance. The initial house was a 7 bedroom with a study and 3 sitting rooms, huge boys quarters also. We moved to a 4 bedroom with boys quarters. 

    Two of my siblings got married, so we didn’t need that much space. 

    How did it change you, personally?  

    Devastating. I feel I was the closest to my dad and it wrecked me emotionally even at that age. I kept wishing it was me instead of him. Financially, I didn’t feel much of the difference because my mum made sure I had all I needed. 

    Obviously not sleeping with gen was annoying, not getting any money weekly when I was home from boarding school was tough too. But I was quite similar to a lot of my friends so I couldn’t really complain. 

    My dad used to buy a lot of gifts because he travelled a lot, all of that stopped. 

    I was in one African country in January to collect a posthumous award on his behalf and I couldn’t hold back the tears fam. I cried on like three different occasions. 

    *Hug*. Let’s digress, what’s the first thing you ever did for money?

    NYSC; January ’17. I was an Office Assistant in the finance department of a government parastatal. It prepared me for getting retained. I now became an accountant in the budget section. While serving, I didn’t do much work and I felt like the whole place was just dead. But when I became a staff, my boss switched up on me and work became really serious. 

    Buhahahaha

    I dey tell you. It’s a small parastatal that feels redundant but they have revenues topping ₦7 billion per annum since 2017, so there’s a lot of work in finance. Expenditure equaling revenue as well. 

    So basically, no profit?

    The difference is usually less than ₦20 million. 

    Abeg wetin dey chop this 7 billion abeg? Abeg. 

    The largest expenditure for the agency is transportation. And that is at the heart of the agency. 

    Logistics is a crazy businessman.

    It takes about ₦1.5 billion. Also, there are offices in every local government. Over 1,000 in total. So fueling of vehicles and weekend allowances. 

    Then there’s money for Ogas too; international travel gulps over ₦100 million. Local over ₦150 million, that’s for all staff sha.

    So basically, the Ogas who make up probably less than 5% are spending more than the entire workforce.

    More or less. A minister used to send some of his international travel bills too. 

    How does this even work?

    The thing was crazy o. Sometimes, letterhead approval will just come from the ministry saying the conference or whatever they’re going to relates to our parastatal. And as such, we had to cover the cost.

    OLUWA WETIN DEY HAPPEN?

    Guy, hahaha. This Naija ehn. I saw things and I learnt a lot while there – I benefited also. I got to save enough money to buy a car. Although my mum had to give me money from my inheritance to complete it sha. 

    Hold up. Tell me what you learned, and of course what you benefited.

    I learned how government accounting works. I learned how approvals are passed from Director-General to Director of Finance to Deputy Director and me or my colleagues. 

    Any kobo to be paid has to pass through about 4 or 5 offices. Directors’ approval limit was ₦2.1m I think and the DG was ₦4m if I can remember.

    What were your expectations about the civil service, and what were your realities?

    I expected a dysfunctional system without accountability. Civil servants were supposed to be the same, and couldn’t care less about their jobs. I came to find out that the civil service actually works. Also, what I mean by accountability is systems like the Treasury Single Account and some internal checks. Everything that has been done can be tracked, except you don’t go looking for it.

    There is just so much redundancy. Selfish people want to cheat the system all the time. For example, the accounting model doesn’t allow for any payment to be made without checks and balances but everybody along the line is ‘settled’ and thus looks the other way. External auditors come and they’re automatically expecting the same treatment too. 

    Anybody that doesn’t tow this line is quickly turned against and a witch-hunt starts almost immediately; I saw this first hand with a senior member of staff. She became unwilling at some point to approve the multiple payments and she claimed to have something on all of the top management.

    They swung into action to find something on her and they did. At that point my morality had been so affected too that I was against her, I’m probably just realising this now. 

    Fascinating, your realisation that is. 

    Well, what can I say? She was frustrating my boss and his boss and the way it was conditioned, I couldn’t help but support them. Disloyalty is rewarded with an immediate transfer. 

    There are people that still manage to go home with money that is clearly not their salary, where do those come from?

    So many ways o. For the big bosses, most of their illegal money comes from inflated contracts and collecting kickbacks from contractors. A 2015 Prado for example, will be bought in 2018 for ₦75 million. A car that would most likely not have cost above ₦25m. 

