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Yinka* (27), the subject of this week’s Sunken Ships, reduced her friend group from four to three girls, after cutting one off for constantly feeling entitled to their money and trying to garner pity by emphasising how much less than them she earned.
Talk to me
Yinka: I once cut off a friend because she was broke.
Ah
Yinka: When I say it like that it sounds terrible, but it was more than that. She was very annoying because she was broke.
Please explain
Yinka: So we’re a group of four babes who went to the same university. Me and Uche were roommates in 2015, so we knew each other longer. The third, Toyin, was a coursemate of mine I got close to later that year, and the fourth, Halima, we met at a party in 2016. It’s been the four of us since then.
We made promises to each other that we’d always stay in touch. We envisioned a life that allowed us to travel and wear expensive clothes like the girls we saw in magazines. It’s not like it was impossible. All of us came from middle class families so the plan was to build on what we already have.
How did that work out?
Yinka: Not so well in the beginning. We left school in 2017, and it was bad job after bad job for all of us. Add in some failed businesses and investments and it was a disaster. Life was hitting us back-to- back.
Damn
Yinka: Things didn’t start looking up until the middle of 2018. I got a new job and so did Halima. Uche decided that a 9-5 wasn’t for her and started her own business, and Toyin got a promotion at her job. It was great.
Yinka: We could finally do some of the things we’d planned to do since we were in university. We started going to parties together and buying tables, planning vacations within Nigeria and having movie nights in our houses. It wasn’t big things, but it was great.
We also got to show up for each other in better ways. We’d give each other expensive bags and household items for birthdays and other important dates. I loved how our sisterhood improved when we had money.
But nobody sounds broke here
Yinka: That’s the thing. Being broke is a state of mind for some people, and Toyin was one of such people. As the years went on, we started making even more money. We really poured a lot of what we had into our work and it showed great results. However, since all fingers aren’t equal, some people earned more than others. As at 2021, Toyin earned the least.
We never brought up it, but she did. Constantly. We’d go out for dinner and Toyin would automatically declare that we shouldn’t expect anything from her since we’re the rich ones. It was ridiculous because someone would’ve already said the meal was on them before we even went to the restaurant.
Other times, it’s when we wanted to contribute money for a gift for one of us. She would start complaining that we’re giving gifts that are too expensive. She’d borrow money from us and never pay back, collect all our expensive items and never replace them. We didn’t understand what was going on.
What if she was struggling?
Yinka: We asked her about work and even offered help on many occasions, but she just acted weird about it. It almost always ended up in an argument where she hinted we were calling her poor.
We once gifted her six months rent so she could at least save the rent money for something else. But throughout that period, she still made weird jokes about how much less she earned and stuff. I started to think she preferred that both her money and ours was spent on her alone. But it’s not how friendship works.
Did you ever talk to her about it?
Yinka: I did towards the end of 2021. My other friends are very soft people. I’m the more direct one about things like this, maybe because I’m an aries. I pulled her aside once and told her the jokes were weird. It’s not like she even earned much less than we did. It was just a small margin, but she kept trying to make it as though she were dirt poor.
What happened next?
Yinka: She flared up and told me I was wicked. This led to her kind of withdrawing from the group and I just stopped talking to her completely. We still talk to her as a group, buy her gifts, send her flowers and stuff, but for me to text her personally? Not at all.
Her attitude to earning less was the problem. We didn’t mind giving. She just seemed too entitled to it.
Being broke is tough, especially when you’re in a relationship. Wanting to give your partner the world but only being able to afford Sangotedo. We see you and have your best interests at heart, so we’ve curated a special list of low-budget gift ideas for that special someone.
Peace of mind
No stress, no long talk, just sweet, tender loving. But just for the day because you have to remember that in everything, wickedness is key.
Handmade coupons for hugs and kisses
A handmade coupon? Talk about love and intentionality. If they don’t shriek and act excited, it means the love isn’t strong because what’s better than hugs and kisses from you?
Cut and join albums
It could be physical or digital. As long as they contain images of you, they’ll love it. You could also sprinkle a picture or two of them because you’re nice.
A handwritten note
“Roses are red. Violets are blue. Your eyes shine bright when my lips do muah”. Light work — you don’t have to do much.
Handmade gift box
Go around their space, pick up little keepsakes and chuck them in a box. Maybe it’s the empty wrapper of the plantain chips you ate after your first date, or the brush they use for their shoe. Anything works.
