With Nigeria’s minimum wage at ₦70k, you’d expect that people earning at least ₦100k/month would have more wiggle room to spend on small luxuries and afford a decent quality of life. But a steadily increasing month-on-month headline inflation says no.

We asked five Nigerians earning above the ₦100k mark to share the things they can no longer afford due to inflation, and their responses ranged from surprising to just sad.

“I can no longer afford to lose weight healthily”

For most of her adult life, Eri* (27) has battled with controlling her weight. She started and stopped multiple exercise regimens and tried out several unsuccessful diets before she found one that clicked in 2023.

“I lost 15kg in two months due to a combination of intermittent fasting and a healthy eating habit. Once I received my ₦73k salary (₦33k from NYSC and ₦40k from my place of primary assignment), I’d take ₦30k and enter the market to buy plenty of fruits and vegetables and other foodstuff. I bought them in bulk so I could prep and store my meals in the freezer. That helped me control what I ate and manage my weight.”

“₦30k was usually enough to buy at least three weeks’ worth of food in early 2023, and I was able to manage my weight. But now, I have to hold at least ₦70k to buy the same things I used to buy for far less, barely two years ago. 

Last I heard, a crate of eggs retails for ₦8k, and a kilo of chicken is ₦6k. Fruits are a no-go area. I can’t keep up with that on a ₦105k salary. Even if I manage to buy them, how do I fuel my generator to keep my freezer running?

I’ve had to try to return to managing my weight using exercise since I can’t afford healthy meals anymore. That hasn’t been successful, though. I can’t keep up because I work from home and hardly have time to move. It also means I often fall into the trap of ordering fast food because I don’t plan my meals ahead and only remember food when I’m hungry.” 

“Chicken is now limited to Sundays”

Growing up, chicken in meals was a once-in-blue-moon occurrence for Ope* (38). He didn’t expect that his own children would experience a similar situation.

“I have two kids under 7 years old, and their feeding costs increase every other month. Between 2021 and 2023, I gave my wife ₦7k/week for food, and the soup pot would be filled with chicken. Now, I drop between ₦15k – ₦20k/week for food, and we only eat chicken on Sundays. For the other days of the week, my wife cooks with shawa or panla fish and ponmo.”

“My children are too young to notice, but I still feel bad. I earn up to ₦150k in most months, and I can’t afford to give my children the life I’d have liked. And it seems the economy would only get worse.”

“Electricity is a luxury”

The average Nigerian household gets less than seven hours of electricity per day. For Romoke* (24), these precious hours come at night when they’re no longer helpful to her job as a remote 9-5er.

“I’ve been working remotely since 2022, and I rarely have light during the day. I either wake up in the middle of the night to complete my tasks, run my generator all day or work from a coworking space. Before 2024, I preferred running my generator because it allowed me to simultaenously work comfortably from my house and do other chores. But that’s now a luxury. 

Between 2022 and 2023, I spent only ₦10k weekly on fuel. If I want to run my gen daily now, I’ll spend around ₦50k in a week and ₦200k in a month. For context, I only earn ₦320k. 

So, I’m quietly managing workspaces and working at midnight. Even for workspace access, I pay the daily ₦3k rate because I don’t always go there. I don’t have ₦60k to pay for a month’s subscription.”

“I’ve had to return to danfo buses”

In 2023, Lara (22) was the victim of a one-chance bus robbery, and since then, she’s suffered anxiety attacks whenever she uses public transportation. 

“After that incident, I stuck to e-hailing cabs because they made me feel safer. I have a hybrid work arrangement — two days on-site and the remaining days offsite — so I wasn’t spending too much on transportation. At most, ₦4k/day because I live about 30 minutes away from my workplace. 

However, cab prices have become unbearably high due to increased fuel prices. Now, taking a cab to and from work can cost between ₦8k and ₦15k during peak periods. I can’t keep up with that, so I’ve returned to using danfos. They cost me only ₦2k/day, but there’s a greater cost to my mental health. 

My heart races, and I’m always on edge on the bus rides. I sweat and shake like a leaf when I alight. My friend suggested going to therapy to work out the one-chance incident, but the therapist I found told me to pay ₦40k/session, and I’d need about three sessions. On top my ₦200k salary?”

“I can’t pay for Netflix anymore”

Netflix increased their subscription prices twice in 2024, with the second increase pushing the price up by a staggering 40%. For users like Kayode (26), it meant making a few changes of his own.

“Streaming movies on my laptop was my favourite way to relieve stress after a long day, but after my subscription went from ₦4400 to ₦5k and then ₦7k, I decided I couldn’t afford it anymore. It seems like a small amount of money, but I have a strict monthly budget I follow, and ₦7k makes a big difference for me.”

“I’ll just stick to watching movies on YouTube or downloading them on Telegram. At least, those don’t cost extra.”


Names have been changed for anonymity.


NEXT READ: 6 Nigerians Earning Between ₦30k and ₦4m Open Up About the Lives They Can Afford

OUR MISSION

Zikoko amplifies African youth culture by curating and creating smart and joyful content for young Africans and the world.