    For that to be possible, the DG, Director of Finance, Head of Audit and Head of Procurement all have to be in on it. Then the money will trickle down to the lower boys, and that makes you complicit. And in a place that spends ₦7 billion a year, you can imagine the number of inflated contracts a year. 

    Then we had Duty Tour Allowance or estacode as the case may be. There’s already a budget before the start of the year stating the amount to be spent on local travels and international travels. The organisation makes sure every kobo is spent, no matter how frivolous the trip. In some cases, you don’t even need to travel, as long as your boss – usually a Director – signs off that you indeed were supposed to travel. You’ll be paid without stepping out of the office. 

    This has happened to my face countless times. 

    That is crazy.

    If you have something important that needs to be passed, you’ll go office by office and drop something for the boys so your paper can be passed till it gets to the appropriate office. 

    During internal budget defense week, I got ₦30k just for being there. 

    “Thank you for coming” money?

    Exactly. But we were about four in my grade range. I don’t even have any idea what my bosses would get. 

    Tell me about the first time this thing ever happened.

    During NYSC, my boss asked to see me. I went to see him that day but couldn’t because he was so busy. The next morning, an elderly colleague asked if I had seen Oga, I told him no, he said: “Ehn Oga dey find you, you no wait for am, this boy you don’t know good things.” 

    When I went to see him, Oga gave me ₦20k just like that. I received this about 15 times during my 2-year stay at the agency. 

    Crazy. How did that make you feel?

    I went to tell my colleague, a level 9 staff at the time. And he said, Oga gave everyone in the division. 

    “Is this frequent, what is it for?” He said Oga understands salary cannot be enough and because of his benevolent nature, he helps his boys out whenever something comes in. 

    I reflected on whether it was right or wrong for a while until I forgot about it. 

    That’s heavy. 

    I know for a fact that it is wrong and contributes to whatever rot we’re seeing in this country. But maybe I’m saying this because I’m not eating anymore. These things are extremely hard to stop when you’re a part of them. 

    I had a colleague who was a very devoted Christian. She came when I was there sometime within my first year. I told her how people get money and she told me that she’d never collect money whose source she has no clue about. 

    Then one time, our Oga gave her 20k, but she didn’t say anything. The next day, I asked her about the money, and she was like, “how did you know?” 
    I told her, remember that time you said you’d never collect money whose source you don’t know?

    Has there ever been anyone who’s gone into this system and completely resisted?

    Not a single person I know of. It actually made me start thinking twice about my dad and all of my friends’ parents in govt. Everyone I spoke to always found a way to justify it. I always come to the conclusion that my dad was a good person in office. Bad people are usually discarded after death. My friends’ parents, if you see the balling they do, it’s hard to imagine a government official getting it legit. 

    What level did you start with, and what level are you in now?

    8, officially started in December 2017. Left the agency and went to another one from April 19 to start afresh from 8 again. The transfer process is cumbersome. So I was advised to resign and take up a new appointment. So I’ll be due for promotion 2022. 

    It was quite disappointing, but I did start afresh. 

    I still want a career in govt though, somewhere that fits my interest and skills like the Central Bank, NSIA, NDIC etc. 

    I’ve always had an interest in governance and I would like to contribute my skills and ideas to improve this country.

    Now’s the time to breakdown your monthly income. Every dime. Where does it go, where does it come from?. 

    Also, what do you spend your money on monthly?

    • Fuel: ₦20k
    • Eating out (office and otherwise): ₦25k
    • Data: ₦9k
    • Miscellaneous: ₦8k (Laundry, car repairs and other stuff)
    • Savings: ₦30k

    Do you have a monthly savings target?

    2019; ₦40k. 2020; ₦30k. I’ve not missed a naira. The pandemic has helped a lot though. 

    How much is in your savings chest?

    About ₦1.4m, $1k and the rest naira. I’m scared of putting everything in one place. Even the $ are in different forms. 

    Do you have insurance, pension and all of that?

    I have NHIS as my health insurance, doesn’t cover everything but it’s not bad. I have a pension as well. And it’s growing nicely, love checking it every quarter. I forgot to mention, I also receive roughly ₦200k every year from rent. 

    From your dad’s property?

    My property now. 

    ENERGY. 

    Hahaha. 

    What’s something you really wish you could be better at?

    Making money off intellectual property. Financial consulting so to say. That’s what led me to write feasibility studies.

    How would you rate your happiness levels on a scale of 1-10?