Give yourself a spa day
Think of it this way. If you look good, you feel good, and that should be enough for them.
Make a playlist
Music that inspires them (to break a bottle on somebody’s head) or slow love songs that make their heart sing with joy. Put them all in a playlist for your boo.
You think your biggest problem is sapa, so you devote all your time and energy trying to avoid it. But we’re here to convince you with these eight reasons why you should give sapa a chance.
Easy way to avoid billing
You won’t have to worry about looking for ways to avoid billing because you’re actually broke. If anything, you should be the one billing them sef. With time, nobody will send you again. So even when you now get money, they won’t come back to bill you.
You learn to enjoy your own company
Instead of always hanging out with people that may be planning to japa without even telling you, you’ll spend time in your house, enjoying your own company.
Peace of mind
Just think about it. Nobody is calling you; you’re not calling anybody. Even social media fights will not interest you. Because where will you see the energy to argue about who is the GOAT online when you’ve not eaten?
You’ll eat healthily
Cravings where? Being broke will force you to look for substitutes. So you’re craving pizza? Don’t worry, you’ll like bread and egg. And since you’ll no longer be spending money on junk food, you can now focus on your fitfam journey.
You can separate the fake friends from the real ones
What’s a better test of your friendships/relationships than sapa? When you’re broke and have nothing to offer, you’ll see the people that still rate you.
It births creative ideas
You may not agree, but most of the best ideas come to us at our lowest. So when you’re broke, you’ll focus your energy on the different ways you can make money to japa from sapa.
Decision-making is easier
You no longer have to stress your head about what to eat or if you should get a dress instead of a bag. Because when you’re broke, your options are limited. You only buy what you can afford.
You develop an attitude of gratitude
Why else do you think urgent ₦2k slaps? Because sapa has shown you shege, you’ll learn to appreciate any and every assistance.
Worried that your enemies will turn you into a laughing stock because of how broke you are? Do these 5 things and no one will ever guess that it’s 2,000 Naira you have left in your bank account.
1. Rub groundnut oil on your face
Groundnut oil will make you glow. Even if hunger is showing you pepper, you must not let it reflect on your face. That’s the fastest way enemies will know you are broke.
2. Wear clothes with money related inscriptions
“I am a millionaire” or “30 BG” will do the trick.
3. Always play loud music in your house
That way, if your enemies live nearby, they won’t hear you breaking a coconut to drink garri.
4. Decorate your house with empty packaging boxes
Make sure it’s packaging from top brands. At least, if your enemies disguise themselves as friends and pay you a visit, they’ll know that you’re not their mate. It’s a condition that made crayfish bend.
5. Reactive your old MTN SIM card
When you reactivate your old MTN SIM card, you get a whopping 12x amount on recharges above N50! You can use it to call for hours and let people think you’re so rich that airtime is the least of your problems.
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.
This week’s Naira Life is brought to you by QuickCredit. With QuickCredit, you not only get the funds you need instantly, but you also get to pay back at the lowest interest rate in Nigeria.
The first time the guy in this story tried to make money, he was beaten for it. Years later, he became a product manager and was slowly building up his wealth until a work mishap sent him out of a job and wiped out his life savings. Two years later, he’s building it back up and at $9800/month; it’s never been easier.
What’s your oldest memory of money?
It dates back to 1994 when I was in primary three or four, I stole ₦20 from my mum to buy some biscuits and sweets for a teacher so I could become their favourite student. I said it was from my mum. Unfortunately for me, the following week was Open Day and the teacher thanked my mum for the gifts. When we got home, she asked me to explain and I came clean. I got the beating of my life.
Wiun. Could you paint a picture of what it was like growing up?
My mum was a teacher in the civil service and my dad was a jack of all trades. What both of them made wasn’t always enough for a family of eight. Things were especially tough during periods when the government owed my mum salaries or times when my dad’s businesses didn’t do so well. We were pretty much alternating between plenty and lack for the longest time.
Do you remember the first time you made money?
1997, and I was about 10 years old. I had friends who worked at the local market. They helped people carry their goods for a fee. I asked to follow them one day to observe how they worked. After watching for a while, I joined them. I made ₦16 on that evening and was so proud of myself. Unfortunately, one of my church members saw me and reported to my mum. I got another round of beating for “embarrassing the family and making people think we were hungry.”
I don’t even remember what I used the money for anymore. But I stayed off trying to do anything for money until I got into university to study computer science. This was in 2005.
What was the next thing you did for money?
