Investments | Zikoko!

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.

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What’s your earliest memory of money?

Sometime between primary and junior secondary school, I had a small wallet in my room where I kept money. I also had foreign currency, as my uncle, who lived abroad, visited and gave me a few $1 bills.

Anyway, we had some maintenance staff in the house one day for deep cleaning, and by the time they finished and we returned home, the money was gone. I told my mum, but we couldn’t pinpoint who did it. So, we had to let it go.

That’s wild. What was money like growing up?

We were comfortable. My dad worked with the government, and my mum owned a business. This isn’t a yardstick for our financial situation, but I remember thinking my parents were really important because church associations often held meetings at our house.

Now I know it wasn’t a big deal, but I thought at the time that it was an indicator of how comfortable we were. I had everything I needed, though. That counts for something.

It does. When was the first time you made money?

2020. I was in my second year in uni and had built a decent Instagram following — less than 5000 at the time — and my pictures often did well. I also have clear skin, so a skincare brand reached out to me to offer a brand partnership.

They paid me ₦50k to create content for their skincare products three times a month for three months. It was my first paycheck, right in the middle of COVID, and I was pretty excited. I didn’t know it was possible to make money that way. I thought, “This is interesting. I can keep doing this.”

Did you?

Oh, yes. I started curating my social media pages, created a media kit and reached out to brands. I honestly can’t remember what my next brand deal was, but as my page grew, I gradually got more deals.

In addition to my content creation income, I also received an allowance from home. There was no set amount, but I have a lot of siblings, whom I called when I needed money. My mum also gave me money when I visited home on weekends.

By 300 level, I had an established social media presence and a recurring brand partnership model. It involved negotiating with different brands and getting a ₦250k – ₦300k three-month contract. Some of these brands renewed the contracts after the original arrangement had elapsed, and I earned around ₦250k every three months up until my final year.

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Was that good money for you?

It was good enough money. My expenses were mostly skincare, food, and other random things. I was alright.

But I began to lose interest in content creation in my final year. There was pressure to post and compare myself with others. I didn’t have a healthy relationship with social media, and I grew tired of dedicating all my time to growing the page and creating content. I wanted to do other things.

So, I deactivated my account. People told me not to delete because I had 100k followers and might need the account in the future. However, after several months of deactivation and considerable thought, I took the plunge and permanently deleted it. This was in 2024, a year after I graduated from uni.

That was a huge step. How did it feel?

Like a lot of weight off my shoulders. When I still held on to the account, it always felt like there was a bucket of ice water over my head, and I didn’t know when it’d pour on me. I was so relieved.

I wasn’t prepared to have that kind of account and that kind of following. I mean, I had put in a lot of effort to grow the page, but it stopped serving me, and I had to let go.

What about the income it brought you?

I never really made crazy money from influencing. I think the most I made was ₦250k for three posts. I also had my regular ₦250k every three months skincare contracts and occasional PR packages. It was fun while it lasted.

Did you have another income source besides influencing at this point?

Oh yes. After I graduated in 2023, NYSC came next, and my Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) was a media company that paid me ₦250k/month to handle their social media. I also had the ₦33k monthly stipend from NYSC, so my income was pretty stable when I deleted my account.

I worked at the media company for about a year. By the time I left in late 2024, my salary had grown to ₦262k. My next job — which is my current job — was in social media too, but more like digital marketing. I started that in February 2025, and my salary is ₦300k. For most of the year, I supplemented my income with contract social media management gigs. I had several one to three-month stints that paid me between ₦150k and ₦350k extra almost every month.

However, I’ve scaled back on the contract gigs because I picked up an extra full-time job with a US-based company in October. The role pays me $1,200 monthly for content and community management. Depending on the exchange rate, that comes down to approximately ₦1.7m, bringing my total monthly income to about ₦2m.

Nice. How would you describe your relationship with money now?

I’m in my financial girl era. I’ve been learning more about money and financial education throughout the year, and I think it’s showing.

For context, I spend a lot of money. I don’t like the idea of wasting anything, including my time. So, if I use my time to earn money, I’m going to spend it. When I was influencing, I could earn ₦250k, set aside ₦100k and use the remaining ₦150k as free game to do whatever I wanted.

I still have that same mindset. I’m just 22. I don’t want to be stingy or hold money to the extent that I can’t enjoy it. What if I die tomorrow? What would happen to the money? Let me enjoy it now. Plus, I don’t have any bills at the moment. I live with my family, so I don’t pay rent or other bills. My siblings are trying to get me to chip in for fuel, though. I’m avoiding that for as long as I can.

Haha. I can’t even fault that

That said, while I’m focused on enjoying my money, I’m also trying to strike a balance. Yes, enjoy the money, but also save, invest and plan for the future.

Before I got the US job, I didn’t have a fixed amount of money that I set aside for savings. I just did slightly above 50%. In the months when my earnings from the contract gigs increased my income to about ₦850k, I saved between ₦500k and ₦600k, spread across a savings app and a real estate investment plan. I’m a moderate risk-taker; I don’t take on too much.

However, I’ve now created a strategy based on my new income stream. I’ll split the $1200 into two. Half goes into my real estate investments; I also want to test stocks. The other half goes to my savings spread across a dollar savings account and an account I have with an asset management company. Then, I’ll use my ₦300k Nigerian salary to ball.

Sounds like a plan. What does your savings and investment portfolio look like right now?

I’m starting from scratch again because I recently spent my savings on a ₦2.1m MacBook and some cute designer bags. Funny story about the bags: I bought them online, but they lost the shipment and refunded me the money. When they eventually found it, I had to pay again, but this time the exchange rate had gone up. I had to pay ₦500k for what initially cost me ₦300k.

Yikes

Anyway, I only started saving again in the last three months, and I’ve been doing at least ₦500k monthly. I’ll start my new investment strategy soon, though.

My big goal is to have $100k in savings and investments by 2030. It’s one of the two big financial goals I want to achieve within the next 10 years. The second goal is to own a house (or put a down payment on one) in the UK.

This is the first time I’m actually saying this out loud, but I think it’s doable. I usually get what I want because I plan towards it and work hard for it. My income growth is proof of that. This shouldn’t be any different.

Speaking of your income, what has this growth meant for you in this little time?

The first obvious change is that I can afford more things. It’s nice to be able to get nice things for my friends and siblings without thinking too much about it. I live within my means, and spending my money comes easily to me.

Also, ₦300k to ₦2m is a lot of growth, but I think it’s something I deserve. I know other people in this situation may feel out of depth and think, “Maybe I don’t deserve this.” But me? I deserve it. I’m fine with earning this, and I claim more for myself. I want to make even more money.

Inject it. What’s an ideal amount of money you think you should be earning right now?

Given my current career stage, I should be earning between $3k – $5k monthly.

Do you ever feel like you’re missing a possible income source from influencing?

I don’t think so. I still don’t regret deleting my account. I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a new one, but I haven’t gotten around to actually doing it.

Besides, I still create content, just in a more professional manner. I write on my LinkedIn, Substack, and I have a YouTube channel. I don’t create content regularly for the latter; it happens like once a year. I approach content creation as a means to build a digital archive for myself, rather than for other people.

If I ever return to “influencing,” I’d have to focus and keep my mind grounded so that my content serves both myself and others.

Let’s talk about where your money goes every month

Each month is different since my income was all over the place all year. Plus, I’ve not actually started making the ₦2m. So, I’ll break down my expenses from last month, when I earned ₦1m (salary + contract gigs).

Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

I would like to travel. I can afford that, but money can’t solve every problem you have. I can’t travel alone right now because of my upbringing and the fact that I’m a “young Nigerian woman who just finished uni.” So, I can’t really do that right now.

I’m in my great lock-in era, though. By the time I achieve all I want by 2035, we’ll see what happens then. While I wait for that, I intend to start small: travelling around Nigeria and other African countries next year.

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

7. My perfect life would have been getting born into generational wealth, so all of this wouldn’t matter to me. But I’m not, so I think I’m doing well with the resources and opportunities I’ve had.

That said, I still don’t know what it’s like to pay hard-hitting bills, such as rent and all those other expenses. I feel like by the time I experience that and learn about the toll it can take on my finances and planning, I’ll have a better idea of how finances really work.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

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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.

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What’s your earliest memory of money?

I made my first “big” money in 2011. I was in 200 level and had just gotten an undergraduate scholarship from an international company. They paid me ₦150k. It was the first time my account saw that kind of money.

I didn’t even need money. My parents covered school fees and regularly sent pocket money, so I wasn’t sure what to do with ₦150k. Ultimately, I gave my mum ₦100k and spent the remaining ₦50k on food and random things.

Mad. How much was pocket money?

It wasn’t a specific amount, but the least amount was ₦20k. Also, I could always go home for more money or foodstuff if I ran out. My parents were pretty comfortable — we weren’t wealthy, but we were comfortable.

I received the scholarship every year until I finished uni, but subsequent payments were ₦75k. I also received ₦50k yearly from my uni for being a first-class student, meaning I was sure of ₦125k annually. Most of my money went into buying food. I didn’t enjoy cooking, so I ate a lot at restaurants.

When was the first time you worked to earn money?

2015. I had finished university and was on a three-month internship in a consulting firm owned by a relative. The job paid ₦30k/month.

NYSC came next, and I spent the entire service year job hunting, fine-tuning my CV, and sending cold emails on LinkedIn. My first proper job came after my service in 2016. I was sure I didn’t want anything that paid less than ₦100k/month. Fortunately, I landed an accountant role at a medium-sized manufacturing firm for ₦150k/month.

