When I posted the screenshot of a person mocking me for not flying business class and for riding okada among other things (🤷🏽♀️ Them follow me go Nigeria, abi?), I was hoping you all would see the irony of everything this person had written. An irony that was made strongly evident by their foolishness. But you didn't.
I woke up from my sleep to find all of you wailing. Why are you wailing when you should be laughing? I deleted the post as your wailing was disturbing my ears.
You live abroad, your child lives abroad, your plans are abroad but "your" car and properties are collecting dust in Nigeria. Why?
I know a man who decided that he was tired of living as an illegal immigrant in the UK, so he packed up his stuff and bought a one way ticket back to Nigeria. In his first week in Nigeria, he bought a car worth millions of naira. His mates over here were euphoric, but my opinion was that he'd done something extremely foolish. Just like I had predicted, he went broke shortly after from partying and shopping. So he packed up his bags again. This time, however, he didn't come back to the UK. The UK slaps illegals with a 5 year ban. So he had to go to Malaysia. He had entered the UK from Malaysia. Imagine, leaving Nigeria to Malaysia, moving to Malaysia to the UK, coming back to Nigeria again and having to start all over again in Malaysia. And no UK in sight for the next 5 years.
Another man I know has a building complex that fetches him N4M in rent a year. A substantiable amount in Nigeria, but quite little for someone who lives in the UK. Minimum wage workers over the age of 25 collect £16,000 a year in salary. He gets about £9,000 in rent from Nigeria. He has a wife who doesn't work and a daughter. He's living on an income of £25,000, which is just enough to get by given his family situation.
Another man again built a house in Benin City. He never goes to Benin, and he says he will never go to Benin. So why did he build the house? To show the people in Benin that he too has a house over there.
My mother has a house in Nigeria that is packing dust. And just like her, plenty abroadians have built houses, are building houses and will build houses that will just end up packing dust.
I wrote about those rich folks in Nigeria who buy houses all over the place. They are paying taxes and utility bills for empty houses just because they want to brag that they own a house abroad.
Houses and cars are liabilities that you should never bother with unless you are using them to make money.
I am a financially intelligent woman. Back in the day, I'd see my dad keeping count of all our expenses in his diary. My mother and I would mock him for being too attentive. But today I'm doing the same thing. I'm extremely frugal with my money. If I ever ask for a loan or support, trust me that my account is not empty. I just want to give my savings some rest.
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This year is a new year. Become financially smart. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper. Write down:
- How much you make;
- How much you owe;
- The minimum you need to live a dignifying life;
- The most affordable investment based on your income.
Always save at least 10% of your income. You won't become rich by collecting a salary and saving alone. You must be proactive too.
Good luck with everything. See you in 2022 to celebrate our accomplishments.
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