I helped someone write a math exam in the second semester of my first year, and I got ₦2k for it. I got over the guilt of what I had done when I got the money. For context, my allowance from home was ₦1k/month.
When I got to my second year, he introduced me to another guy who had missed out on school for the entire semester due to a personal tragedy. He was going to write six exams that semester, and I agreed to do it for ₦6k per course. That brought in ₦36k.
I knew it was illegal and could get into a lot of trouble, so I pivoted into something different in my third year.
What was this?
I started a tutorial centre to teach students in the lower levels. The centre caught on, and I was always booked and busy during the exam periods. On the side, I was writing final year projects and seminar papers for final year students. On average, I was making more than ₦150k per semester. I did these things until I left university in 2011. By that time, I had about ₦1m in savings.
Hmm.
One of my cousins was going to a university in the UK that year, and I started thinking about the possibility of going abroad for my master’s degree. He directed me to the affiliate centre that helped him with the whole process, and I went there to make enquiries. But I missed the floor and found myself at an I.T training centre. Somehow, the facilitator of the centre convinced me to get some certifications with them instead and showed me a pathway of how I could use this to get into tech. I thought it sounded good, so I paid for six certifications in software development and network engineering. It cost me ₦600k.
The courses lasted for six months. The centre retained me as a facilitator after I finished my programme and paid me ₦15k/month. On the side, I was also looking for a better paying job, but nothing came until NYSC in 2012.
Two weeks before my service year ended, I got a job as a systems and server admin with a contractor doing some IT work for the government.
How much was the pay?
₦90k. But I also had to be transferred to a state in the south-south. However, I was at the job for only three months. I resigned in May 2013.
Ah, why?
I found out that my chances of growth were low. On my team, there were people who had been working there for two to three years and were still at the same income level they were when they joined. I didn’t want that for myself. I’ll admit that I made the decision because I had a bit of savings. ₦450k.
Fair enough. What came after?
Unemployment. I was at home for five months.
Uh-oh.
I was getting interviews but I either didn’t think the companies I was interviewing with were the right fit for me or they were offering me ridiculous salaries. I was bent on not accepting any offer below ₦100k and these companies were offering me ₦40k or ₦50k.
By the fifth month, I had burnt through my savings and had ₦70k left. I was beginning to realise that saving money only works if you’re earning.
Thankfully, a company reached out to me in October 2013. Someone at my last job had referred me to them. I got an offer almost immediately after I did my interview. They wanted me to come join them as IT support staff and my starting salary was ₦90k. Not the ₦100k I was looking for, but it was close.
I get that. How long did you spend there?
Six months. I left in March 2014 after I got a better offer from an FMCG company. They brought me on as an IT lead and my salary was ₦150k. This was probably one of the most toxic places I’ve worked at.
Why, what happened?
First, an IT lead was the highest role for the Nigerians who worked there. The supervisor positions and other superior roles went to foreigners. So, there was no opportunity for growth for me. I spent six months there and left in August 2014 after an argument with one of the supervisors.
Here’s where it got interesting: they didn’t accept my resignation.
Why not?
A lot of the foreigners on the team were in violation of their visas, and they feared I would report them to immigration if I left like that. They gave me an offer instead: they would pay my salary for six months if I didn’t get another job within that time frame. I accepted it.
Sweet.
I got a new job lead at a fintech company about two weeks after I left. Two months and a series of interviews later, they offered me a senior IT role. My basic salary was ₦250k, but there was an extra ₦30k transport allowance, which brought my total monthly earnings to ₦280k. Another ₦150k was coming in from my last job. In total, I was earning ₦430k until November 2014. Somehow, my former workplace found out that I had gotten another job and stopped the payments.
Hehe. How did it go at the fintech company?
Oh, it was great. I spent three years there. A lot of growth and learning happened there, so I wasn’t in a rush to leave. However, I never got a salary raise even once. It probably wouldn’t have mattered much, but I got married in 2015, so I had to earn more. Ultimately, it was one of the reasons I left.
Another fintech company had been trying to bring me on board, but I didn’t give them a lot of attention. I accepted their invitation to interview when I made a decision to leave the company I was with at the time. They liked me, and I got the job. Like that, my salary grew from ₦280k to ₦650k. It was a massive move I should have made earlier.
It does seem that way.
Haha. Apart from my salary, there was at least one bulk payout in every quarter of the year: leave allowance in March, performance bonus in June, Profit from the previous business year in September, and end of the year bonus in December.