It was good money for 2016, but I wasn’t very wise with some of my spending choices.

Tell me more

I lived at home, and my parents didn’t ask me for anything, so I thought I was good. I forgot I was now primarily responsible for myself. I continued eating at fairly expensive places and developed a habit of hailing cabs instead of public transportation. I was almost always broke by the middle of the month.

When that happened, my parents grudgingly helped with extra cash. They always said, “You’re working, so there’s no reason we should be giving you money.” When I couldn’t get money from them, I’d take a salary advance from work. My office also had a ₦5k/day allowance for people who worked on weekends. So, I worked Saturdays and Sundays for ₦10k when I was extra broke.

I left after a year for a job at one of the Big Four accounting firms. I was frustrated with my job at the manufacturing firm. My duties were to post sales transactions and invoices on the ledger; a glorified office manager job, and I didn’t feel challenged.

The job at the Big Four was an opportunity to try something new. It was an advisory role, and even though it came with a pay cut, I jumped at it.

How big was this pay cut?

My new salary was ₦120k/month. Besides the immediate benefit of leaving core accounting, my career had better long-term benefits at a Big Four. I could get a promotion yearly, and learning was around the clock.

However, the work was hectic. My closing time at the former job was 5.30 p.m., but leaving work by 8 p.m. at the Big Four was considered early. Most times, I got home by midnight or 1 a.m.

I worked there for two years, and my salary grew to ₦200k. However, my financial lifestyle didn’t improve.

How so?

Working at a Big Four firm exposed me to a lifestyle I couldn’t sustain. This wasn’t peculiar to me; almost everyone who works at the firm experiences it.

I was always treated to lunch from proper restaurants whenever I visited client sites for work. The firm also paid for my cab rides when I worked late. I got so used to taking cabs that I started taking them for personal trips.

Transportation and food were the two biggest strains on my salary. While you could still get meals from local places for ₦500 – ₦750, I frequented restaurants and paid up to ₦3k per meal. I barely had anything left to save when all those expenses came together.

The only savings I managed to have were from a ₦30k monthly deduction for my office cooperative. I was consistent with this because the money went to the cooperative before my salary hit my account. But that ended when I left the firm in 2019.

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Why did you leave the firm, though?

I got a better offer to join a trendy commercial bank as a finance manager. At ₦600k/month, it was triple my Big Four salary and my first big income jump.

Also, it came at a time when it was becoming a struggle to sustain a family with ₦200k. I’d gotten married at this time, and often had to augment my salary with loans to make it to the end of the month. So, the job offer was very welcome.

I can imagine. How did the income jump impact your lifestyle?

I worked at the bank for a year, and I was able to achieve some stability during that time. I upgraded our apartment to a ₦500k/year two-bedroom and furnished it a bit.

I still continued my expensive transportation habits, spending almost ₦100k on cabs monthly, but it was easier to absorb the difference because I earned more. I also didn’t have to rely on loans anymore.

Why did you only spend a year with them?

I got a better offer. An ex-client from my time at the Big Four poached me. I’d consulted on a project for them before, and they wanted someone with experience on the project for my role. I only did one interview stage — I even knew everyone on the panel — and landed the job: $5k/month for the role of assistant finance manager.

₦600k to $5k is crazy

I was so shocked when I saw the figure. My employer is a development bank (also known as a DFI), and I knew they paid well when I consulted for them, but I didn’t imagine joining them or earning that much.

I had to relocate to another African country to work from one of their branches, and fortunately, the country’s cost structure is similar to Nigeria’s. It was like I was earning $5k while living in Nigeria. So, while the cost of things like rent and food remained the same, I became comfortable spending more money. My lifestyle changed.

What were some of these changes?

They were mostly lifestyle upgrades. For instance, I paid $1k/month for house rent in an area that was equivalent to VI or Lekki. I could’ve easily gotten something cheaper, but I wanted something really nice.

I got iPhones for myself and my wife, and increased her monthly allowance from ₦50k to ₦250k. I also increased my parents’ allowance from ₦80k to ₦200k and began contributing to bills much more than I did before.

My new salary also allowed me to begin exploring investments. However, I made some early investment mistakes that resulted in losing money.

Tell me about these mistakes

I bought a lot of US growth stocks towards the end of 2020. I saw how the value of stocks like Tesla, Zoom and the rest went through the roof because of COVID, and I wanted to join the momentum.

Unfortunately, I bought these stocks when their value was high. Within six months, a market downturn occurred, and the prices crashed again. Another mistake I made was selling them immediately. I should’ve stayed for the long run because some of them recovered in a year. I spent $5k on the stocks and lost 70% of my investment.

Damn

Same thing happened with crypto, and I lost some money there as well. The only upside was that I earned significantly enough to absorb those losses, so I took them as a learning experience. But I still wanted to learn, so I found a finance coach online and joined their free personal finance course.

That course started my investment journey properly. I learned I have a moderately aggressive risk tolerance level, and I structured my investment options into three categories: low, middle and high risk. Then I fixed $1k as the amount I’d put into investments monthly; my investment budget.

For my low-risk investments, I invested 30% of my investment budget in fixed-income funds using digital investment platforms.

Then, 60% went into medium-risk investments, which were basically real estate. That included real estate plans on investment platforms, where I received monthly returns, and real estate partnerships in Nigeria. For the latter, I partnered with friends in Nigeria to buy and rent out an apartment on a short-let basis.

The remaining 10% went into crypto, mostly Bitcoin and Ethereum. Crypto served as my high-risk investment channel.

Sounds like a well-thought-out plan

It was, and I still follow the same strategy today, with a few changes. My monthly income is now $10k, so my investment budget has grown to $2k, minus the extra I invest whenever I get bonuses at work. My high-risk investment budget has also increased to 25%.

I should mention that I set up an emergency fund before I started investing seriously. This was the biggest lesson I learnt from the personal finance course. My emergency fund needed to be sufficient to cover my basic expenses for three to six months.

I figured $12k was a healthy base for an emergency fund, so I saved $2k from my salary in USDT for six months. Then I felt comfortable enough to start the other investments. I still channel money to my emergency funds account, usually when I get extra income. I also get 4%-5% annual returns on my savings. My emergency fund is currently at $20k.

What does your total investment portfolio look like today?

My net worth is around $250k, but there are some variables I should explain.

In 2023, in addition to the low, medium, and high-risk investments I explained earlier, I joined an angel network — it’s basically a group of investors who invest in startups. I pay a $1k per annum fee to remain a member, which gives me access to several startups I can fund.

The network recommends specific early-stage investment deals, and the expectation is that each member spends at least $10,000 every year on the recommendations. My angel investments fall under high-risk investments because they are very risky (which is why I increased the budget allocation to 25%, to accommodate angel investments).

Over 50% of startups collapse within the first five years, so the possibility of losing your money is high. Since I joined the angel network, I’ve invested a total of $50k in multiple startups.

I can break down my total portfolio now that we have that context.

I have $50k in startups if I value my angel investments at cost. The companies aren’t listed yet, so I can’t provide current valuations. Then I have another $50k in real estate and fixed-income funds, $70k in US stocks, my $20k emergency fund, and the rest in my short-let apartment real estate investment in Nigeria.

I have two properties for short-let investment: I bought one outright and co-own the other with friends. The apartment I bought was ₦25m at the time of purchase, but its value has increased due to inflation and should now be about ₦50m.

I’m curious. How do you get returns on your angel investments?

That only happens when the company has an exit event. This means that more investors came to invest in the company at a higher valuation, and the angel group gets the opportunity to sell their stake for a profit.

Since I started investing, I’ve only had one exit. I invested $2k in that company and got $6k in the exit event after the angel network removed its 20% fee. Not all angel investments end in a profit. About three or four of the startups I invested in have gone under, so those investments went burst.

Ultimately, angel investment is like playing the long game. Exits typically happen in 7 to 10 years, so it’s not a quick turnaround. Plus, it’s very risky. The best way to de-risk your startup portfolio is to have many companies. If you invest in 20 companies, 50% to 70% might fail. But you only need three or four of them to do very well to get all your money back, plus decent returns.

For example, take those who invested in companies like Flutterwave and Andela when they were valued at $20m – $30m. These companies are now valued at $200m and above. Imagine how much those investors made. I estimate that even if I don’t invest more than the $50k I already have in startups, I should make at least $150k from exit events in five years from the two or three startups that do well.

That’s eye-opening. How would you say your income growth has impacted how you think about money?

To be honest, the only reason you’re probably not saving or investing is because you’re not earning enough. That’s what I’ve learned from my journey. Initially, I was quite reckless with finances, but I changed when I started earning a decent amount.

I know it’s not always the case. Generally, it’s advised that you develop saving habits right from when your income isn’t so great. But that didn’t apply to me. The saving and investment habits came when I started earning a lot. Knowing I had extra made me intentional about how I spent that extra.

How about your lifestyle?

I think it’s inevitable that my lifestyle will change as my income increases. I live slightly below my means, but I can afford a few more things. I live in a bigger house now that costs $2k/month, and I give my wife $1k/month. I make around ₦700k – ₦1m monthly from my short-let apartments, and the whole sum goes into handling my Nigerian expenses, mostly family allowances.

I also frequently go on vacations. I do mini vacations within the country twice or thrice a year, and a proper two-week vacation outside the country with my family at least once every 18 months. These vacations usually cost anywhere between $1k and $10k, depending on where I visit. Although I’m often in Nigeria for work, I also make sure to spend two weeks of personal downtime there every year.

