The Content #NairaLife of a Sales Rep Living on ₦625k/Month

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.

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What’s your earliest memory of money?

The first time I saw and touched a ₦100 note. I was five years old and the Central Bank had just introduced the notes. My uncle gave it to me when he came to visit. Of course, I took it to my mum. She hadn’t seen it either. We were both excited.

Let me guess, she helped you “keep it”

Haha. Yes. 

I hardly handled money as a child. Finances were tight, and it was difficult for my dad to raise seven children on his civil servant salary. My mum passed away in 2001, so it was just him. He had to be strict with money. I didn’t always understand him, though. 

I asked him for a bicycle once, and he said I should grow up, make money like my eldest brother and buy myself a car like he did. I was used to having my way as the last born, especially since he started babying me more after my mum had passed, so this response shocked me.

My dad only began giving me money when I got into JSS 2 because I attended a boarding school. In fact, he handed the money —  ₦500 monthly — to my guardian. Then, my guardian released ₦100 to me weekly, and I spent it on snacks.

Sorry about your mum. Do you remember the first time you worked for money?

That was in 2014. I was in 400 level doing an unpaid internship at a research institute when I sold a multi-level marketing company’s products. The products were my sister’s, and I was supposed to help her sell them and make a small profit. 

I didn’t make any profit, though. Everyone knew the prices, so I couldn’t add anything. I ended up selling them at the price my sister gave me and returning her money to her. But the experience counts, right?

Haha. I guess

Before that time, I survived university on the ₦5k monthly allowance I got from my elder brother. I lived with him, and my dad sent him my school fees. I’m unsure if the allowance came from my dad or brother; I just know I got ₦5k every four to six weeks. 

The first money I actually earned was NYSC’s ₦19,800 allowance during my service year in 2017. The highest amount my account had seen prior to that was ₦14k, and it was because I was trying to save for a phone.

My Place of Primary Assignment was a private school, and they paid me ₦6k extra. I felt like a big boy. I even bought a bicycle — a Palmer that cost ₦20k. 

So the bicycle you didn’t get as a child…

Hehe, right? It’s interesting that it’s the first thing I bought when I started making money. To be fair, I served in a village, and a bicycle was the only reasonable means of transportation.

Two months into my service year, I got a part-time teaching gig at a Catholic school. That one paid ₦5k/month, and I juggled both jobs until the end of the service year.

What were your expenses like?

I lived in a fellowship family house, so I didn’t pay rent. But I contributed ₦1500 weekly for food. At that point, I was primarily responsible for myself, and everything I made went into fending for myself and my then-girlfriend, who’s now my wife. It also meant I had no savings when NYSC was finally over.

What did you do after NYSC?

I finished NYSC in 2018 and went back to live with my brother. But I didn’t want to stay home doing nothing. So, with a friend’s help, I got an unpaid gig teaching summer lessons at a school. That went on for a month, and then the school employed me when the new term resumed properly in September. The salary was ₦25k/month, and I taught the primary three class.

I worked there till the term ended in December and didn’t return in January because I got another job. Sadly, I lost my dad to a stroke a week after I got the job.

Damn. So sorry about that

It’s okay. The circumstances surrounding the job were quite funny. I was hired as a medical sales representative on a ₦60k/month salary. There was an extra ₦51k transportation allowance for fieldwork. 

But the job was in Lagos and it meant I had to relocate. I didn’t know anyone in Lagos, but I entered bus and started travelling down.

No plan?

The thing is, the company had a general meeting around that period, which was supposed to happen over a period of days. They housed everyone in a hotel for that meeting. So, my rationale was, I’d attend the meeting, stay in the hotel and secure accommodation before we all had to leave.

Fortunately, my sister helped me secure a place with an old friend, and she gave me the news while I was on the bus to Lagos. So, I dropped my load with my girlfriend’s family and took what I needed, thinking I’d move to my sister’s friend’s place after the meeting.

Unfortunately, the friend ghosted me the day before I was supposed to move in with him.

Ah

Luckily, another relative helped me find another place to stay.  If not, I’d have probably slept on the streets of Lagos or returned home to my teaching job.

I stayed with that family for about a year before moving to my apartment in January 2020. I paid ₦690k for the room and parlour apartment —  the basic rent was ₦400k. The rest was extra agent fees. I also got a ₦1.4m car loan from work to get a car, and my employers began removing ₦20k from my salary monthly to recoup the loan. That was supposed to last four years.

Did that mean you had to work with them for four years?

No, I had the option of paying them off. I worked with them for three years before I found another job in 2022. By then, I’d re-paid about ₦700k out of the loan. Luckily, I got a bonus of about ₦300k for meeting my sales target for the last quarter of 2021. 