Could you tell me a bit about how you navigated money at the time?
I was saving 40% of my monthly salary. The remaining 60% was spread across other expenses, mostly household expenses and black tax. At the end of everything, my core savings was enough to cover house rent, which was ₦1.8m.
The bonuses I got on the job went into investments.
What kind of investments?
Bank investments. Treasury bills were hot and at an all-time high, bringing in 13% – 14% per year. I also had a fixed deposit account I was putting money into. By 2018, I had gathered ₦6m in core savings and investments.
Then something happened.
Uh-oh.
At the fintech where I worked, I was on a product team where we managed high network individuals. We helped them buy international portfolios and investments to reduce tax.
Everything ran smoothly until December 2018. I got a call from work and was notified that the infrastructure we used to facilitate these transactions had been exposed. What had happened was that the systems could not verify if the transactions we had made on that day to the BDCs — who were the middlemen — were successful, so we ended sending money to these people more than twice. And these were large volumes of money — $30k here, $20k there, some were more than that.
By January 2019, we had recovered most of it. But the other BDC agents went underground with the money. The total debt that was on our head was $2m.
Ehn? This sounds like a nightmare.
It was. The affected High Net Worth Individuals were on the company’s neck. Before long, the regulators got wind of it and everything spiralled out of control. My line manager resigned. I was next in line, so I had to be the fall guy.
When the regulators came knocking, they seized the assets of everyone on my team to recover the money. All the money I thought I had went up in smoke.
How much?
About ₦8.2m. They also took two cars belonging to me and my wife and some pieces of land I had bought. I was at level 0.
Damn.
The company asked me to resign, so I was without a job for the most part of 2019. Marrying my best friend saved me. My wife took over providing for the family on her ₦200k salary.
Seven other people were affected by the asset freezes, and we were fighting it in court. But I pulled out in 2019 because I realised how long court cases in Nigeria can drag on. I had to move on.
What did moving on look like for you?
For starters, I had to figure out how to make rent in October. Thankfully, there was something to look forward to.
What was that?
Before the whole situation started, I had been talking with some Chinese acquaintances about the possibility of bringing in Android POS machines into the country, and I had paid ₦700k for it. In March 2019, 10 POS machines were delivered to me. I had the infrastructure and configuration skills, but zero coding skills to integrate the POS into the Nigerian payment gateways and teach them how to read ATM cards. I went back to the same fintech company I worked at the previous year and convinced two friends to work on it with me, promising them 15% equity each. After five months, we figured it out.
Agent banking was already becoming popular in the country, so it wasn’t hard to find 10 agents. I got ₦120k in revenue from the 10 machines in the first month. It increased to ₦300k in the second month.
Then I ran into another problem.
What was it this time?
Regulators again. I got an email and they informed me that I was running the operation without a license. That’s how I was back to fighting for my life. I still had a relationship with the MD of the last fintech company I worked with, so I thought I could leverage it. After a series of back and forth, the company bought me out and paid me ₦10m for the POS machines and the solution I had built.
Whew.
I paid my guys ₦1.5m each per our equity agreement, ₦2m fine to the regulators and paid my rent, which had been due for a month. At the end of everything, I had ₦3m left. Things were beginning to look up again.
Did you ever get another job?
I did in the same month. My former boss came through again and referred me to a company that needed somebody to manage their payment gateway. The salary was ₦350k.
It was less than what I earned at my last 9-5, but it was either that or rely on the ₦3m I had left. I spent only three months there and left in January 2020. The people there weren’t open to change and preferred to stick with their old ways of doing things.
The same week I left, I got a call from an oil and gas company. They were looking to build a product for efficient fuelling for their fleet offshore and someone had referred me to them. I got a six-month contract as senior product manager for the product. ₦750k per month. When I left, I had built my savings to about ₦5m.
Then I got another job.
Tell me about it.
I wasn’t even keen on another 9-5, but it was a digital bank and the offer was good. ₦1.3m. It’s funny when I think about it now, but it took me about eight years to hit ₦1m every month.
Inside life.
The product I was building went live in December, but I stayed two extra months before I left in February 2021. The plan was to take some time off, build and ship my own product. But I couldn’t refuse the next offer I got.
Ghen Ghen.
One of the VPs of a digital bank in South America DMed on Twitter and asked if I was interested in a senior product manager role at the bank. I got an offer from them in April 2021.
How much?
$11k gross. $9800 net. That’s about ₦4.9m per month.