I still plan to cut my expenses to the very minimum. One of my goals is to ensure that subsequent salary increases don’t go toward lifestyle expenses but into long-term investments. I want to get to a level where I’m living comfortably below my means and investing all the excess.

Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses

I took out a $55k loan for my car, and will repay $1k monthly for about five years. I could actually have paid cash for the car, but it was cheaper to fund it with a loan. I got a low-interest loan from my workplace and invested the cash instead.

I’m exploring buying a house in the coming months to cut down on rent or repurpose those payments into owning the house. I estimate a house should cost me $150k, and I plan to secure a loan in the local currency to fund it.

That way, when devaluation happens, it’ll be to my advantage. My source of income is in dollars, so if the rates increase, my effective monthly repayments would reduce.

Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

I honestly can’t think of anything.

That’s such a flex. What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?

Probably my car. It was brand new, and I felt fulfilled. I also feel fulfilled when I buy gifts for my wife. The most expensive gift I’ve gotten her was jewellery worth $12k.

Is there an ideal amount you think you should be earning right now?

I’ll look at it from the point of view of net worth. I’ll be fine for life if I have a $2m net worth and only earn at least $5k/month. I think a well-invested $2m would give me very decent returns. I’d also be able to ramp up my startup investments and easily make much bigger returns in the future.

I expect to reach $2m in 10 years maximum. It could also happen as quickly as 5 years. My startup investments can make that happen.

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

8. I believe I would’ve been doing much more in savings and investments if I’d planned properly early on and started my investment journey with the right knowledge. I wouldn’t have made those early mistakes.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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When did you first realise the importance of money?

2004, when I got into university. A decent meal cost between ₦300 – ₦500 in those days, and ₦1k meant I could go out, have fun, and eat. But I was in an environment where most people couldn’t afford that.

Watching how other people managed the little they had made me realise the value of money in a way I never had to think about before.

I assume this means there was money growing up

My parents were lecturers, and we had all the nice things. You could say we were upper middle class. My dad often flew around the country for work, and I remember my first time on a plane was for one of such trips.

My allowance in uni was generous enough to cover most of my needs. It started at ₦10k/month and grew to ₦30k by the time I left uni in 2008. My allowance continued after uni — usually between ₦40k and ₦50k — until 2015. I’m not exactly sure why the allowance ended. It just ended.

After uni, I bounced around a lot, from NYSC in 2010 to trying out postgraduate studies between 2011 and 2014. I dropped out halfway because I realised it was an absolute waste of time. In 2014, I started a car registration and document renewal hustle.

How did that happen?

I drove my parents’ car around for errands and my job was to make sure documents like insurance papers, roadworthiness, and the like were intact to avoid police wahala or having to bribe them. That’s where the idea came from.

I started by renewing my parents’ papers. Then, I extended the service to family and friends. I charged ₦1k per document because it comfortably covered my transport fare to the registration office.

I made between ₦5k – ₦7k weekly. I continued these runs even when I landed my first full-time job in 2016 and stuck with it until 2019.

Tell me about that first job

I worked as a financial analyst at a business publication, writing about the economy, crypto, and the stock market. My starting salary was ₦60k/month, which grew to ₦120k by 2019 when I left the company. In addition to the pay, I also received bonuses and extra allowances whenever I travelled for work.

After I left the job, I had a three-month stint as a financial analyst at a fintech company, where my salary jumped to ₦300k. I left because the person who hired me moved elsewhere, and I followed them.

Better pay?

No, my role and salary remained the same. The new place was a financial services firm, and I put on more hats. I did everything from writing to financial advisory. Because of my job, I was exposed to multiple resources that taught me how to understand the financial market. I learned to look at money from different angles, apply the knowledge to my finances, and educate others.

By the time I left in October 2024, my salary had grown to ₦450k plus extra ₦200k – ₦300k in bonuses annually. Also, I’d learnt enough to offer financial advisory as a self-employed analyst and had started building my own startup.

Interesting. How’s that working out?

Financial advisory is what pays my bills right now. I offer one-on-one sessions to clients who want to know how to make their money work for them. I typically charge between ₦50k – 100k/year per client, which covers about four or five calls. Then, I create a financial plan they can execute, including investment advice, and check in two or three times within a year.

I get up to five clients monthly. I’m fairly visible on social media, so I get clients from there. I also get a lot of referrals from family and friends. I currently have 32 clients on my roster, but I don’t get paid at the same time, so my monthly income averages between ₦500k – ₦1m. Sometimes it’s less.

How about your startup?

The startup’s value proposition is providing stock market and crypto research to Nigerians and Africans who need this information to make market and investment decisions. I’ve noticed there’s a gap in the market on data like this.

Many young Nigerians are increasingly investing in crypto and the stock market, but few resources explain these markets in a way that almost everyone can understand. So, I’ll do that for a fee.

It’s still in development, so I don’t expect to make money from it for about two years. Right now, I just want to get as much social media attention as possible. Then, I can start thinking about profitability.

So, you provide investment advice. What’s your own investment strategy like?

I primarily invest in naira and dollar stocks, as well as crypto and treasury bills. Crypto has been my most profitable investment channel.

Could you break it down?

I invested $500 in Bitcoin when it was $10k in 2019. I sold my holdings in December 2024 — Bitcoin was now worth $100k, and I made about ₦8m from that sale. Then, I dumped the money in treasury bills.

I still have some other coins in my portfolio. There’s 0.5 BNB, which I bought at $20 in 2019 and is now worth over $300. Then I got one Solana at $60 in 2023, which is now worth $190. I also bought $1k worth of Ethereum last year when it was around $3k. I’ll probably sell it when it reaches $6k.

Then, there are small amounts in a few coins, but these three coins are my current major crypto holdings.

I should mention that I’ve also lost money in crypto. In 2020, I bought LUNA and some other “worthless coins” and lost $1k when they crashed. I also lost money on a crypto exchange that got hacked. So, it’s not all good news.

The rest of my investments — the bulk of them— are in stocks and dollar investments.

Tell me about them

I’ll break it down into dollar and naira assets.

I have about $4400 in stocks, exchange-traded funds, real estate and fixed-income assets divided across different investment platforms, which I’ve been building monthly since 2019. Then, I have $1k cash at hand.

My naira assets include about ₦11 million invested in Nigerian stocks, mutual funds, and treasury bills. I also bought a piece of land for ₦2.5m last year.

I use a financial management app called Moniger to manage my cash, set a monthly budget, and track my expenses. I linked all my bank accounts so I can see all my transactions on Moniger’s dashboard and easily detect when I’m going overboard.

I still use my trusted Excel sheet to track my investments and assets, but this app has been helpful for budgeting and day-to-day expenses.

ALSO READ: I’m 22, and This Is How I Grew My Money by 29% in 2024

Speaking of budgeting, what does your typical month in expenses look like?

I’ve been self-employed since October 2024, so I’ve reduced my expenses to the barest minimum. Fortunately, I live in a family house, so I don’t pay rent. I also pay for a yearly internet bundle, so that’s ₦200k for my two internet service providers.

What kind of life would you say your income affords you?

Honestly, I feel poor. You might say I’ve made money over the years, but that’s because of my privilege. If I were paying rent, I wouldn’t have had the leeway to invest and build my portfolio the way I have.

Between 2019 – 2022, I invested half of my monthly salary and still had enough to live comfortably. But since our president arrived, the cost of everything has gone up, and I can no longer do that. Now, I can only manage to invest about 10% of my monthly income.

My net worth is around ₦20m, but I’d need 5x the number to live the kind of lifestyle I want. For instance, I’d like to buy a 2018, 2020 or 2022 Mercedes GLE SUV, and that would cost about ₦80m – ₦100m. Even if I gather all my money and hustle, I can’t afford that car.

Also, a car I could’ve gotten for ₦4.5m last year jumped to ₦10m – ₦15m after the naira devaluation.

Besides cars, I’d like to travel a bit more, which is also expensive. I visited a West African country twice last year and hope to do the same this year. It’ll probably set me back like ₦1.5m to visit now.

Out of curiosity, do you think you’ll ever return to a 9-5?

Never ever. My thinking after leaving my job was to get another one at a bigger firm abroad. But foreign employers don’t want to hire Nigerians if you don’t live in the US or the UK. So, when that didn’t work out, I decided to do my own thing. Plus, I’ve realised that self-employment will be more profitable in the long run.

The average finance person earns between ₦450k – ₦3m monthly. I can make that in a month. In five years’ time, I’ll have built a company I can sell for a million dollars and turn my finances around. There’s no way my five-year salary at a 9-5 would be up to $1m, except it’s a job at JP Morgan. Besides that, I’m not interested.

What was the last thing you spent money on that required serious planning?

I recently supported a sibling who relocated last year. I saved for a few months and liquidated some of my investments to give them ₦1m in batches of ₦350k and ₦650k.

It wasn’t really expensive, but it took some months of planning because I was still earning ₦450k and couldn’t live on half my salary.

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

4. I’ve been blessed to work with companies that trained me pretty well and gave me the knowledge I use for investment today. I’m financially literate, but I also feel very poor. My cost of living has doubled because of this government, and it’s more than a little annoying.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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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.

What’s your earliest memory of money?

It’s probably the standard money gifts from visiting relatives when I was a child. Of course, my mum did the whole, “Let me keep it for you,” and I never saw it again.

Ah. The Nigerian child’s rite of passage

I also remember my parents giving me ₦20 for snacks in primary school, which wasn’t bad because it could get me four ₦5 biscuits. But I always noticed that other students had more, and I wanted more too.