    4 TBH. Alhamdulillah for what I currently have but I feel like I should be earning roughly 220 net a month at this stage. I’m still far off from that.

    I would have been earning the same but my promotion would have been due December this year so technically early next year. 

    What’s something you want right now, but can’t afford?

    In the short term, a new car. Long term; a Masters’ from a school worth going to (Salford, LSE, INSEAD etc.). In the long run when I’m vying for a management position they definitely help. There’s also the fact that I want to learn from the best. I saw my dad’s CV and I found out he had 5 international appointments. I want something like that; being good enough to hold those positions and titles.

  • 1) Do you have debts?

    This question helps guide whether to throw a big wedding or pay off debts and have a quiet wedding instead.

    2) How are we handling the payment of bills when we get married?

    Let’s be guided. Who handles what and what bill. I pay for light and water, you pay for waste and cleaning. That way everyone budgets appropriately.

    3) How much money should we spend on vacations?

    Are we going to Obudu cattle ranch or Santorini for honeymoon? Babe, talk to me.

    4) Are we open to receiving external help from parents?

    Let’s say hypothetically, daddy wants to buy us car because the old one is faulty, what’s the protocol for that? Just thinking out loud babe.

    5) Do you have an emergency fund?

    I know we are covered by “God forbid” and whatnot, but if shit hits the fan, is there a buffer for that?

    6) Kids, how many?

    Cut your kids according to your pocket size or some shit like that. We need to sit and break down the financial implications of raising one child, two children, three. etc.

    7) What’s the policy with helping siblings financially?

    If you help siblings, do you expect them to pay back? or is it dash? and am I supposed to chip in?

    8) Named brands vs Generic brands?

    I am just asking so I can know how we will be planning salary expenditure. So, I can plan accordingly.

    9) If we have fertility issues, how much money are you open to spending?

    I know it’s not our portion but it’s good to consider this, please.

    10) Public school or private schools for our children?

    This question is important because it will affect our cash flow in the future so it’s better we plan for it from now.

  • I spent the last two days reading about how online payment platforms work in Nigeria. Why am I so jobless you ask? I’ll explain later.

    But first, if you don’t already know how card payments work, here’s the gist:

    Disclaimer: This is not meant to be an authoritative guide. It’s a framework to understand what happens.

    Every time “enter your card details”, how does it even work self?

    online

    First three things to know: Your bank, online payment service provider, and the financial institution of the company you are patronizing.

    So, you decide to buy your power bank from Big Cabal electronics. They also don’t like stress and they want you to pay from the comfort of your singlet and boxers. To make both your lives stress-free, they employ the service of a payment service provider to collect the money online.

    Payment service providers are like the guys who collect money from yellow buses for the NURTW but without the violence. They help businesses safely receive online payments.

    online
    Payment service providers are circled.

    So, when it’s time to pay, you fill in your card details in the payment service provider’s form which is located on the seller’s check out page.

    Ahan. Just like that. Is it safe?

    online

    Immediately after you fill the form, the service provider encrypts your details. Encryption is like when the smart student covers her work so we can’t copy from her in the exam. So, no one can see your details. It’s safe.

    What next?

    Remember when your bank people were pursuing you to collect visa or master card? or in some cases, verve card? Well, these people(master card, visa) work in partnership with banks and are in charge of issuing payment/A.T.M cards to us. So, the online payment provider sends in the covered details to these card issuers.

    Because these issuers are besties with banks, they then forward the covered details to your bank for authorization. Your bank will tell them whether you can afford to pay for it or not.

    How much are you having in your account?

    online

    For subsequent transactions, this whole process will be restarted from scratch as this covers only one transaction.

    But…but…how does Big Cabal electronics get their own money?

    After your bank says “let my people go”, Big Cabal delivers your power bank to you. You no longer miss any gist and your devices are always charged.

    Your own bank then deducts the money for the power bank from your account. Pay the deducted sum into the bank of the online payment provider and they, in turn, pay into Big Cabal’s bank. All this takes a total of 24 hours to be completed.

    And they transacted happily ever after…

    If you enjoyed reading this, click here to learn more.

  • 1) After saving for a long period of time and you finally check your balance:

    *delayed gratification always wins*

    2) You on your SafeLock withdrawal day:

    3) Invest that gym money in mutual funds today or buy dollars

    4) Stay at home

    Don’t spend your time and limited funds hanging out with people you don’t even like that much. Stay at home and save your money.

