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Naira Life Vol 156

Naira Life Vol 156

This 23-year-old is forcing himself to be “broke” to build better habits.

Toheeb Lanlehin
October 27, 2025

Volume 156

In partnership with

Good morning 🌞

I think we’ve all learned at certain points that financial discipline is something that you build. This process is often super painful.

This week’s #NairaLife is about a 23-year-old who’s doing just that. He works three jobs, but still feels broke — but only because he’s made himself broke on purpose. It’s his way of learning control: restricting access to his own money, creating spending friction, and forcing himself to plan until it becomes second nature.

It sounds extreme until you think about it, but maybe “being broke” is a basic but effective strategy.

Let’s look at this and the other stories in this dispatch.

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In this letter:

#NairaLife: The 23-Year-Old Who’s Making Himself Broke to Learn Financial Discipline

The 23-year-old in this #NairaLife works three jobs and has just as many income sources — but he’s almost always broke. His hack for financial discipline? He limits his own access to money.

What does that look like?

Read his #NairaLife

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Love Currency: “We Want to Get Married, but His Unstable Income Is a Problem”

Lydia* (25) and Lekan* (35) have been dating for a year.x

For #LoveCurrency, Lydia talks about how money challenges affect their relationship dynamic and why Lekan’s unstable income might derail any chance of building a future together. Read the full story here

Topher Bassey Didn’t Chase the Nollywood Dream After Big Brother Naija. He’s Building a Business Empire Instead

When Big Brother Naija S9 ended, Topher Bassey could’ve chased the spotlight.

Instead, he leveraged his design skills and PR background to build a fashion and branding business, redefining what post-show success can look like. Here’s how he did it.

Ask Aunty M with Reni

I had the plan to set up a business when I go for NYSC. It’s one of the reasons I decided to give myself a one year gap after graduating to prepare and plan properly. But now, I’m 4 months into my service year and I don’t have any savings. My monthly allowance is barely enough to cover any new business expenses and I feel stuck. I have not been in a relationship for over a year because I don’t feel ready; I don’t go out because I cannot afford the amount of money to spend outside, and I don’t want to be the broke friend so I spend all my free time bed rotting and regretting the things I could have done differently. - B, 25

Hi B. First I want to acknowledge and thank you for your honesty. It’s very courageous to share how youi’re feeling and more people feel this way than you think. In the same vein, the regret you’re feeling can actually be challenged into getting closer to your goals.

When it comes to starting a businesss, the reality is that you need capital to start it up. That capital can be yours, or it can be someone else’s. Though you had great intentions, it may have been a bit ambitious based on your current allowance, and that’s okay. This doesn’t mean your dream has to die; the timing just has to be adjusted.

Instead of pushing to start your business now, there are a few steps to follow. First, research and refine your business idea while you’re doing NYSC. You need to understand your market, your potential customers, and the exact start up cost. This will give you a goal to start saving towards and help you determine the realistic timeline it will take to start.

Next, take your NYSC year to build skills. Since you have your idea fleshed out, take time to refine the skills needed to make your business a success. Go online and find some free courses so that you can be well equipped to run the business.

Lastly, find a mentor who is doing what you want to do. People are very receptive to helping people who offer value and want to improve themselves. Learning from someone who is more skilled than you will put you miles ahead. When the year is over and you can earn more, you’ll be steps ahead rather than starting from zero.

To conclude, you’ve mentioned you’re isolating yourself because of money — and that makes the feelings of regret heavier. But relationships and joy don’t always have to be expensive. You don’t need to be the “big spending friend” to enjoy life. Visit your friends at their house, go to free events and other things that don’t cost much. You’ve got this, I believe in you.

Xoxo, Reni

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