For instance, I really liked a drink called “Tandi,” but it cost about ₦25, and I couldn’t afford it on the ₦20 my parents gave me. I could only indulge when I chose not to buy as many snacks to save money. Others didn’t have to do that.

I also noticed that my mates’ parents dropped them off at school in cars while I trekked to school. I don’t know if it was a comparison thing, but it was clear that some people had more. I might have also paid more attention to money because we didn’t always have it at home.

Tell me more about that

It’s not like we were poor. My dad’s a self-employed civil engineer, and my mum worked as a secretary in an international development firm. My siblings and I attended good schools and paid our fees on time.

But money was cyclical. My dad didn’t always have projects, which determined how we lived. When there was money, there was plenty of money — I’m talking cartons of fish and chicken in the freezer. When things weren’t great, we just managed.

Do you remember the first time you worked for money?

Oh yes. That was in junior secondary school. I have fine handwriting and used to write in cursive. My classmates gave me their books to write their names and decorate the pages for them, and they paid in school money.

What’s school money?

I attended a boarding school that didn’t allow students to hold money. So, my parents would deposit money with the bursary for me to withdraw in small amounts throughout the term. But the bursary didn’t give us actual money; it was more like printed vouchers we could use in the tuck shop. That’s what my classmates paid me in.

I don’t even remember how much I made from this because I didn’t charge a fee; my classmates just always dropped something. I also practised hairdressing on them and often got paid random amounts in return.

Both “businesses” meant I hardly ever spent my actual bursary allowance. I almost always collected my allowance back at the end of the school year. Honestly, I didn’t even spend like that in school. I’ve always had a scarcity mindset that pushes me to gather money, spend a little and save the rest.

The next time I worked for money was in uni.

When was this?

2013. I was in 300 level and decided to take advantage of the high density of rich kids in my private university; the girls loved fashion and making their hair. So, my sister and I thought of buying hair attachments and wigs for cheap in Lagos’s Tradefair market and selling them for a profit in school.

My monthly allowance was ₦20k – ₦30k, but I hardly spent money. So, I had enough to buy my first batch of Miss Rose attachment, Yaki straight and Miss Lula hair pieces. I don’t remember all the cost details, but I made a profit of between ₦1k – ₦2k per piece. I did that business for about a month and a half, and I remember making ₦20k in profits in the first month. It was like free money because I didn’t exactly need it. It was just nice to have extra money.

Why did you stop the business so soon?

Word got around, and my hostel mistress learned about the business and warned me. Apparently, I should’ve registered my business first or risk being summoned by the disciplinary committee. I decided it wasn’t worth the stress and just left it. I didn’t try any business again and just lived on my allowance until I left uni in 2015.

NYSC next?

Yup. I moved out of my state for service in 2015, and my parents paid the ₦300k rent for the apartment I lived in for that year. I served at the state ministry and got a ₦10k monthly stipend in addition to the ₦19800 from NYSC.

Service year was my first introduction to how expensive living alone could get. I thought a mattress was only supposed to cost ₦10k. Tell me why I was entering the market and hearing ₦70k – ₦100k for thick mattresses?

Haha

It was wild. My dad supplemented my income with ₦20k/month for the whole year, but I was always in survival mode. I had to pay for everything myself: food, electricity, and transportation, and it was tough.

Food was my biggest concern. That was the time that a bag of rice went from ₦7500 to ₦15k, and food generally seemed so expensive. It took the bulk of my money. I couldn’t even save like I used to.

After I finished NYSC in 2016, I returned home to my parents and started working at my dad’s firm. I studied civil engineering in school, so that was automatically the next step.

Did your dad pay you, though?

Oh, of course. I even had a job title: engineer trainee. But the ₦50k/month salary was too small for me. I’d gotten ₦50k as my monthly allowance while in final year at uni. Why would I graduate and still earn the same thing?

To be fair, my dad’s firm is quite small and runs like a one-man business. Projects didn’t always come in, and I hardly did anything for the almost two years I worked there. The original plan was to finish school and take over my dad’s business someday. But I entered the industry and quickly realised it was full of suffering.

Ahh. Why do you say that?

Civil engineers wait for contracts, and when one does come, the pay is usually 10% of whatever the contract is worth. If the contract takes six months to complete, you’ll use that same 10% to feed your family and survive for the six months. It didn’t make sense to me.

Plus, the firm’s senior engineers only earned like ₦70k. Other engineering firms I knew were also one-man businesses that paid that low. I couldn’t do that long-term.

So, I began actively job-searching. My new plan was to get any graduate trainee program available to kickstart my career. I took multiple assessment tests for multiple organisations until I landed a ₦50k/month management trainee role —just a fancy name for HR— at a management consulting firm in 2018.

Same salary?

I was as shocked as you are. The firm made us attend a compulsory three-month training school before I officially started the role, and they paid ₦30k/month. I expected a salary bump to ₦100k after training, but they used one kind of English to explain why I still had to be on ₦50k/month for another three months before a salary review. When the review eventually came, it was ₦70k.

Transportation took the bulk of my salary. I lived at home and had minimal responsibilities, but after removing transport fare, I could only afford to do my hair. I think I wore only one shoe for the year I worked there. But it wasn’t just the low salary that made me leave.

I’m listening

It was a toxic work culture. My boss was a living nightmare who was quick to berate staff for the smallest mistake. So, I started applications again and got another graduate trainee role at a bank in 2019.

This one paid ₦238k/month after the three-month training school. I was posted to the bank’s head office to work in the risk management department and was excited to acquire actual banking skills. I believed I had a high chance of quickly moving up the career ladder. The money was also a nice touch. It was the first time I was earning real money.

But a few weeks after joining, I realised the growth opportunities at the bank weren’t so great. The person training me had been in one position for three years, and I, who was just joining, was now on the same level as him.

I didn’t want that kind of delay, especially since I felt I was already behind career-wise. It’d been almost five years since I graduated school, and I was still hustling graduate trainee roles. I needed speed.

That’s fair. So, what did you do?

Six months into the job, a friend told me about another graduate trainee opportunity at an investment bank. I remember telling him I was tired of training schools, but he insisted that the bank was good.

So, I applied and passed all the assessments. The offer came in 2020, and at ₦220k/month, it was a slight pay cut from what I earned at the bank. But my friend convinced me I’d have better prospects at an investment bank than a commercial one, so I took it.

I remember being so shocked by the company culture. They didn’t joke with staff welfare, no one was stuck up, and everyone addressed each other by their first names. They even allowed people to air their grievances freely. It took me a while to accept that I was no longer in the toxic workplaces I was used to, and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I still work there, and the shoe still hasn’t dropped.

I guess the time has come with career growth for you

Yes, and several salary increases, too. The bank has a standard 18-month promotion policy. So unless you’re like the biggest fuck-up, you’ll get promoted within 18 months. I’ve gotten three promotions since I joined, and I’m now an associate.

I earn ₦1.1m/month now and get a yearly bonus. The amount is based on the company’s performance, but I have a pretty good idea of how much it’ll be. Last year, it was ₦5m. I’ll probably get around ₦7m this year.

What kind of life does that afford you?

I have a good life. I got married in 2020, and my husband handles the major bills like rent and school fees while I focus on household expenses like food, estate dues and other small costs related to our two children.

I’m still a big saver and constantly looking for opportunities to grow my wealth. I started my career late, and I believe I have to work twice as hard to meet up with my colleagues. So, the bulk of my income goes into different investments.

Walk me through your investment portfolio

Stocks are an important component of my portfolio. I got into stocks when I started working at the investment bank because, well, I work in investment, and my employers talked about stocks, equity, and traditional investments.

So, in 2020, I bought some banking stocks that did well because of the COVID scare. I made a 70% profit from my investment within 7 months, but I held on to my position instead of selling. In my head, stocks were something you held for a really long time. That works for US equities, but the Nigerian Stock Exchange is a different ball game— you just have to trade to make any kind of lasting profit. So, I lost those gains in about 7 months too, after the COVID lockdown scare started to wear off and investors regained confidence.

I began reading a lot about wealth and investment strategies. I read books like “The Wealthy Barber” and listened — I still do — to financial podcasts. I think I was obsessed at one point. I just wanted to make enough to pass a life of luxury to my kids.

The research helped and I’m a lot more focused with my investments now. My portfolio is currently spread out across dollars, commercial papers and equity — mostly equity because I think it’s the biggest multiplier of wealth. You can make three times your investment in a year by trading equity.

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This is the part where I cut in and ask how equity trading works

It’s basically like forex trading, except it’s not a scam. Equity is regulated by the SEC and other security exchanges.

This is how it works: Let’s say a company is currently valued at ₦28, but you observe the pace at which the company is growing and generating revenue and speculate that the fair price should actually be ₦40. That means it’s only a matter of time before the company is valued higher. So, you buy the shares at ₦28 and wait for them to be worth ₦40 in the future. That’s how people make money.

When Tinubu came into power, people who knew about equity were waiting on stocks they suspected would be affected by policy changes. When the fuel subsidy was removed, the price of oil and gas companies doubled in value within 10 days. One of these companies is now worth 400% more than it was at the beginning of the year. If you had invested ₦10m then, calculate how much a 400% profit would be.

Mad o

Equity trading is very high risk – high reward. The same way you can make so much easily is the same way loss can happen. But it works if you already have impressive capital. If you’re worth ₦100m and invest only 10%, a loss wouldn’t really affect you like that. But you can make so much more profit.

Personally, I try to take as much informed risk as possible. I took a ₦2m staff loan from work earlier this year to buy a commercial paper that offered 20% interest. Why the loan? There’s a thing called the time value of money. I’m paying an 8% interest on that loan but making 20% from the investment. That’s a 12% spread that’s like free money. My yearly goal is to profit at least 30% on whatever capital I put on the market.