    5) The point

    In this philosophical exercise, he ponders on the point of all your savings if you don’t chop life from time to time. This is because if you die, your next of kin will aggressively spend your hard-earned money on things like Ponzi schemes or even playing baba ijebu.

    6) Choose yourself

    You that you are always sending everyone money, who sends you money? From time to time buy yourself something nice. You deserve it.

    7) Moving out advice

    Once your parents start to complain that you are the one that has hidden harmattan, or that your perfume smells too nice for someone who doesn’t even pay rent. You know this is a sign to start putting money away for your own place because:

    Expensive aso-ebi also falls under this category.

    8) Amen

    Is any Nigerian “advice” complete without a prophecy?

  • 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.

    The subject of today’s story is an IT expert with a special focus on the financial sector.

    What was it like growing up? 

    Someone once said this about me while I was in school: “Is it not that girl that used to act as if her father has all the money in the world?”

    Sounds silly, but this is how I can describe my dad while I was growing up; he always provided everything we needed. 

    One day, I overheard a neighbour arguing with his wife and he said, “Where was your father when I was sending you to school?” And I just knew that I never wanted to be in that place that she was. I’d rather just stay in my lane, and not collect insults. 

    You know, my dad has one of those large families where you’re responsible for your siblings, nephews and nieces. But still, whenever we needed something, he always came through.

    What was the first thing you ever did for money? 

    I dunno if this counts, but I was one of those people that their state governments sent on a scholarship to go to school abroad. I also got a stipend of a few hundred dollars per month – can’t remember the exact number now. My dad also sent some money every other month. 

    But what I’d consider my first real income was my NYSC allowee in late 2013, ₦19,800. My dad also cut me off from pocket money from his end. But my mum started giving me ₦5,000 monthly from her tiny salary – she was a teacher. 

    Then I had my ₦5,000 from the state government.

    After NYSC?

    Ah, I was waiting for my daddy’s connections to get a job. Well, I waited for four months. 

    Ouch.  

    Staying at home sucks. One time, I lied to my dad that I was travelling for a job interview, but I actually went to my sister’s school to stay in her hostel for a few days.

    Then one day, someone asked for my CV. 

    Progress. Where? 

    A bank. I got a call one day and fast forward to one month, I was starting as a contract staff. We got started on ₦80k/month, while a normal staff was earning ₦142k. I think contract staff are the banks’ way of saving costs. 

    You know what’s wild? I didn’t want to go for the interview. I thought I wasn’t good enough. It’s the same thing with the scholarship exam. I just felt I wasn’t good enough until my sister kicked me out of the house to go take the test. 

    At the end of the interview and training at the bank, I was the best in my batch, so I had the privilege to choose any department I liked. 

    I chose the IT department, of course.

    So, you had to move to a new city to take this job?

    Yes. I used to live outside Lagos. Moving to Lagos was hard, financially. But my dad took care of my first rent and I had my ₦80k to live with. You know, my glasses got bad in those days and I couldn’t afford to fix it. I couldn’t afford brand new clothes, so I’d go to the market to buy secondhand clothes and ₦1k dresses. I used to be scared of going to markets then, but I had no choice really. 

    I found solace in the promise that we were going to have our appraisals and salary reviews after one year. Over one year later, it didn’t happen. 

    Why? 

    By August, my dad said, “You are a first-class, international graduate and you shouldn’t be earning ₦80k.” He was hustling a lecturing job for me that would have paid more, and we actually fought about it, but I just knew I needed to be away from them. 

    We had a town hall at work, and when it was question time, I raised my hand to ask why our salary had not been reviewed months after it was supposed to. The whole discontent at the time forced me to start thinking about my options. I started studying the bank’s pay structure, and I realised that if I stuck to their growth patterns, it’d take me about a decade for me to get to about 300k+ per month. 

    This is super interesting.

    Nothing was making sense to me anymore. But a few weeks after that townhall, our salaries were reviewed and we were upgraded to full-time staff. I got upgraded to ₦142k. Then I went to buy something. 

    Ohooo. 

    I went to buy hair. That cost me ₦45k, but I paid in instalments. This was towards the end of 2016, by the way. In mid-2017, I got a message: 

    Person: Hey you, are you interested in moving? 

    Me: But of course!

    I got called for an interview. They liked my CV, and I got offered a job. I suck at negotiating, so they offered me ₦217k. Also, at the time, that felt like a lot of money. 