Omo. How do you move money in and out now?
Every month, I take $2k out for my monthly running costs, $2900 for short term investments, and I leave the rest in my international bank account. My wife and I should leave the country before the end of the year because of my new job, so I’m saving for when the time comes.
Let’s start with a breakdown of your running costs.
This is not an exhaustive list, but I imagine it looks something like this.
What about your short term investments?
Every month, $900 is spread across different crypto investments. $400 goes into my PiggyVest for any emergency expenses. I put $1k in mutual funds, and this is to raise the tuition for my two kids when it’s time every three months. I also put $600 across a couple of agritech investments.
What has all of this done to your perspective about money?
First, your risk appetite is directly proportional to how much you’re earning. I’ve realised that the more I earn, the more my interest in investments grows. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have considered investing in crypto.
Also, whoever says money doesn’t give happiness isn’t being fair. I would know because I was at my lowest point in 2019, and I know what that did to me. I developed high blood pressure during those months that I now have to manage for the rest of my life.
I’m sorry about that.
Thank you. I’m fine. But perhaps the most important shift is realising that people who depend on you will manage without you if you don’t have money. For the entire time I was down to zero, calls from members of my extended family were non-existent. The good thing about that is it’s now easier to say no to them when they come knocking. So, maybe don’t kill yourself so others could live.
How much do you think you should be earning now?
I don’t think I should be earning a salary at this stage. I feel like I should have launched a couple of products in the market and earn money based on their market valuations. That’s one of the things I’m looking to do in the next five years.
Let’s come back to the present for a bit. Is there anything you want but can’t afford?
I’m big on family houses. I’ve been thinking about a building that would accommodate my family, my parents, and my siblings and their families. I know the location I want for this project, but I’d have to buy old properties from the current owners and tear them down, and that alone will cost about ₦90m. It’s a huge investment I can’t take on yet.
That’s an ambitious project. Is there anything you’ve bought recently that’s improved the quality of your life?
An air fryer. I bought it for health reasons, and it’s been absolutely worth it. It cost only ₦120k.
Ah, nice. Is there a question you think I should have asked but didn’t?
My financial happiness.
I was coming to that, but let’s hear it.
It’s a six. 2019 was tough, but it could have been worse. I’m also glad that I’m bouncing back. I’m not 100% fulfilled yet because I haven’t built and shipped a product for myself — all the ones I’ve worked on have been for companies I’ve worked with. When this finally happens, I’m moving up to an eight or nine.
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Not everyone gets to be the rich Nigerian aunty, some of us have to be the broke aunty to bring the balance. If you are reading this, you are probably in doubt of what type of aunty you are. There’s a high chance you are a broke Nigerian aunt, and here are some signs to prove that we aren’t wrong.
1.Your best gifts to your niblings are hugs and kisses.
You always shower your niblings with hugs and kisses, they love your hugs and look forward to them. What they don’t know is that those hugs are the best gifts they can receive from you; for now.
2.Your PiggyVest account is begging you for money.
All you’ve saved so far is your life. If you can’t save for yourself, how then can you save for others?
3.You prefer jeans to kaftans.
Tell yourself the truth, have you seen a rich Aunty that prefers jeans to kaftan?. One of the signs of being rich is preferring comfortable clothes and you are clearly not there yet.
4.You are ‘gainlessly’ employed.
You are employed, but not too much. Your salary can only last you a few days before you are back to point zero.
5.Kids can’t play with your phone because you are still paying for it.
You don’t let anyone near your phone, talk less of kids. If the kids need to play with something, they can play with you.
6.Your family members always group you with the kids.
Your family members are always so quick to group you with the kids. You think it’s a harmless joke, but they do it because they know you are broke like the kids.
7.Your younger cousins don’t call you.
Your younger cousins don’t call you to greet you or ask you for money, they already know the response they’ll get. It’s a win for you- advantages of being the broke aunty.
8.All your carts are uncleared.
Your ‘God when’ is so strong- mostly for those uncleared carts.
9.Your parents air your calls.
Your parents put their phone on airplane mode when your call comes in. They know what your calls are for, and they don’t want to hear it.
10.You have only one wig.
You have convinced yourself and others that you prefer your natural hair to wigs. Self-love is good and so is self-awareness.
There is, I have-just-100k-in-my-account broke, and then there’s the full-blown Sapadenmic situation. For the latter, you’re bound to find these 8 types of people.
1. The motivational speakers
Set awon “tough times never last but tough people do.” It doesn’t hurt to be optimistic in a Sapadenmic sha.