I also set yearly financial goals for how much money I expect to close the year with. This is inclusive of my monthly savings, work bonus, and profit from my equity investments. In 2023, I made ₦20m. I started this year with a ₦35m goal, but I’m on track to close out the year at ₦40m.

I’m curious: Do you have long-term investment goals?

My initial investment goal was to grow my wealth to the point where I could stop working. Due to the nature of my work, I see people make money from actively trading stocks, so I knew it was possible.

So, I set a $1m goal when a dollar was still ₦500, and it seemed realistic. I just needed to preserve my capital savings, make at least 10% profit each year, and use the power of compounding to grow my investment.

Explain to me like I’m five

So, compounding is the amount of interest you earn on your savings that keeps getting added to your initial savings. There are several compounding calculators online. I did an estimate that went something like this: $5k in savings compounded every month at a specific interest rate would get up to $500k in 10-15 years. I reasoned that I’d get to $1m if I saved even more aggressively.

Now I know that’s just lofty thinking sha. The naira has fallen so much; it’d take more than aggressive saving and compounding to make a million dollars. Instead, I’m now working towards getting to ₦100m in liquid assets within three years, meaning I’ll need to make at least ₦20m every year for the next three years. That’s a lofty goal because I’m only sure of ₦13m from my yearly savings and bonuses, but I’ll get there. Maybe I’ll need to take one risky position on the equity market.

With ₦100m, I can focus on making 10% — which is ₦10m — in investment profits yearly, so I’ll no longer need to work as hard as I do. My money will do the work, and I can rest. It may not give me a lavish lifestyle, but I’ll be able to stay afloat and set up my kids to be comfortable. If God forbid, my husband no longer earns enough to support our lifestyle or something happens to him, my investments will come in handy. My husband and I are even considering relocation, so it could also go into that.

You mentioned you mostly handle the household expenses. What does that look like in a typical month?

My husband gives me a ₦300k monthly upkeep allowance, but with how expensive things are now, it hardly does anything, and I have to supplement with my income too. To break it down:

I pay the estate dues (around ₦1m) from my yearly bonus, and I save or invest the balance. I hardly spend on myself because I’m obsessed with meeting my financial targets.

What happens when you hit your ₦100m goal?

I’ll go on a sabbatical or just travel. I’ve actually never travelled anywhere. My husband and I couldn’t go on a honeymoon because we got married during the pandemic, and I had two children in quick succession.

I’d even hoped for 2024 to be my travel year, ₦100m or not. But the economy is shit. I’m now looking at 2025. My husband isn’t so keen on it, but I’ll travel alone if I have to — even if it’s Cotonou or somewhere close. I estimate it won’t cost more than ₦5m.

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

Honestly, nothing. I don’t have ostentatious wants. My husband got me a Toyota Corolla as a push gift after I had my baby in 2021, and I’d been fantasising about upgrading the car. But with fuel prices doubling these days, I’ve come to appreciate the car because it’s fuel efficient. I might just paint it because I keep scratching it.

Is there an ideal amount you think you should be earning?

If not for my career delays, I should be earning around ₦1.8m right now. Fortunately, I work in a company that prioritises career progress and income growth, so I should get there by next year.

Inflation is still a concern. I expected to be able to afford so much more with what I currently earn, so I don’t even know if there’s an ideal amount. I’m comfortable, though. I’m just looking forward to hitting my savings and investments target.

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

7. I’ve made so much progress with building wealth and my investment portfolio within four years, and I’m grateful for that. But I’d have achieved more if I’d started my career earlier.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

Subscribe to the newsletter here.
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 the first time you made money

I was 13 years old and in SS 1. I had the bright idea of selling my sister’s time to senior boys in boarding school. She was in SS 3 then, and the finest girl in our school, and all the boys followed her like bees to honey. So, I monetised it.

How did it even work?

My sister and I are really close, but she’s quiet to a fault. I’m the stubborn, outspoken one. There was this boy in her class who liked her, but my sister was blissfully unaware. He came to me to help him talk to her, and I jokingly suggested he pay me ₦100 to arrange a time for them to talk during prep.

He paid, and I convinced my sister to talk to him. Then I did the same for another boy, then another. I got away with it five times before my sister stopped cooperating.

I still jokingly tell her we could’ve made serious money if she’d been more open-minded. Maybe she’d have agreed if I’d given her a cut of the money. But to be honest, it’s not like we needed the money.

That means there was money at home, yeah?

Oh, there was money. I come from a polygamous family; my dad had four wives and plenty of concubines, but he did right by everybody. My dad had filling stations, and all his women had their own houses.

My mum was the last wife and didn’t work — except for a lace store she kept for keeping sake — and my sister and I didn’t lack. I can also say we were spoiled. When I graduated from secondary school in 2010, my mum gave me a brand new Blackberry as a present. Blackberry phones were the iPhones of 2010. I was a big girl.

My mum doesn’t even know this, but I gave the phone to one foolish boy I liked at university. He broke my heart and refused to return my phone.

Breakfast … we’ve all been there. Talking about university, did you do anything for money while studying?

I tried my hand at several small businesses, but I was a classic case of “money miss road.” I had too much money, and I’ll explain.

The minute I got into uni in 2011, I began receiving double allowance from both parents. They didn’t live together, so they sent me money separately, and I never mentioned that the other parent had already sent money. My mum sent ₦40k/month, and my dad sent ₦60k. Apart from the money, my mum regularly sent me foodstuff through other relatives.

Me, I was just spending like Mother Christmas. I had an off-campus apartment, and my friends loved to visit because I’d either cook or take them out. If I wasn’t buying my friends food, I was dashing them money. I once paid a friend’s ₦80k hostel fee because I was tired of looking at the money in my account. It was the same friend who suggested I try a business since I didn’t have anything to do with money.

I’m screaming. So, what did you do?

I decided to sell chiffon tops and jeans in 300 level. My sister introduced me to a friend who sold them wholesale. I think I bought each top between ₦1k – ₦2k, and a pair of jeans for around ₦2k. The first batch I bought cost ₦50k, and I added a profit of between ₦2k – ₦3k on each item and made good sales. But I didn’t see any money. Both capital and profit, I didn’t see. Everyone bought on credit and didn’t repay me.

I think a major reason my friends were comfortable buying and not paying was that I already had a reputation for being Mother Christmas. Me too, I didn’t know how to pursue people for money, so I only asked a few times and left them. The business didn’t last three weeks.

Next, I decided to sell makeup products. I used ₦30k to buy powders and brushes, but I ended up giving them out because marketing them was too stressful. Imagine someone asking whether the IMAN powder I was selling for ₦2500 was original. How will original IMAN be ₦2500? Nigerians should fear God. I sha left that one too.

Then I tried to sell sneakers, but after I kept “collecting” my goods for personal use, I decided to hang up my entrepreneurial boots and call it a day. I survived on my allowance until I eventually left university in 2016.

Let me guess. NYSC came after

Yup. NYSC posted me to the north, but I wasn’t about to risk my life for ₦19800. So, I worked out redeployment through my dad’s friend to my home state. My PPA was a local government, and the only thing I did was to buy food for my supervisor. I did that twice before I gave myself brain and decided I couldn’t use my one-year service to play errand girl, so I disappeared. I paid my supervisor ₦5k from my allawee monthly so I could leave to look for better opportunities.

Did you find better opportunities?

Not immediately. I wanted to get a job with one of the Big Four accounting firms, but omo, I saw shege with the assessment exams. When nothing came out of those, I took a gap year to just relax. I planned to rely on allawee and my mother’s food — an advantage of living at home.

But I almost didn’t survive that gap year sef — I was so broke. I didn’t realise just how little ₦19800 was until I had to live on it. I never went hungry o, but I was so limited. I couldn’t eat out with my friends or buy clothes and shoes. It was terrible. I couldn’t even whine my parents to give me money because they’d be like, “What are you using money for? Aren’t you at home?”

I tried to find jobs halfway through the year, but the only one I found was a ₦50k accounting job, and the office was so far from my house. I’d have spent the whole salary on transportation. I didn’t take it.

That period made me realise the importance of savings or a safety net before making foolish decisions like not wanting to work. Maybe if I’d saved when I was receiving so much money in school, I wouldn’t have felt like poverty was knocking on my door.

Real. Did you have better luck with job search after NYSC?

Not really. I wanted a job that paid nothing less than ₦120k. But I was broke, and beggars don’t have a choice. So, I settled for one at a small firm at ₦70k/month. This was in 2018.

The salary wasn’t too bad, sha. My boss lived in my neighbourhood, so I hitched free rides with her daily. I wasn’t flexing as much as I did in uni, but I could afford to buy myself a nice bag after collecting my salary. I also tried to save at least ₦10k/month for my emergency savings.

I worked at the job for almost two years before I got married and left in 2020. By the time I left, my salary had grown to ₦105k.

Did marriage mean you had to stop working?

Yes. My husband requested it before marriage, and he probably thinks I stopped because of him. Oga doesn’t know I was only happy to leave the workforce.

A little backstory: My husband was widowed when I met him in 2019. His wife had passed away a few years before, leaving him with two children. He wanted someone who’d be there for him and the children. So, he was clear that he wanted a housewife.

On the other hand, I was already looking for how to get paid to do nothing. I didn’t enjoy working and the idea of slaving all month for a salary that didn’t last two weeks. I was already checked out. But I didn’t tell my husband this sha. I made him believe he was asking too much of me. We came to a compromise — He’d pay me ₦300k/month as “salary” so I wouldn’t have to work.

