Money by Zikoko
Posts
Naira Life Vol 143

Naira Life Vol 143

Also: It's 10 days to Naira Life Conference

Toheeb Lanlehin
July 28, 2025

Volume 143

In partnership with

Happy post-salary week 🌞

We’re now 10 days away from the first Naira Life Conference, and the team is excited to host you.

Here’s the thing: we know people are figuring out money and their careers in their little corners. But what if there was a space to talk about it honestly and actually learn from each other?

The bigger question: Would we all make better decisions if we truly understood how money works and moves?

We’ve asked ourselves these questions over and over, and we’ve built our programming around them. So show up on August 8 and listen to finance experts, entrepreneurs and industry leaders like Nike Ogunlesi [Ruff 'n' Tumble], Odun Eweniyi [Piggyvest], Seye Bandele [PaidHR] , Tunde Onakoya [Chess in Slums], Babajide Duroshola [M-Kopa] and more help you make sense of money.

If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, this is your sign to do so.

See you soon!

In this letter:

#NairaLife: Her Salary Went From ₦350k to $4k in One Year. Then, She Took a Sabbatical

The 28-year-old in this #NairaLife has mastered multiplying her income and living below her means. Between 2021 and 2022, she increased her income by over 1000% and has built a ₦50m+ net worth.

Now, she’s on a sabbatical, hoping to master another skill: cutting down her expenses even more.

This is her #NairaLife

Swapping crypto is slow. Obiex fixed that. Over 100,000 users trust us already. You should too.

Click here to try it for free

Love Currency: The Community Manager Dating an Abuja Big Boy on a ₦200k Salary

Jenny* (24) and Farouk* (24) have been together for 8 months.

For #LoveCurrency, Jenny talks about the perks of dating old money, the financial disparity in their relationship, and why she doesn’t mind that her relationship might be short-lived, as Farouk’s parents disapprove of her. Read the full story here

The Naira Life Conference is a one-day personal finance and wealth-building event featuring bold conversations, immersive workshops, and content tracks designed to help you get your money up.

Expect powerful sessions, speakers, and the community support you need to stack, scale and sustain wealth.

Secure your spot here

I Made My First $1 Million Building a Company Around Africa’s Space Industry

He was just another Nigerian student stuck at home during an ASUU strike. Now, he runs a million-dollar space consulting company with clients worldwide.

This is how Temidayo Oniosun built the go-to company for Africa’s space policy. Read here

Ask Aunty M with Reni

I'm a lawyer and work as a legal and compliance officer for a finance company. My monthly income is ₦640,000. I have side incomes from CAC, legal consulting and the like that bring about ₦100-₦150k monthly, but this is not steady. While I have a good savings culture, I'm afraid I don't have emergency funds, and I also don't know if my savings are commensurate with what I earn. Mind you, I have spent the past two years preparing for grad school in the US, and I honestly believe that is the next step forward for my career. In 2022, I saved about ₦4 million, which is down about ₦2.5 million. The rest went into paying for transcripts, LSAC, my parents' hospital bills, etc. However, I'm sure that that amount should triple between now and next year's fall. I save ₦300k monthly from my earnings, and I don't know if that amount should double. I also have some investments here and there in the money market, commercial paper, real estate, shares, and dollar fixed deposits -- this should be about half a million. I also want to improve oan this. I used to have self-sponsored health insurance but stopped when they failed to pay for my new glasses. It felt like I was dashing money to people who didn't care about me. How do I have emergency savings separate from my regular savings? Also, do I need to do better with my savings? I'm the first child; although the black tax is there, it is not a must. I give what I can when I can. - Sugar, 28

Hi Sugar, thanks for writing in. Congrats on your job and your great salary + side hustles. You are very thoughtful about your finances and your life, so kudos.

The first step would be to house your emergency savings separately from all your other money. You already know how to save; you just need to have all your savings goals in separate accounts to track how much you have to reach your goal accurately. I gather that your priorities are an emergency fund, a black tax fund, and a grad school/japa fund. I suggest opening a high-interest account for each of these and contributing to them monthly. This way, if hospital bills pop up, you won't be taking from your grad school funds to help out. You may want to consider saving in dollars for things like your grad school fund because of the devaluation of the Naira.

You also asked if ₦300k is enough to save. Only you can answer that because it depends on your goals and the timeframe they need to be achieved. ₦300k is an amazing amount if you want to save ₦3.6m in a year, but if you need to save ₦5m in a year, it's not.

So, I want you to work backwards…what are your financial goals? How long do you have to save up for them? Once you know that, you can calculate how much you need to save toward each goal to reach your goals. Also, remember to account for your expenses. I hope this helps.

Xoxo, Reni

If you're here, you probably have a money or work dilemma. Ask your question and we'll figure out an actionable solution for you.

Where The Money At?!

We can't say we're about the money and not actually help you find the money.

So we've compiled a list of job opportunities for you. Make sure you share this with anyone who might need it because in this community, we look out for each other.

Again, don’t mention. We gatchu.