    How did that go? 

    It didn’t feel like a good call, but I think leaving the bank had to happen, because it pushed me to grow, and in a way, leave my place of safety. But you see that place? It was shitty and toxic.

    Also, every month, they’d split the salary into two. Then pay you the other half as a lump sum at the end of the quarter – I think it was to beat tax. So while I was earning more than I was at the bank, it felt more difficult. I stayed there for three months. 

    Where did you go? 

    So, while I was working at the bank, I had someone who I might call a work big sister. She just hit me up one day, while I was still at the bank: 

    Big sis: How much do you earn now? 

    Me: 142k

    Big sis: I’ll be in touch. 

    So, while I was at this place, she reached out and did the interview and bam. I got the job. That bam was months of uncertainties and “we’ll be in touch” etc. 

    Awesome. Awesome. 

    HR offered me ₦250k. I asked for a review, and eventually, it went up to ₦275k. I took the offer mostly because someone I respected and learned a lot from was going to be my boss again. 

    Was there a probation period? 

    Yes yes. And six months later, I got a message saying my performance had been reviewed, and now my salary was increased to ₦350k. By the end of 2018, up again to ₦402k. And then a shocker: towards the end of the 2019, I got a raise to ₦600k. 

    I heard the sound of sirens in my head now. 

    Hahaha. But as my money increased, I felt more responsible with family and stepped up. I got a loan from work to get a place in Lagos. So even though my salary was increased, part of it had to go to repaying the loan. A few months into living at the house I got, I was going crazy. 

    Why?

    Traffic. It was killing me so much that I literally abandoned the house. I took another loan, this time outside work, and rented another place. By the end of 2018, I took another loan. Also, I feel like I was living from paycheck to paycheck, and saving was just hard. 

    Then a friend of mine linked me up to a gig where they needed an I.T. person. It was abroad, and that paid $250 weekly. 

    Weekly money is good. 

    This one started in July 2019. This reduced a lot of my loan burdens. By December of 2019, I became debt-free. 

    It’s crazy, because in 2015, just about four years ago, you were on ₦1k dresses. How you see life? 

    Ahhh, I’ve grown. The day I knew I’ve grown was one time when I went out for dinner, and when my bill came, it was slightly over 10k. I just pulled out my card and paid.
    And I realised oh shit, I couldn’t have done this in 2015. But, I can do that now! I just got a hold of my finances, and I don’t know how my dad managed to have all that responsibility with how much he earned. He used to earn about 600k, but that dropped to about 300k, and somehow he still manages to have all the responsibilities that he currently has.

    I stan. Let’s look at everything you netted in December 2019. 

    First, there’s my ₦600k salary. Then my 13th month; 650k. Then my $250 per week, which brought everything to about ₦1.6 million. 

    Now that we’ve established that, let us talk about your Detty December. 

    Hahaha. First of all, I cleared all my debts. All my outstanding debts were almost ₦400k. Then I did a two-night staycation; ₦80-something-k. I moved 500k to my savings. Send ₦60k to my siblings in total, as per December. 

    Then I kept ₦262k aside to survive the 100 days of January. 

    That’s almost 1.5 million.

    I’ve just been buying food anyhow. Today now, I just branched somewhere and ended up buying food and juice and all that for 15k. Don’t ask me about the rest. 

    What’s something you want but can’t afford? 

    A holiday to say, Bali. I feel like I can’t afford it because I always have to go back to my savings to make big expenses like this. 

    What’s the last thing you paid for that required serious planning? 

    It was a work trip that I didn’t have to pay for. But something else happened; I dipped into all my savings and spent everything buying gifts for my family, nuclear and extended. 

    You can tell me how much it is now. I’m holding on tightly so I don’t fall down. 

    Hahaha. About a million. The first child of a Nigerian family for me means buying gifts for everybody when you travel. So shoes, bags, clothes. Add my excess luggage money to that money. 

    Talking about buying things, what about yourself?

    Ohhh, I’m a big spender on gadgets. I must – must use the latest iPhone at every point in time. Also, I like shoes a lot.

    And hair. 

    What’s your biggest financial regret of 2019? 

    I couldn’t save more. And that’s mostly because I bought a lot of shoes, and then I added weight. That meant that I had to buy new clothes. A lot of new clothes. And of course, I was no longer buying the ₦1k dresses, so that means I spent more. My average dress now costs ₦7k or so. The other time, I went to a store and bought a dress for ₦25k. 

