Spending time with my friends on a night out is amazing, full of fun, and pure cruise because we get to gist and catch up. But the most interesting thing about our hangouts is that we rotate picking up the bill. Don’t get me wrong o, we’re considerate of each other’s pockets and there’s no form of gaslighting. We just respect each other’s finances, so whenever it’s time to link up, we take turns to settle the tab, and whoever is meant to will choose a hot spot or activity of their choice.
It’s pretty wholesome but it’s also a result of the fact that our eyes have seen shege, and being a young adult in Nigeria requires certain survival skills. Our squad consists of three guys and two girls; we all met during our NYSC days and bonded over Marvel movies and food. But now, we have jobs that pay fairly well but not enough to fund the exciting lifestyles we want. So we had to look for ways to have each other’s backs, which is how our rotation culture started. However, something that’s always been almost non-existent in our clique is deep conversations about funds, and recently, it surfaced through a funny experience.
It was one of our usual rendezvous, the girls were busy so it was just the guys around. We went to a restaurant in Ikoyi to chill until these fine babes walked in and we lost focus. After silly deliberations, we approached them, introduced ourselves, and asked if we could buy them cocktails. These baddies probably thought we had some mad money, and ordered drinks and expensive meals off the menu. The bill came, and I noticed the uncomfortable look on my guy’s face as it was his turn to pick up the tab. It was 100k, and he came with a 45k budget. To cut the story short, we split the bill to avoid embarrassment.
One thing this experience taught me is that, for close friends, we didn’t talk enough about our personal finances. Of course, we laughed off the drama and told it to the girls, who dragged us further. However, one of them mentioned that money is not particularly an easy subject and prompted us to try goPlay cards, a newly introduced set of fun game cards she got from her bank, gomoney. I was more than open to it, since I had checked them out online and observed how the brand demonstrates a deep understanding of cultivating strong financial habits among youngsters. On checking out the cards, we discovered that it’s a fun way to gain insights into factors that could influence money habits and patterns. Even more interesting, gomoney’s goPlay cards can be played almost anywhere – birthday parties, beach or pool hangouts, friends meet-ups, podcast sessions, whatever event has people in it.
At the next hangout, we visited a lounge, had some drinks, and answered the juicy questions from the goPlay cards. It was so natural and we had a lot of banter that left us feeling like we now knew each other better. I have even gone ahead to place a request for mine. By the way, the gomoney app is available on the App Store and Google Play Store.
It’s important to stay open-minded about money conversations with friends, and being proactive starts with creating safe and fun spaces to keep everyone’s money game strong and healthy.