Then, I took a ₦300k loan from my girlfriend’s mum and gathered all the money with me, plus the bonus to pay off the car loan. After that, I was free to take the car and leave to join the new company.

How much did the new job pay?

₦150k/month. It was also a medical sales representative role, so there was an additional ₦45k transportation allowance and ₦60k car maintenance allowance. That brought my monthly income to about ₦270k. There were also other incentives like leave allowance, 13th-month salary, and double salary for every work anniversary month. 

It was a massive upgrade for me. At my previous job, I had to save like mad through the year to make rent. It was like I was just working to live in Lagos. But with my new income, I could relax a bit. I could pay rent without sweating, buy clothes and take care of my girlfriend. I even bought electronics and furniture for my house. My quality of life improved and things started to look up from there.

In May 2023, I landed a job at a bigger pharmaceutical company.

Wiun. Bigger salary?

The basic salary was still ₦150k, but the incentives were much better. I got a ₦170k monthly car maintenance allowance and ₦7k/day transport allowance. Another perk was that I could apply for reimbursement for every other expense incurred on the job. 

For example, as a sales representative, I often get gift packages for my clients, complimentary meals and sometimes have to sleep in hotels on official duties. I used to spend out-of-pocket for that before, but it became a thing of the past.

I’m still at the company, and my basic salary has been reviewed three times within the last year because of rising inflation. I now earn ₦625k on average (including transport allowance) monthly. It fluctuates depending on how many days I work in a month. I also get double my basic salary every quarter as an incentive for meeting my targets. Honestly, my standard of living has gone from zero to 200%. I can now buy things without thinking much about it.

There was a time in my life when ₦100k seemed like an impossibly huge amount of money. I couldn’t even imagine spending ₦100k on myself in a whole year, but that’s the same amount I spend on black tax monthly now.

How has your income growth over the years impacted how you think about money?

Earning more has helped me discover easier ways to make money. Apart from my salary, I make money on the side by directly selling company products to hospitals and clients off the record. That brings in an additional ₦20k – ₦100k monthly.

Let’s break down your typical monthly expenses

My wife buys foodstuff in bulk, so I can spend up to ₦150k on food in some months. In other months, I spend as little as 20k. Right now, my brother is my main black tax expense because he’s navigating some financial difficulty and needs help supporting his family of six. 

I spent about ₦600k from my savings on my wedding in 2023, so I currently only have about ₦1.3m left. It’s not technically with me, though. I used ₦800k as a company expense, which will be returned to me in a few weeks. I saved the remaining ₦500k in a contribution scheme.

How would you describe your relationship with money?

At this moment, I’m living below my means. I’m not at my final bus stop as per what I want to earn, but I’m not doing badly. Someone once told me that my house rent shouldn’t be more than my three months’ salary. Right now, I can comfortably pay my rent with one month’s salary. I was even planning to get other appliances like a dishwasher and air conditioner because I feel like I’m finally in a good place financially.

But my landlord increased my rent from ₦400k to ₦800k last month. So, it’s looking like my “living below my means” situation might change this year. I still plan to negotiate with my landlord, though. I can pay the ₦800k, but I’m not willing to spend that amount on my tiny apartment. I’d rather move out.

I’m curious. What’s an ideal amount you think you should be earning right now?

₦1.5m to ₦2m/month. The funny thing is, that’s what I should be earning. I work for an international company, and they pay a Nigerian HR company to send our salaries to us. But these Nigerian guys are still using the 2015 exchange rate to bill my company. 

I’m not sure if they’re trying to cut costs for the company or just collecting the profit since my company reimburses them with foreign currency. It’s just crazy. If they were using the current exchange rate, my salary would be around ₦1.5m.

That’s actually mad. Is there something you want right now but can’t afford?

Yes. I want to build my own apartment. I planned to purchase land by 2025, but with the current inflation rates, I might have to extend that timeline by about three years. I imagine buying land would cost me about ₦3.5m – ₦4.5m. I don’t even know how much building the apartment will cost.

Is there anything you’d like to be better at financially?

I know I have the opportunity to save more. I can easily save up to ₦400k monthly, but I’m sometimes an impulsive spender. I can just decide to go out this weekend and enjoy my life. If I bring down these impulse expenses, I’ll be able to save more.

I’d also like to invest in dollars. However, the current market volatility is not encouraging. A friend bought dollars at ₦1800 per dollar in March. Now, the dollar has come down, and his money has reduced. So, maybe I should wait.

How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1 – 10?

6. I’m still looking for ways to earn more because I have a growing family, and my expenses will only increase. But right now, I’m content.

Find all the past Naira Life stories here.