    Let’s attempt to rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10.

    I’m a 7. For someone who coasts through life, I feel extremely lucky and it just feels like God’s grace. I can’t discount the fact that I’m a hard worker though.

    Despite the fact that I feel lucky, I need to get to a point where my money starts to work for me. Can’t be dipping into savings every time I want to buy basic things.

    Check back every Monday at 9 am (WAT) for a peek into the Naira Life of everyday people.
    But, if you want to get the next story before everyone else, with extra sauce and ‘deleted scenes’, subscribe below. It only takes a minute.

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    Every story in this series can be found here.

  • Every week, we ask anonymous people to give us a window into their relationship with the Naira – some will be struggle-ish, others boujee–but all the time, it’ll be revealing.

    Here:  a lady who cares deeply about fresh food, tells us how she keeps her finances on a leash.  

    Age: 26

    Occupation: Works in Finance

    Location: Lagos

    Relationship Status: Single

    Gross income: ₦8.6 million/year (₦416,000/month, net)

    Rent: ₦250,000/year

    The first salary.

    I have many first salaries. The first money I made was Uni in 2011; 300-level and I just sold something that made me ₦2,500. I remember sending part of the money to my siblings. I think I bought them airtime.

    “Are you sure you have to send me this money? You need it o.” That’s what my brother said.

    But anyway, my next first salary was my NYSC salary, and it wasn’t just the usual ₦19,800. My Place of Primary Assignment also paid me ₦65k.

    Then to my first post-NYSC salary, my take-home was ₦136k. The annual package was about ₦3.15 mil. (Annual package is the total income earned that year, and they’ll include the money that gets taxed, paid to the pension manager and bonuses).

     

    Where does your money go?

    So first, I’m always saving. When my salary enters, my personal rule is to not touch it, until I’ve first of all looked at my budget. I have a budget on lock till December because I have projects, travel plans. So I have to know at what point I need to pay for what, and when I’ll be able to afford it. 

    I like to think about my savings in two brackets; short term and long term. My long-term savings is about ₦310k, and it’s for the more tangible things, like investments. My short term is around ₦25k every month. 

    I also have to say that it’s very rare for me to save the whole long-term savings every month. It happens somewhere around once in 3 months.

     

    For my running costs, I don’t have a lot of expenses so I always budget about ₦60k. 

    This isn’t always realistic though. Sometimes, all it takes is one day of reckless grocery shopping.

    When it’s looking like I’m going to be in trouble, I just pause–check my account, wallet, everything. Then I check my remaining commitments and bills for the rest of the month. I may have to adjust some things or borrow.

    But as long as I’m not taking Ubers, or spending too much on food, staying super-conscious, I’m good.

     

    What do you spend the short-term savings on?

    Small things tend to pop up–like bridal showers and the occasional Aso-Ebi – like once in 3 years. I tend to be selective about the Aso-Ebi I indulge in, and it’s not even about the money. I think it’s an imposition, and it’s cancelled in my books. 

     

    But to be honest, what tends to take the bulk of my money is fresh food. Every other weekend, I might just blow like 4k. I used to have a groceries budget. Used to.

     

    My Uber budget has almost disappeared because I have a car now. My ₦6,500 full tank lasts me for 2 and a half weeks.

    I still Uber every now and then. Public transport to work used to cost me ₦400 a day, to and fro. It was actually ₦300–the extra ₦100 is for the occasional fruits I buy en route.

     

    What do you think about what you currently earn?

    I dunno, really. I never realise how little I was earning, just until I’m earning more. But I’m content with it. 

     

    What was the old job like?

    It was quite prestigious. You walk into a room–any room–tell them where you work, and everyone falls in line. But it was also die-on-the-job work. It trains you to become a soldier. After 2 years, I quit mostly because I was looking for a better quality of life.

    Now, I’m lucky to be at a job where I have a good quality of life and I earn good money.

     

    Realistically, what is great money for you?

    First of all, it can’t even be in Naira.

     

    How much money are we talking here?

    Bastard money. Just leave it like that.

     

    What’s something you can’t afford but totally want now?

    Property. It’s not even a want. You should always be looking to own property because you can’t be paying rent in this Lagos. But for how long will I save to buy a property of ₦30 million really?

    What does your ₦250k/year rent currently fetch you?

