When we say the economy is hard in this part of the world, we don't just say it because the news outlets say it, we say it because it's what we live every passing day. At times I'm literally scared to calculate my monthly expenses because when I realize how much I spent in a month I can't help but look at what I have left which can leave a person depressed if care isn't taken. We always hustle daily to make hands meet because there are always bills to pay and I try to make sure that I pay these bills as soon as possible while keeping something left for myself. I am not trying to maintain a particular standard of living at the moment so it's not as though I am trying to live big when I don't have the financial capacity to do so.
Let's begin with transportation, I spend a total of 1,200 naira to work every day which in a work week would sum up to 6,000 naira. A lot of the time I go to work on Saturday making me spend a total of 7,200 naira weekly. Calculating it for a month, I would have spent between 24,000 to 28,800 naira in a month for just transportation. I spend a total of 15,000 to 20,000 naira on a normal week when I have foodstuffs at home, and on days I don't have foodstuffs but wish to eat well, I would spend a total of 35,000 - 45,000 naira in a week. This is because I live with my sister and sometimes my partner comes around. Looking at everything I spend between 60,000 - 80,000 naira in a month I have foodstuffs at home and spend between 140,000 - 180,000 naira in a month when I don't have foodstuffs at home.
Talking about foodstuffs, I usually budget 60,000 - 75,000 naira to buy foodstuffs that should last me at least a month and two weeks before buying another one and this usually helps me spend less on takeouts which as you can see takes a good chunk of my finances. I also spend a total of 5,000 naira weekly on data subscription which sums up to 2,000 naira in a month, and lastly I try to send 25,000 naira weekly to my siblings for upkeep. Understanding that there are also things like utility bills that would always come up, I would have to save for my house rent and other projects, plus I would need to have funds saved for emergency purposes. When I do the maths I end up spending close to 400,000 naira in a month and sometimes even more.
Now the question is, how much do I earn to be able to spend such an amount monthly. Although I work, my salary isn't enough to cover my expenses, this is why I have to go the extra mile every single day to find ways to earn money freelancing. With all these expenses I have mentioned, know that they are just calculated expenses that are sure to come up monthly. If I fall sick or any of my family members fall sick I will need to provide money for health, if my siblings need something for school, they call and I try to also provide, if my partner needs financial support, I try in anyway I can do at the end of some months I'm spending as much as 700,000 naira and 500,000 on a good day. When we say the economy is hard, it's the struggle we live in every day.
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 159 EPISODE 1
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It is crazy and scary and mysterious at times when you try to calculate your expenses. I have spent 100k plus in my Opay account and I am wondering what exactly did I do with the money.
Not matter what we earn, we still need to pay up bills, eat and go out.
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Most of the times, I do wonder how we get to survive, honestly speaking Because when you calm down to calculate all we spend it is always more than what we earn... The economy of the society is not favourable again... But we just have to try to fit in and survive...
It's not easy, luckily you have other means to augment.
The economy is not smiling, I hope it gets better