newsletter | Zikoko!

Vol 53 | 13-11-2023

Good morning, {$name}. 🌞

I imagine I clocked that I was now fully responsible for my finances after I got my first paid writing gig. Those things were hectic — I was paid ₦1 per word. So I had to write 10k-word articles to make ₦10k. But any extra money is good money for a uni student.

The gigs kept coming at a reasonable cadence. But that was just one part of it. The other part was figuring out how to make this new income count for something. I only remember a little about how that went. A few years have passed, but the goal has stayed the same.

The 20-year-old in today’s #NairaLife is also in the early stages of figuring this out. She’s gone through a few phases and has taken the lessons learned. And she talks about how it’s going.

In this letter:

The #NairaLife of a Content Creator and Recovering Overspender
Having Kids Took Me From Middle-Class to Poor
Money Meanings: “Arbitrage”
Game: #HowMuchLast
Where The Money At?!

The #NairaLife of a Content Creator and Recovering Overspender

This 20-year-old content creator struggled with impulse purchases for the first six months after she started making money from influencing. Now the phase has passed, she’s trying to live on ₦1k per day and saving aggressively while at it.

How’s it working out?

Having Kids Took Me From Middle-Class to Poor

Chima* (36) has two children under five years old, and compared to the average income of most Nigerians, he’s a high earner. But when asked how parenting has affected his budget and cost of living, he simply responded: “I’m now poor”.

An excerpt: “It’s starting to look like we’ll stop at two children, so we can continue to afford food. I still earn ₦500k/month, and 60% of that goes into child care. I try to stretch the remaining 40% to save for rent and other household expenses. But the truth is, every expense is still related to child care. “

Read the full story 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.

Listen, I know we all joke (wink, wink) about splurging a gazillion naira on Suya after receiving a windfall payment. But really, how far can you go?

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.