2. The sad ones
These ones can just burst into tears while washing the plate they used to drink Garri. If you see them, just press urgent 2k into their hands.
3. The angry ones
Their body peppers them once there’s no money. In fact, everybody should getat. *bangs door*
4. The budgeter
These ones can write lists and scale of preference for Africa before getting the money, but end up spending impulsively. Within three hours, fiam! they’ve blown 200k. Coconut head.
5. The extra nice ones
Motto: you never know who’s your destiny helper. Let that money enter their hand first, you will see shege.
6. The singers
It’s only when these people are broke that they remember their worship playlist. Google, play “Then Sings My Soul“, maybe money will fall from Heaven.
7. The Ultimate Searchers
They search every nook and cranny of the house, clothe pockets, bags and even wastebin for money they did not keep a.k.a miracle money. Guilder Ultimate Search no do pass this one.
8. The nonchalant ones
To them, problem no dey finish, so why not use the last 1k to eat away your sorrow?
If your salary has finished or you’re on your last leg, I welcome you. Seeing as I fit into one the categories above, I asked 10 people how they’d manage their last ₦10,000 till the end of the 100 days of January.
When are we collecting the salary we'll spend in January?
1) “Bless the money so it can multiply like Jesus did.”
2) “How can you manage 10,000 for 100 days?”
3) “Fast, and use the money to break your fast at the end of the month.”
4) “Put that ₦10,000 in Cowrywise, not Piggyvest. Cowrywise because they won’t let you break the bank no matter how hard you try.”
5) “Don’t forget to cry every morning. You’ll need it to get through the day.”
6) “Buy Bitcoin and pray it doesn’t cast.”
7) “Just try not to breathe because Lagos air alone is ₦2,500.”
8) “I’m averse to suffer head so I’ll fist buy beer and pepper soup. Then I’ll use the change to rent a gun. I should be sorted after one or two operations.”
9) “I’m sorry, I can’t relate.”
10) “I’ll first buy ₦5,000 suya to calm myself down. Then I’ll think of the next step.”
How would you manage ₦10,000 till the end of January? Let us know in the comments section!
Have you ever been broke in school? Down to your last cash, and no means of help in sight? Then this list will bring back memories of endurance and longsuffering.
1) Exercise
It’s not every time you get in a bus or a car. Sometimes, you cruise with your legedes benz. You just want to feel the sun on your back again. It’s not like you’re broke
2) Food
You get adventurous with your food options. When you’re broke is when you start combining corn and bread, garri and vegetable, etc. We will be praying for your stomach
3) Borrowing
Whatever you need that you don’t have? You’d borrow. Textbook? Hanger? Hot plate? BORROW. Borrow borrow make you fine, and who doesn’t want to be fine?
4) Hard work
If you used to take your clothes to get washed before, suddenly you’d remember your great grandfather was a clothes washer in his past life. Laziness be gone.
5) Friendship
You disappear immediately after class now, before one of your friends decide that’s when they want to try a new bukka that opened last week. Anytime you see your friends, you run
If there’s a mantra to your life, it is one thing: adulting is a scam. Big scam. I don’t know what it was that made it seem like being an adult was an epic trip, but it is a scam. We were had, took, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok and flat-out deceived about adulting.
Adulting sold us dreams. Here are a few of the lies we were sold by adulting.
1. That when you grew up, you would eat all the meat you wanted from the soup.
Now you can eat it, but at what cost?
2. The responsibilities
There are so many responsibilities that came with adulting. Bills, work, family responsibilities… it never ends.
3. You thought you would go to uni, graduate and get a great job immediately.
If only you knew.
4. Being broke
Nobody prepared you for being broke all the damn time.
5. You thought you would have met the love of your life
Now where is the love of your life? HaqHaqHaq.
6. Having to take care of your self when you fall sick
This one is the worst. Nobody to pamper you. Worst part is that you have to pay for your drugs with your own money. Ghetto.
7. Getting enough sleep
As a child, you hated that you had to go to bed early and looked forward to staying up as long as you wanted when you became an adult. Now you can’t get enough sleep.
Have you ever been at a point in your life where you were so broke, you didn’t know where the next meal was going to come from and it was just vibes and inshallah?
Well, we asked a few Nigerians what the brokest meals they ever ate was and the responses we got…ouch.
