Our parents started teaching us delayed gratification early.
You know how growing up, you didn’t dare eat the meat in your food till you’d cleaned your plate? They wanted you to resist immediate pleasure for the satisfaction of eating something you actually like after being forced to swallow semo. It was a good lesson, but it’s not really useful these days. There’s no guarantee that the meat wouldn’t have grown wings by the time you’re done eating.
In case you haven’t already figured it out, meat is a metaphor for money. Tinubu’s Nigeria Today’s economy might have you thinking that you’re making bad money decisions. That’s a lie from the pit of capitalism, and here’s my case.
Inflation is on colos
AKA, inflation is flying higher than a kite right now. So, no matter how frugal you try to be, your ₦5k can never comfortably last one busy work week again. Blink once and it’s gone, but it has nothing to do with your ability (or inability) to make good financial decisions.
The naira is falling more than someone in love
In a country that’s heavily dependent on forex and importation, everything is suddenly triple the price. Well, except your salary.
The price of gratification has gone up
You can decide to put off buying shawarma till you receive salary at the end of the month, only to hear that the price has increased by ₦2k because the shawarma vendors are business people trying to cut a profit too. So according to Nigeria’s economy, instant gratification is the way to go.
Government-induced sapa isn’t hitting the brakes
In just about three months, fuel prices, school fees and food prices have soared through the roof. The sapa is touching everybody. Even if you’re getting ₦1m every month, by the time you buy fuel of ₦500k, you’ll be wondering if you’re living above your means.
You may just faint
It’s not like you’re throwing money away. You’re literally buying things you need to survive. So what if you finish your money on something “unnecessary” like cake? You’ll need something to replenish your energy after thinking about how messy Nigeria has gotten.
It’s not you, it’s Nigeria
At the end of the day, it’s just Nigeria. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
NEXT READ: School Might Be a Scam, but Not if You’re Nigerian