I have no choice but to stan

Haha. That’s minus money for food at home and the children’s expenses. The salary is for me to spend as I like. My salary increased to ₦400k earlier this year after complaining about Tinubu’s economy and how inflation has made everything expensive.

However, the truth is, I hardly spend the salary. The ₦500k allowance I get for the home’s upkeep is enough to cover the necessities, and I still squeeze out a little to buy the random shoe or bag. I also whine my husband to give me extra money for aso-ebi and gold for family functions.

My attitude to money has changed since I got married. I’m now very intentional about having different safety nets. I save and invest first before doing anything. I have about ₦2m in a secret savings account and two landed properties in my hometown. I also have a considerable gold collection I can sell in an emergency.

Is there a reason for the sudden interest in safety nets?

I know that being a housewife is risky. My husband is a good man, but he’s still a man. I’ve heard several stories about how men can suddenly start acting funny because their wives are 100% dependent on them.

Plus, he’s a Muslim. What happens if I wake up tomorrow and hear he wants to marry another wife? That might reduce my allowance. I also suspect he has a girlfriend, but I won’t bother myself with that.

I just need to make sure I have healthy safety nets in case anything happens. He doesn’t know about my properties, and I’m trying to convince him to build me a house as my next birthday gift. If anything goes south, I want a secure future for myself and our children.

What needs to happen for you to know you’ve hit this goal?

Hmm. I haven’t really thought deeply about this. I think the biggest indicator of a secure future is when I can afford to create a trust fund for my children’s school fees up until university. I’m not sure what that’ll cost yet, but this question has got me thinking about how I can do that. At least if anything happens, I should know I can keep my kids in school.

Let’s go back to the monthly allowance and salary. How do you spend that in a typical month?

My gifting budget is for the biweekly bulk cooking I do for charity. Sometimes, part of the money goes to settling people who come to me with needs. I send my mum a monthly ₦80k allowance, but that comes from my husband. It’s not part of my salary or home upkeep allowance.

Do you think you’d ever return to the workforce?

What for? What am I looking for there? I intend to avoid having to work as much as I can. It’s not like I spend my days lazing around. I’ve had two more children since I got married, and taking care of four children isn’t beans at all.

A cleaner comes in twice a week, but I still feel like I’m constantly cleaning, cooking, and shouting at the children. I can’t add a job or business to the stress I already experience daily. That’s why I’d rather focus on having good investments and emergency savings to fall back on.

What’s an ideal investment portfolio for you?

Real estate, gold, naira, and dollar savings. I’d like to own at least two houses and rent them out for extra income. If my husband builds me one, I’ll just have to focus on getting money to build the second one.

I’m considering using one of my lands as a farm as I’m not building yet, but I’ll need to figure out how to get someone to run it so I don’t stress myself out. But then, I don’t trust Nigerians like that. I can employ someone to oversee the farm now, and they will use my money to enrich their own pockets. So, I may not do the farm thing.

I don’t have a cap on how much money I’ll have in naira and dollars that’ll be enough for me. I just want to have money.

I get it. What’s the last thing you bought that significantly improved the quality of your life?

This is funny, but I bought a child leash for my 1-year-old last month. We spent part of the summer holiday in my husband’s hometown, and I know my child likes jumping up and down. He literally watches for when you’re distracted so he can snatch his hand from your grip and rush into the road.

I didn’t want him walking around, so I bought a child leash online for ₦50k and put it on him. It’s like a mini bag pack with a rope that I can snap on my wrist so he doesn’t go far. People kept looking at us weirdly, but I was so happy with my purchase. I wish I had known about child leashes for the other kids earlier.

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

7. I have all my needs met, and I don’t regret dumping my career. It’ll be a 10 when I have my houses.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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This is debatable, but the most dangerous venture, apart from dodging a Nigerian mother’s slap, is investing in land — especially in Lagos. If it’s not the fear of getting scammed, it’s navigating “omo onile” and hoping you aren’t buying land in an area that’ll be demolished by the government in the future for one reason or another.

However, land remains a valuable long-term investment option, and you can invest safely by following these tips I got from discussing with Grace Ogunlaja, the lead consultant at I-Brow Properties.

Check for the type of land

Not all land in Lagos is for residential purposes. Some have been earmarked for agricultural, commercial, or even mixed use. Buying a residential land and using it to produce pure water may earn you visits from the authorities, and you’ll probably lose ownership. Some lands can even be in locations under territorial dispute. You can verify the type of land at the state Ministry of Lands (or Lands Bureau).

Does it have a title?

You should always confirm the land title with the land seller or real estate developer. Do NOT purchase any land without a title.

A title can be the Certificate of Occupancy (AKA, C of O) or Governor’s Consent. The C of O is a state-provided document demonstrating land rights to an individual; It proves ownership. Governor’s Consent is given when someone buys land that already has a C of O and wants to notify the Governor and the general public that the land has a new owner.

Land title differs from the deed of assignment or receipt the land seller gives after purchase. Those documents just indicate that you’ve bought something. You still need to confirm you didn’t buy stolen property, or worse, land that’s been mapped out for government purposes. Like a coastal road project, for instance.

Run away from “freehold”

Some real estate agents in Lagos will try to sell you land and claim it has freehold rights, meaning you own the land in perpetuity (or forever) and can use it for anything. This doesn’t exactly work because all land belongs to the government. Also, freehold isn’t exactly a land title, and chances are that the land isn’t free from government acquisition. When in doubt, always verify at the Ministry of Lands.

Go with your own surveyor

The seller may try to convince you that the land already has a registered survey plan approved by the State’s Surveyor General, but those can easily be falsified. You should always go with your own surveyor to pick the land coordinates and verify them at the ministry.

Get familiar with the authorities

When buying land, you must verify everything with the Ministry of Lands because land issues quickly become complicated in Lagos state. If proper verification isn’t done, you risk losing your investment.

Also, verification doesn’t end with buying the land. You also need to obtain building approval from the state government before doing anything on the land. If you build something different from what was stated on the approved building plan, the government has the right to demolish it without giving any compensation.

Remember: The government can come for your land

It’s important to make peace with the fact that the government can claim land for major projects at any time, even if the owner has a C of O or Governor’s Consent. The only difference is, having the correct land titles gives the owner the right to sue the government or collect compensation. The owner has no compensation or fighting rights if it’s untitled land.

NEXT READ: It’s Taken Us Three Years [and Counting] to Access My Late Aunt’s Pension

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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.

Let’s start from the beginning. What’s your earliest memory of money?

During the festive season in the north, where I grew up in the 90s, kids would go on yawo — a Hausa term meaning to walk around. I started going on these walks with my siblings and other kids when I was five years old. We’d dress in our Christmas and Sallah bests, and go to neighbour’s houses to get food and ₦10 or ₦20, which we’d then spend on sweets.

I have memories of falling asleep at random houses, thoroughly exhausted from the long walks. Then, one of my many older siblings would come and pick me up.

You came from a large family. What was that like financially?

My dad was educated and had a business. My mum was a stay-at-home mum who dabbled in businesses once in a while. We had everything we needed. We also had two cars and lived in a nice neighbourhood.

We weren’t super rich, though, and I knew that because most of my older siblings went to top primary and secondary schools. But when it got to the last three kids — I’m the lastborn — we had to go to cheaper schools. Plus, at some point, we stopped having cornflakes for breakfast. I think it was a combination of the economy and my dad getting older.

But my parents made sure we developed a sense of self that wasn’t tied to money.

How so?

My parents discouraged anything that was overly money-centric. We weren’t allowed to sell or exchange stuff for money. If they heard one of us exchanged a banana for ₦20, they’d scold the culprit like they did blood rituals.

They encouraged us to come to them for what we needed and not worry about making money. If you went to them with an outrageously expensive want, my dad would trick you into not wanting it anymore so he wouldn’t have to buy it. It worked most of the time. So, I never worried about money and just relied on what they and my older siblings could give me.

When did you first earn money for yourself then?

2009. I was 16 and had just finished secondary school when I joined a modelling/ushering agency through my older sister. People always stopped me on the road to ask me if I wanted to model because I was tall. So I thought, “why not?”

All I had to do was dress nicely and stand at events, and I made roughly ₦15k – ₦20k per month. It was mostly fun. I met celebrities all the time, but it also had its downsides.

What downsides?

I once worked with an event organiser who called me and the other ladies riff-raffs and fought with the agency because, according to her, we didn’t look good enough for the event. There were also the men who kept trying to date me. But I was just there for the vibes.

The money was a nice-to-have, and no one at home asked me for it. I was still at it when I resumed uni in a different state. But then, I only took the gigs when I was home for holidays. At school, I relied on foodstuff and the monthly ₦10k – ₦20k allowance from home. I also got random cash from my big sister and a lecturer who was like a sugar daddy without the sugar.

Wait, what?

My sister sort of introduced me to him. He took a liking to me, but all we did was talk in his office every other day. After our chats, he’d give me ₦5k for lunch.

My first and second years at uni were pretty chill because I always had money, but I always spent it as fast as it entered. If I ran out of money, there was always an older sibling to ask.

What were you spending money on, though?

I had an appetite — still do — for nice things: clothes, human hair, food and phones. By this time, though, I’d learnt that taking all my needs to my parents would only end up in, “Why do you need this thing?” So I had to sort the money by myself.

I’d also learnt how to be friendly with men for money, especially since I stopped the ushering gigs in my third year.

Why did you stop?

I gained weight. Plus, I was schooling in a different state and wasn’t always available when they called, and they soon stopped calling me. I stopped and started writing for money instead.

How did writing come into the picture?

I’ve always been an avid reader, but I didn’t really write anything until 2013. Someone I liked ghosted me, so I started using it as an avenue to rant.

Then, I began to explore creative nonfiction and found out I liked it. Later, I stumbled on an article by an engineer-turned-writer who had a blog and a reasonable following. I was studying engineering, so I thought we had that in common.

I emailed him, telling him I was an engineering student who recently started writing and wanted his thoughts on my writing. He responded, and I started to guest-publish on his website for free. Then he started a company in 2014 and gave me small admin tasks, paying me a ₦5k monthly data stipend.

Was that all you were doing at that time?

I also did a six-month industrial training for school. I got paid ₦15k/month, which was exciting until I removed transport money and realised ₦15k didn’t cover anything. Luckily, I stayed with my sister during my IT, so she usually filled the gaps.

I graduated in 2015, and while waiting for NYSC, I kept on with the ₦5k admin task. Sometimes, he paid more, especially when he needed my help with extra operational tasks. But I needed more money, so I got a technical sales job at an inverter company. The offer was ₦15k/month, but two weeks in, they noticed I was smart and familiar with the technical concepts, so they decided to make it ₦25k instead. Me, I just wanted any additional income, so I didn’t even mind the ₦15k.

But I resigned after six months because of NYSC. My PPA was in the civil service, where I got paid ₦15k/month in addition to the ₦19,800 allowance. I also still had the ₦5k admin gig.

My brother and writer boss both helped out with my ₦90k house rent, so I just spent on transportation and food.

Did you have any savings?

To be honest, I’ve never been good at saving money. I know how to spend, and also know how to manage when there’s little, but saving just isn’t my thing.

I took another writing gig in May 2016 for a travel blog, writing 40 – 50 short SEO articles a month for ₦15k. I only did it for three months, though — I ran out of content to write on.

Yikes

I continued with my boring civil service job till service ended in September 2016. I was too proud to stay unemployed, so I’d been sending out applications since July. I interviewed with a startup media company, but they asked me to return after NYSC.

So, I hit them up again in September and got hired as a junior writer. The salary was ₦80k/month. I had to move to Lagos, so I moved in with a cousin. The commute was hell, though — the cousin lived at Argungi, and the office was at Yaba. It was probably for the best that I got laid off after two months.

Ah. What happened?

They were downsizing. So, I officially entered unemployment, but still hellbent on working for a startup. Working with cool young people was a breath of fresh air, and I didn’t want to go back to the civil service.

Although I moved back in with my parents, I was very picky with the jobs I applied to and stayed unemployed for about seven months. I still had the ₦5k admin job, though.

In July 2017, a friend introduced me to a tech hub, and I got employed to do PR, communications and social media for ₦100k/month. I was still staying with my parents, so I had no bills. But I left the job in December.

Another job?

I was told to resign. It was a chaotic husband and wife business, and a really toxic work environment. One day, I was just like, “Fuck this” and was rude to my manager. So they asked me to resign.

I was unemployed again, but this time, I wasn’t just looking to work at a startup; I was looking for structure and a clear career path.

Did you find one?

Luckily, I did. I resumed a marketing role in January 2018. My salary was ₦137k/month, and I had to move back to Lagos to stay with my cousin again. It felt like good money because I could afford to go out for drinks and buy myself nice things. I also stopped the ₦5k admin tasks to focus on my job.

Two months into the job, I moved out of my cousin’s house because I wanted independence. I rented a ₦20k/month room in a colleague’s house. I also chipped in ₦10k each month for other household expenses. It was my first major “billing” as an adult.

After sorting out rent, internet and maybe transportation, I’d blow the rest of my salary on drinks, then run to my siblings for money when I became broke. Even when my salary increased to ₦150k in August, I still always asked my siblings for money.

Did you ever think this was a problem?

I didn’t realise it was until one of my siblings visited me in Lagos and saw where I was living. She was like, “It’s better you come back home instead of just getting by.” It forced me to think about my life and realise I was actually tired of not having money.

So, I started to look for financial advice. I learned how to use Excel and started tracking my expenses on a spreadsheet, but I continued to struggle with saving. A friend told me something I can’t forget. She said, “You can only try to earn more, not squeeze what you already have to live the life you want. You just need to make more money.” But I was following passion and wanted to stay in tech startups that couldn’t pay me those big salaries.

By the end of 2018, I started to want better for myself financially and decided it was time to start earning more. I went back to my spreadsheet tracker and calculated that I’d have some financial leeway if I earned ₦40k extra. So, I went looking for side gigs and found one writing copy for a tech founder who paid that exact amount.

Nice. How was work going?

I got promoted to the head of my team in 2019, and my salary increased to ₦250k. With that, I could afford to move to a bigger three-bedroom flat that I shared with two other people.

The rent was flexible. I paid ₦195k/quarter for my room and didn’t have to spend anything else because it came furnished.

I had to stop the ₦40k side gig after a couple of months because of my increased responsibilities at work, and my job became my only source of income. But I started getting restless about earning more again. I looked at my spreadsheet and decided I needed to earn ₦400k per month.

So, I started job hunting. I put in my three-month notice in January 2020 and left in March. I was interviewing for a ₦450k job, and I had it in the bag, but COVID happened, and everyone froze hiring. Unemployment again.

Oh no. What did you do?

I thought COVID would be gone in a month, so I cut down my expenses to survive while I waited it out. Two months passed, and nothing had changed. Also, I had no savings.

I was violently job hunting and taking as many side gigs as I could. I was probably running on like ₦50k/month. I also relied heavily on my siblings and the goodwill of my friends.

I had to leave my apartment in July when no job came, and returned to live with my parents. I kept applying for jobs, and in September 2020, I landed a job in Ghana for $1,400.

Whoosh. Did you have to move to Ghana?

Not immediately. I worked remotely for two months, so they sent my salary in naira. It was around ₦600k — no thanks to CBN’s rubbish rate. But the job was a lifesaver. To finally earn money after five months of unemployment and enduring scrutiny from Nigerian parents was such a relief.

As usual, I blew the money. I used to work out of cafes just because, and went to brunch every week. But it was the first time I’d spend like that and still have money in my account at the end of the month. My brain clicked on the fact that I’m earning more now, and should keep a better eye on my spending. So, I began attempting to save.

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Was the attempt successful?

Uhmm, not exactly. I did some lifestyle upgrades because I’d been practically suffering for the past two years. So, I upgraded my wardrobe, bought wigs and started contributing about ₦50k monthly to the food expenses at home. I also started buying gifts for friends to reciprocate how they came through for me when I was broke.

I eventually moved to Ghana in 2021 to work at the office, and my finances became a bit tighter. Living in Ghana was expensive, and $1,400 per month didn’t do so much. I should mention, though, that I travelled a lot within Ghana and stayed in resorts on mini-vacations, so that took a lot of my money. I also became a prolific Instagram shopper. I didn’t pay for accommodation or feeding because the company provided it. But by September, I decided I needed more money again.

And you started job hunting again

Yup. A friend founded a startup and offered me ₦1m/month and stock options to lead influencer marketing. I moved back to Nigeria to live with my parents — for free, as usual — in 2022.

I thought getting a car would be nice, so I saved ₦500k from my salary for three months. But when I got ₦1.5m, I decided the job was stressing me out, so I quit on a whim and decided to survive on the money while I found something else.

It looks like you were no longer scared of unemployment

I’d gotten used to it, so what was the worst that could happen? I got a ₦960k offer a month later, but the money wasn’t enough to afford the lifestyle I was used to, and wasn’t commensurate with the level of work I’d have to do. So, I turned it down.

I eventually landed my current job about three months later as a sales operations specialist.

₦1.2m/month isn’t exactly a jump from my previous role, but I work with it. I moved to Lagos again and stayed with a boyfriend, and then another friend for the rest of the year. In January 2023, I took a ₦4m loan from work, got an ₦800k/year apartment, and used about ₦2.5m to renovate and furnish it.

How has going through several phases of unemployment and income growth impacted your perspective on money?

Working hard doesn’t guarantee having money — people can have money just by virtue of who their parents are. You can work hard, but the value you’ll get for your labour is typically tied to your socio-economic status in life. For instance, a poor carpenter will have poor clients and might never make enough to be rich.

However, I think being extremely rich borders on immoral. That kind of wealth is usually a result of the capitalist ideology where you mostly have to take from people or not care how anyone else fares as long as you maximise personal gain. Everyone could make do with less. So, I just want to be comfortable. I don’t want to be very very rich.

Right now, my life is a mix of gratitude and guilt. I feel extremely lucky to be able to have the life I have, where my major responsibility is myself. But there’s also guilt because I know what bare minimum is, and I don’t think humans should have to survive on bare minimum.

Also, all the clichés about money are true. You need money to make money, and we’re often never satisfied. I remember when I thought a ₦400k job would make me happy, but look at me now, I’m still passively looking for something that pays more.

Curious. Do you think you live above your means?

Oh definitely. I don’t have any money left over at the end of the month because I spend on a lot of things I don’t need. Take my princessing budget, for example. I know how to do my hair and lashes. But I want to go to a nice place so someone else can do them for me.

I also don’t have to go out for drinks or buy stuff from Instagram as often as I do. It just feels really nice to make these unnecessary expenses. The self-awareness is there, but the self-improvement is still coming.

Do you ever worry about not having savings?

I am. I’m trying to optimise my financial lifestyle to fix that, but it’s not easy. Right now, a chunk of my money goes into renovating my apartment and getting more furniture.

I have about $150 in savings, and that’s just about it. I try to save ₦150k per month, but I always end up spending what I manage to save.

Can you break down your typical monthly expenses?

The loan repayment is towards the ₦4m loan I took from work earlier this year. I pay back 30% each month and will pay it all off by January 2024. My princessing budget is essentially what I spend on my nails, hair, lashes and all that stuff. It gets higher in a month when I have an event to attend.

In some great months, I usually have ₦70k extra after all my expenses as a buffer till salary enters. In the months I don’t, I turn back to my siblings. They’re my safety net. I usually support them too, though. So, I’m not just taking.

Is there something you want right now but can’t afford?

I’d like to get breast reduction surgery. I got a ₦2.8m quote last year but haven’t gotten around to it. I’d also like to get a car. My budget is ₦4.5m. Who knows what that’d get with the current exchange rate?

How would you describe your relationship with money?

It’s very weird. I monitor my expenses, but my savings and investments are non-existent. I don’t think I’ve ever downloaded an investment app. I guess I’m just indifferent to trying to control my money, so I just track it.

I record every amount I spend and know where the leakages come from, but I’ve just been unable to stop the extra expenses. Maybe after this conversation, I’d be embarrassed enough to actually do something about it. I work in a Fintech, and I’m learning more about how people manage their finances, so let’s hope something comes out of that.

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

7. It could be so much worse. I think you get better at making money the older you get. I believe that I can make more money if I want to and put in the work needed. In summary, I just try to maintain gratitude for where I am.

If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

Yes, I want to do a Naira Life

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.
PS: She never saves in naira.

Vol 16 | 06-02-2023

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Good morning! 🌞

Today’s #NairaLife subject reminds me of myself, minus the $150k in savings, of course. It’s great to save for the future, but what happens when you don’t have enough money to live the life you want now? Come back and answer when you’ve read the story.

On Love Currency, our subject may not have $150k, but she’s been saving since she was 10. Now, she’s saving more than half her salary and planning her relocation to the UK — which may or not be because of her boyfriend.

Enough savings talk. What’s the craziest career pivot you’ve seen? For our first Hustleprint story, we got Jemima Osunde to tell us how she makes the most out of Physiotherapy and Nollywood.

In this letter:

Last Month in Money

#NairaLife: She’s Saving For Her Future, and She’s at $150k

HustlePrint: Doctor by Day, Nollywood Sweetheart by Night, How She Do Am?

#LoveCurrency: Dating in Port Harcourt on a ₦249k Lab Scientist Salary

Money Meanings: “Savings”

Game: #HowMuchLast

Where The Money At?!

Last Month
In Money

₦48,809,521,349.60
That’s what £88 million looks like in naira, and it’s what Chelsea paid to Shakhtar Donetsk for Mykhailo Mudryk’s controversial signing. Controversial because Arsenal also had eyes for the winger, but as they say, money answereth all things.

₦30,000,000
That’s the amount of new naira notes the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Bauchi claims to allocate daily to all banks in the state. Does anyone know how much is allocated daily to other states? Because the long queues for cash don’t seem to be letting up.

Four days to go
CBN’s deadline extension for depositing old naira notes ends on February 10th 2023. Do you think it’ll also mean an end to the current new-naira-notes scarcity?

She’s Saving For Her Future, and She’s at $150k

The 28-year-old lawyer on this #NairaLife has over $150k in savings but put her financial happiness at 5/10. Why? Because the money is for her future, and she needs money for now.

Honestly, I see her point.

Read her story here

What Do You Want to Do Today?

I want reliable information to make business and lifestyle decisions to live a Sparkling Life. I want to bank with Sparkle, because it’s digitally simple ✨

This is partner content.

Download the Sparkle App Today!

Doctor by Day, Nollywood Sweetheart by Night, How She Do Am?

“My self-given nickname is “one true self”. I’m an acting physiotherapist, doctor-actress, health worker-entertainer, whatever version people prefer. I’m one person living the best of both worlds, that’s what makes me who I am.”

Read Jemima’s story here
Dating in Port Harcourt on a ₦249k Lab Scientist Salary

Peace* is working two jobs, saving more than half her salary and planning her relocation to the UK. In this story, she talks about saving since she was 10, getting back together with her ex after a year and her father’s disapproval of marrying at a young age.

An excerpt: “I used to keep some part of whatever money I was gifted in a pink purse she gave me. Even though I kept the purse in her room, I remember sneaking out random ₦200s and ₦300s to give my uncle who lived with us then. He promised to buy me a car when I was in university.”

Read the full article here

Money Meanings

Game: #HowMuchLast

#HowMuchLast is a game where we show you an item and you tell us (and the world) the highest amount you’d pay for it.

Some weeks will be Okin biscuit, some others will be SUVs.

Today, let’s see how much you’d be willing to pay for high-speed internet. #HowMuchLast for the Starlink internet system?

What’s the most you’d pay? Tweet at us here.

Where The Money At?!
We can’t say we’re about the money and not actually help you find the money.

So we’ve compiled a list of job opportunities for you. Make sure you share this with anyone who might need it because in this community, we look out for each other.

Again, don’t mention. We gatchu.

Sales Manager – Big Cabal Media

Managing Editor – Zikoko

Head of Growth – Big Cabal Media

Associate Editor – TechCabal
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All good things must come to an end. But not this good thing. We’ll be back next week.

In the
meantime, keep reading Zikoko’s articles and be sure to share the love.

Till next week…

Yours cashly,

Tife,

Zikoko’s resident money girl

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But invest in what?

Due to what is probably a fear of risk, a lot of Nigerians would rather let their money sit in a savings account than invest. Because of that, we compiled a list of the best investment options in Nigeria right now along with explanations.

1. Mutual Funds

A mutual fund is a pool of investments made by different investors for the purpose of investing in a wide array of securities (real estate, equity, bonds etc) in an attempt to avoid major risk. Basically, it’s a company that brings a group of people looking to invest money and does that on their behalf.

Mutual funds are managed by professional money managers who allocate the fund’s investments and try to produce capital gains and/or income for the fund’s investors (depending on the investment objectives outlined in its brochure). Each investor owns shares of the mutual funds and these represent a share of the fund’s holdings.

2. Stock Market

A stock is a financial instrument sold by companies as a means to raise capital that represents ownership in a company and proportionate claim on its assets and earnings. When a person owns shares in a company, it means that the shareholder owns a slice of the business equal to the number of shares held (out of the total number of the company’s outstanding shares). E.g. If a company has 1 million shares and an individual possesses 100,000 shares, that person owns 10% of the company.

3. Bonds

A bond is a long-term agreement between a borrower (usually corporate or governmental) and a lender (investor) that contains the details of a loan and its payments. A bond has an end date when the principal of the loan is due to be paid to the bond owner (investor) and usually includes the terms for variable or fixed interest payments that will be made by the borrower.

Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states, and governments to finance projects and operations.

4. Real Estate

Investing in real estate is one of the safest ways to invest money. Build/buy a house or land and rent or lease it out for a regular montly or yearly income. As long you don’t do it in a war torn area, you should be good.

What’s your earliest memory of money?

That’s wild. What was money like growing up?

It does. When was the first time you made money?

Did you?

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Was that good money for you?

That was a huge step. How did it feel?

What about the income it brought you?

Did you have another income source besides influencing at this point?

Nice. How would you describe your relationship with money now?

Haha. I can’t even fault that

Sounds like a plan. What does your savings and investment portfolio look like right now?

Yikes

Speaking of your income, what has this growth meant for you in this little time?

Inject it. What’s an ideal amount of money you think you should be earning right now?

Do you ever feel like you’re missing a possible income source from influencing?

Let’s talk about where your money goes every month

Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

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

What’s your earliest memory of money?

Mad. How much was pocket money?

When was the first time you worked to earn money?

Tell me more

How big was this pay cut?

How so?

Why did you leave the firm, though?

I can imagine. How did the income jump impact your lifestyle?

Why did you only spend a year with them?

₦600k to $5k is crazy

What were some of these changes?

Tell me about these mistakes

Damn

Sounds like a well-thought-out plan

What does your total investment portfolio look like today?

I’m curious. How do you get returns on your angel investments?

That’s eye-opening. How would you say your income growth has impacted how you think about money?

How about your lifestyle?

Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses

Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

That’s such a flex. What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?

Is there an ideal amount you think you should be earning right now?

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

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When did you first realise the importance of money?

I assume this means there was money growing up

How did that happen?

Tell me about that first job

Better pay?

Interesting. How’s that working out?

How about your startup?

So, you provide investment advice. What’s your own investment strategy like?

Could you break it down?

Tell me about them

Speaking of budgeting, what does your typical month in expenses look like?

What kind of life would you say your income affords you?

Out of curiosity, do you think you’ll ever return to a 9-5?

What was the last thing you spent money on that required serious planning?

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

What’s your earliest memory of money?

Ah. The Nigerian child’s rite of passage

Tell me more about that

Do you remember the first time you worked for money?

What’s school money?

When was this?

Why did you stop the business so soon?

NYSC next?

Haha

Did your dad pay you, though?

Ahh. Why do you say that?

Same salary?

I’m listening

That’s fair. So, what did you do?

I guess the time has come with career growth for you

What kind of life does that afford you?

Walk me through your investment portfolio

This is the part where I cut in and ask how equity trading works

Mad o

I’m curious: Do you have long-term investment goals?

Explain to me like I’m five

You mentioned you mostly handle the household expenses. What does that look like in a typical month?