    Oh a studio apartment–one room, a kitchen and a bathroom. You know, my leave allowance used to be my rent money. My former job used to pay my leave allowance in the month rent was due. 

     

    Do you ever think about retirement?

    I really haven’t thought about it, but maybe I’ll go to where rich people are, find someone to marry me, then start doing rich people things.

    …

    Okay on a serious note, I know the goal is to find something I enjoy doing to the point that I don’t have to retire. Currently, I’m not there yet, I’m just winging my whole career. 

    Once in a while, I just remember “oh, we have this pension thing!” and then I check. It was a little over ₦1.6 million at my last check.

     

    What’s the last thing you paid for that required serious planning?

    My car. All of my long term savings last year went into my car. I copped it for ₦2.9 million. My agent gave me a pretty good deal.

     

    Tell me the most stressful miscellaneous you’ve had to pay for?

    Definitely car trouble. ₦25k or so. Or when I have to fix something in the house, like the annoying plumbing that spoils overnight. 

    I’m constantly over-planning, so big expenses hardly catch me unawares.

     

    So, you have an emergency fund?

    Remember that 20-something-thousand? That’s supposed to be my emergency fund–in fact, I named it “Contingency” in my spreadsheet. So by the end of the month, I’m like “wait, no emergency. Oh, nice. Spend that money girl.”

    Another bad habit I have is that, say I budget ₦40k for something and it comes at ₦20k, I just go yayyyyy, and then I blow the rest on food.

     

    This financial satisfaction thing, where will you say you are at right now?

    Between ₦136k to ₦416k, I think there’s a point you get to where you’re just okay. You don’t have to worry about some basic stuff–a comfort zone. So about life satisfaction, I’m content.

     

    When did you hit the comfort zone?

    I’m not sure, but the move that gave me peace of mind also gave me good money. My previous take-home when I quit was ₦256k, so it was both.

     

    About that annoying 5-year question;

    I’ve always failed this. People ask me, and they’re never satisfied with my answer. They find this hard to believe, but I’m not the most ambitious. I’m not big on ambition, but I can’t compromise on competence. I believe in cultivating competence, even if all that’s required of you is washing plate at The Place.

    Career-wise, I’m totally winging it.

     

    Let’s try this question again, but short-term.

    One of my goals this year is to actively seek out investment opportunities. I did a 7-year Sukuk bond in 2017 that will give me a 16% profit. I also invested in an Online Agric investment platform in October 2018. You pay like ₦250k in stages and you get an estimated ₦100k profit.

    Also, there’s the ₦50k Ajo I just do with the money I don’t really need with part of my long term savings.

    When it comes, I’m balling.

     

    You do pretty well with money.

    To be honest, I think knowing where you are with money gives you power. I know what I can’t afford for the rest of the year. When I get paid, I don’t touch my money until I look at my budget. Like, I’m always rushing to my laptop to check my spreadsheet before I touch it. I also have a separate account for my running costs.

     

    Any side hustles?

    I have this one where I’ve put in a total of about ₦200k. I started last year, selling stuff online with a friend. We split the damage 50/50. We’re on our third inventory cycle, and for the first time, we don’t have to put any money into it.

     

    3rd inventory?

    Yeah, the stuff we sell. The first inventory, we put in money of course. The 2nd cycle, we put in a little less money. Then the 3rd cycle, the only reason we put in money was to increase our inventory.

     

    How’s that going?

    We sell on Jumia, and that one is pretty easy. But the Instagram part? If selling on Instagram will not teach you patience, nothing will. Constant engagement is exhausting.

     

    I’m thinking about what you said earlier about ‘quality of life’

    Quality of life for me means quiet in my head. I just want to be able to slow down, and think clearly. Not necessarily money. I remember this one night at my last job:

    I’m working overnight with two other superiors. Between them is a total of 25 years of work experience. I totally respect their commitment to the work, but I know right there that I don’t want to live like that for long.

     

    That moment was my trigger.

     

    Check back every Monday at 9 am for peeks into the Naira Life of everyday people.

    If you’d love to share your Naira Life with us, tell us here. You’ll be anon, of course 🙂

     

  • As much as Nigerians love money, they can be very clueless about it. Things like how to invest and grow your savings or manage your money efficiently can be confusing for the average Nigerian. Like how many of us even know what mutual funds means? So if you are confused about money as we are then you need to be following these social media accounts ASAP.

