One thing I can assure you that most humans think is money. Whether its the joy of getting it or the fear losing/not making enough of it, we’re all thinking of money. Today, we’ve going to talk about the fears people have about money.. In this article, 10 Nigerians, on different pay grades, talk about their anxieties with money.
1. “Absolutely nothing”
— Gbenga, 45
I work as a development consultant, and beyond my salary, I have slowly invested in equity and stocks. I’ve come a long way from earning in Naira. In my 20s, I understood that money comes and goes. Maybe the open relationship with my father about money helped. He earned good money as a pilot but never shied away from saying “No Gbenga, we can’t afford that.” Now that I earn $250,000 per month, nothing scares me about money. I could wake up broke tomorrow, and I’d start all over again with no worries. I have the network, so why fear?
2. “Impromptu emergencies”
— Fisayo, 26
As the breadwinner of my family, I’m scared of the uncertainty of each month. When my salary drops, I save over half of it. Not because I want to, but because I’m scared of the billings. Like the month I had to spend my entire ₦800k on my father’s dialysis. I feel like I’m in a rat race that’ll never end, and that terrifies me.
3. “I’m losing old friends as I earn more”
— Chiamaka, 31
I grew up in a village in Enugu, and the biggest fear I have about money is leaving the people I started with behind. My friends and I moved to Lagos and in seven years, I’m the only one that has consistently grown. Earning ₦1.5 million monthly doesn’t feel as great because I have to hold back on the balling I want to do.
4. “I’ll never be more”
— Sandra, 28
I worry that I’ll feel too comfortable and never make it past where I am. I’ve been earning ₦600k a month for four years and haven’t been able to move up. ₦600k isn’t even worth what it was in 2018 so it feels like I’m earning ₦200k. As the years go by, it feels like I’m regressing because Nigeria will always mess up the purchasing power of whatever I’m earning..
5. “Never making more of it”
— Paul, 30
I’m scared I’ll never make it in life. I’m earning ₦80k month at 30, and It’s hard to keep trusting I can move up the ladder.
6. “Affording luxury”
— Patricia, 27
This may seem shallow, but I’m scared of spending my whole life working without living life. I want to be able to afford designer bags, clothes, take a vacation — the fine things of life. With my ₦200k monthly salary, I’m scared it will never happen. There’s some progress in life, but I’m scared of spending my whole life working and never actually living.
7. “Finding who to spend it with”
— Fred, 38
When it comes to money, I’m worried about not finding someone to match my energy. I don’t want an entitled partner. I want someone who has big money goals and a saving culture — it’s tough on these streets. ₦5 million a month is great, but with the way the economy is, it’s also nothing.
8. “Spending all of it on my kids”
— Aisha, 45
I love them to death, but my kids are so entitled and lackadaisical with life. I have a son who’s 25 years old and has refuses to either go to college or get a job. I know it’s not helping, but I also can’t say no. As a single mother, I’m scared he’ll find a less than reputable way to get the money. I earn at least $100,000 per annum and most of it goes into indulging my kids. I really don’t know how to hold back at this point.
9. “That one day, the POS will reject my card”
— Irene, 26
₦100k a month isn’t enough money, but I’ll never hold back from a good time. How can I live a life without Alfredo pasta? For me, I just hope my card doesn’t get declined at a restaurant. I’m really not bothered about anything concerning money besides that. Overthinking how much I make won’t change anything. After all, YOLO.
10. “I think about my pension a lot”
— Ben, 77
I’m an old man, so money doesn’t mean as much to me. The only thing I think about is whether I worked enough to live on my pension. I gave 40 years to the police force and it wasn’t great money because moving up the rank was difficult. My children are there to help me, but I don’t want to be a burden. I’m not sure about how much I have left, but I hope my pension lasts until my final day my final day.