1. Ola, 23- Bread and toothpaste
I had bread, and I didn’t want to eat just bread. I was in school and I was broke, plus it was late at night. Then I remembered that my uncle told me one time that bread and toothpaste make a good combo. So I spread some toothpaste all over my bread. Worst dinner of my life.
2. Agnes, 31- Eba and palm oil
I didn’t even have salt to put in the palm oil. So I had to wait for some time to empty the palm oil bottle onto a plate because even that was almost empty as well. I just made Eba and ate it with the palm oil like that. I ate and went to bed.
3. Wisdom, 20- Palm oil and boiled rice
It was literal palm oil on boiled rice sprinkled with Maggi, because there was no salt. I was eating and crying.
4. Pablo, 23- Garri without water
I bought garri and sugar, and my guy who was meant to buy the water just assumed there was water and used his own money to buy groundnut. Long story short, we were just chewing garri with sugar and groundnut and shedding tears. We laugh about it till today.
5. Mike, 36- Suya pepper and water
One day, during my NYSC in Port Harcourt I was so broke I had to lick flavoured pepper. My mom has this thing where she mixes powdered pepper (ata gungun) with other spices to create the best suya pepper ever. She gave me some when I was going for NYSC. One afternoon I was so broke and hungry that I just went to start licking the pepper and drinking water on top. I didn’t find anything to eat until the next day.
6. Emmanuella, 23- Spaghetti and vibes
My mom had probably forgotten that she had a daughter somewhere in school so I didn’t have any money. I had just one unopened spaghetti, groundnut oil and seasoning. Nothing else. I just poured everything in a pot and shook it together. Whatever came out was what I ate that night. Let’s just say it was edible.
7. Dami, 38- 50 Naira crackers.
I don’t even want to talk about it. That’s just my brokest meal. Simple.
As much as Nigerians love money, they can be very clueless about it. Things like how to invest and grow your savings or manage your money efficiently can be confusing for the average Nigerian. Like how many of us even know what mutual funds means? So if you are confused about money as we are then you need to be following these social media accounts ASAP.
Tunji Andrews
@TunjiAndrews is the Lead Economist at Time, Trade and Commodities (TTAC) and a media personality. Asides his Twitter page, his show ‘The Money Business and Economy Show’ on Nigeria Info FM offers a treasure trove of financial tips.
Nairametrics
@Nairametrics is a financial literacy and business new site. Beyond the site, their Twitter page is packed full with financial advice and tips that are updated pretty regularly.
Ugo Obi-Chukwu
@Ugodre is the team lead at Nairametrics. He is also a chartered accountant with over 16 years of experience in financial management and corporate finance. So you already know he knows his shit.
Arese Ugwu
@smartmoneyarese is the author of the best selling book ‘The Smart Money Woman’. She is also the founder of Smart Money Africa, a personal finance blog that will offer you better financial advice than just there’s rice at home.
Nimi Akinkugbe
@MMWithNimi has a Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and was once General Manager and Head, Private Banking and Director of Stanbic Bank. She also runs a personal finance site called ‘Money Matters with Nimi’
Moe Odele
@Mochievous is an experienced finance attorney and startup advisor. She runs a social enterprise called ‘Scale my hustle’ which helps new entrepreneurs launch and grow successful businesses.
Oluwatosin Olaseinde
@tosinolaseinde is the founder of ‘The Money Africa’. She’s a chartered account with over 8 years of experience in finance.
The Money Africa
@themoneyafrica offers insight into everything money. From financial literacy, to how to grow your money in ways that don’t involve MMM type of schemes they’ve got you covered.
Tomie Balogun
@tomiebalogun refers to herself as a millennial investment expert. And if you scroll through her Instagram page you’ll find that she lives up to her promise.
If you know any other great accounts, please share!
As we await payday and look upon our empty bank accounts, we decided to come up with ten Nigerian songs to add to our playlists to sha comfort ourselves.
Money – M.I.
“Money slow to enter, money quick to go”
One day e go better – Safari
Don’t worry, dry your tears, one day one day e go better.
Money – Timaya ft. Flavour
You might be broke but at least you’ll discover who your true friends are.
Penalty – Small Doctor
“If you no get money hide your face” – Small Doctor, 2017
Rich and Famous – Praiz
Because the struggle is temporary.
Rich – M.I. ft. Koker
Because your situation right now is only temporary last last.
Ojuelegba – Wizkid
Let Wizkid inspire you, the same way he came out of Ojuelegba is the same way you’ll come out of this brokeness.