    Tunji Andrews

    @TunjiAndrews is the Lead Economist at Time, Trade and Commodities (TTAC) and a media personality. Asides his Twitter page, his show ‘The Money Business and Economy Show’ on Nigeria Info FM offers a treasure trove of financial tips.

    Nairametrics

    @Nairametrics is a financial literacy and business new site. Beyond the site, their Twitter page is packed full with financial advice and tips that are updated pretty regularly.

    Ugo Obi-Chukwu

    @Ugodre is the team lead at Nairametrics. He is also a chartered accountant with over 16 years of experience in financial management and corporate finance. So you already know he knows his shit.

    Arese Ugwu

    @smartmoneyarese is the author of the best selling book ‘The Smart Money Woman’. She is also the founder of Smart Money Africa, a personal finance blog that will offer you better financial advice than just there’s rice at home.

    Nimi Akinkugbe

    @MMWithNimi has a Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and was once General Manager and Head, Private Banking and Director of Stanbic Bank. She also runs a personal finance site called ‘Money Matters with Nimi’

    Moe Odele

    @Mochievous is an experienced finance attorney and startup advisor. She runs a social enterprise called ‘Scale my hustle’ which helps new entrepreneurs launch and grow successful businesses.

    Oluwatosin Olaseinde

    @tosinolaseinde is the founder of ‘The Money Africa’. She’s a chartered account with over 8 years of experience in finance.

    The Money Africa

    @themoneyafrica offers insight into everything money. From financial literacy, to how to grow your money in ways that don’t involve MMM type of schemes they’ve got you covered.

    Tomie Balogun

    @tomiebalogun refers to herself as a millennial investment expert. And if you scroll through her Instagram page you’ll find that she lives up to her promise.

    If you know any other great accounts, please share!

  • 1. When you get that first credit alert.

    I’m now a bad guy!

    2. When all the debit alerts enter and the money starts disappearing.

    Na wa oh!

    3. When your parents no longer dash you money anyhow.

    But I am still in need now!

    4. When your siblings start expecting you to buy them all sorts of things.

    My friends you better get out!

    5. When borrow-borrow family members think you are now an ATM.

    You and who please? The Lord will provide for you.

    6. When you start realising how valuable every single naira is.

    Wow!

    7. When your friends start bringing their aso ebi.

    “It’s not in my culture to buy aso ebi and I don’t want to offend the gods.”

    8. When you start seeing “bank maintenance charge”.

    What does that one mean?

    9. When unexpected expenses come out of nowhere and reduce your salary to chicken change.

    Lord help me!

    10. When you realise you still have to pay taxes, insurance and pension contribution.

    AH!

  • 1. So you’ve checked your account.

    2. And after all your trying it has happened again!

    3. You’re broke oh!

    4. But now you are tired of crying and shouting, what are you going to do?

    5. First you list out all your expenses and start cancelling out all the unnecessary ones.

    6. Like that your expensive girlfriend…

    7. And buying small chops and cake every day.

    8. All your attempts at cost cutting have not yielded much!

    9. And now everyone thinks you are rude.

    10. Then your father asks you “what did you use your money for?”

    11. You’re like:

    12. Now you are researching mutual funds and investment opportunities, like:

    13. Meanwhile everyone thinks you are now stingy and greedy because you no longer throw money around!

    14. But your ARM Money Market Fund is starting to look better each month

    15. And when your friends are complaining about being broke, you look at them like:

    16. Because thanks to ARM, you are on your way to rich gang, and poverty is behind you.

    Start your journey to wealth here

    https://arminvestmentcenter.com/mmf/

  • 1. So, you went to quickly buy something.

    2. And you were in a hurry so you just collected you change and ran off.

    3. Normally you would have left your change, as a tip.

    4. But recession, so no chance of that one!

    5. Anyway, now you’ve gotten home.

    6. Only to check your change and see torn notes everywhere.

    7. So what are you meant to do now?

    8. First you try to use the money to pay for something at the same store that gave you the wretched change.

    9. Only for the cashier to say they don’t accept such money.

    10. Then you try to give it to a bus conductor, who asks you if you’re crazy.

    11. Then, you think of dropping it in the offering basket only to see the usher looking at you, like:

    12. Then, you try to “dash” the money to one of your small cousins but he laughs at you, like:

    13. At the end of the day you end up keeping the money in one drawer, hoping and praying you wake up one day and it’s brand new.

    14. But so far, no such luck!