Fake Love – Wizkid ft. Duncan Mighty
Send this to the love of your life, to remind them that a small thing like lack of money shouldn’t come between your love.
Because we know that this brokeness is only temporary we also added the perfect song to add to your playlist on payday.
Don’t worry you too will be balling from Monday to Sunday soon.
If you are anything like us and you lack self-control and home training then your June salary has probably finished and you are currently going through these struggles with us.
They just paid salary last week but your account balance is confusing you.
Wait but did someone rob me?
This is you trying to calculate how you are going to feed for the month of July after looking at your account balance.
This is the perfect month to start 30 days dry fast.
You start thinking back to how you were flexing like there was no tomorrow during salary week.
Yours is now a case of had I known.
As you are trying to calculate how you’ll find money to pay your NEPA bill one family member calls you to remind you to send something for the month.
It’s a little too late for that.
You start to notice that any small thing suddenly makes you unnecessarily angry.
Your colleague will tell you good morning and you’ll ask them what’s good about the morning.
You start counting down again to salary week and wonder why the days are going by so slow.
Time moves slower when you are broke – Albert Einstein
Your taste in things will suddenly drop. You’ll start buying puff puff instead of pancakes.
You’ll start to realize that you actually like cooking and you don’t even like eating out like that. Who knew.
You’ll suddenly remember all the people that are owing you money and start hitting them up.
It’s time to collect your money back from that your colleague that needed 200 naira change for bus. Abi did he think it was dash?
You’ll start appreciating the little things like the fact there’s water dispenser in your office or your parents live an hour away so you can go and beg for food.
Isn’t the Lord good?
You also start to seriously rethink your priorities in life.
Do you really need to pay for internet this month? Shebi office WiFi is there?
Long story short, July is about to be a very difficult month but we are here to tell you that last last you won’t sha die before they pay your July salary.
1. When you take buses and keke napeps for 90% of the journey and then use an Uber for the last 10% so you arrive at where you’re going in grand style.
Laides and Gentlemen. I have arrived!
2. When you take an old Eva bottle and fill it with tap water on your way to work.
I can use that N150 for something else abeg.
3. When you use all your money to buy an expensive wristwatch and then you take pictures so you can show off the watch for your Instagram fam.
They don’t know that you’re going to drink garri for the rest of the month.
4. When you manage to go to the beach one time and you take like 300 pictures so you can upload one everyday for the next 1 year.
They must think I ball everyday.
5. When you borrow your roommate’s expensive shoes so you cross your legs anytime you sit down so people can notice.
See my borrow pose slay!
6. When you scatter your rent money on your bed and take a picture with it and then caption it, “Money ain’t a problem”.
Meanwhile the rent money isn’t even complete and your Landlord is about to throw you out.
7. When you’re drinking Sprite at the mall and it finishes so you go to the bathroom and fill the bottle up with water.
Because you know nobody will be able to tell the difference by just looking at it.
Did you enjoy this article about broke people that form rich? Sure you did! Now, read this next article about all the things broke people are tiring of hearing.
You see, Twitter is one of the best things about the internet, simply because you don’t need to search for amebo, it comes right to your doorstep.
As usual, we were minding our business and impatiently counting down to the weekend, when Ayodeji, an entitled guy from Ibadan came to rant about his date on Twitter.
According to his tweet, he was furious his date had the nerve to turn down a relationship with him after taking her out – calling her broke.
And in the mother of all clap backs that snatched wigs and edges off, the date in question, Ore, also known as Miss Moshiku, shared screenshots of her refunding the money he spent, and even asked him to keep the change.
When you realise he came to cry on Twitter after spending only 1900.
When you realise some men actually feel entitled to relationships/sex for indicating interest in women.
When men expect something in return for doing the barest minimum for women.
If we’re being honest, Miss Moshiku is THAT GIRL!
When you realise she paid for the entire date and dashed him extra money too.
Although Ibadan Twitter is being effortlessly trolled for this gist…
We've been seeing our movies for N600 peacefully in Ibadan, nobody knew. But this boda ode had to rub shit on us.
It’s no secret that Nigeria is currently in a terrible condition. The economy is suffering, and leaders are proving more and more incompetent by the day. In a country where too many graduates already walk the streets in search of a viable source of income, the current economic recession is not helping matters. According to Samson Olaleye, a lot of Lagosians, most of them graduates like himself, sleep in the streets.
According to @d_problemsolver on Twitter, some employers are already looking to employ the young man, and they want anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward.