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Naira Life Vol 161

Naira Life Vol 161

Also: The #NairaLife of a video editor (re)learning money basics

Toheeb Lanlehin
December 01, 2025

Volume 161

Good Morning,🌞

This week’s #NairaLife will feel familiar to many people: a video editor basically rebuilding her finances from the ground up. She’s earning steadily for the first time, cutting back, and realising the truth about money management: it starts with getting the basics right.

And speaking of basics, the money decisions that seem “natural” on paper are often the ones that cause the most chaos — like joint accounts. They demand a level of transparency many couples struggle to handle. A piece in this dispatch explores how a joint account, intended to build trust, ultimately stripped this woman of her independence, exposed her husband’s spending habits, and nearly cost them their marriage.

And finally, we follow a 25-year-old in the UK whose relocation dream is now a two-year wrestling match with job sponsorship rules. It’s the part of the truth about “moving abroad” people don’t always talk about — the uncertainty, the stalled plans, the pressure to make it work before time runs out.

Let's dig in.

In this letter:

#NairaLife: This Video Editor Considers Herself a Recovering Spendthrift

The 27-year-old in this #NairaLife spent years juggling multiple jobs before landing on a career path that works. With the uncertainty out of the way, she can now focus on something that has been a major concern: her financial habits.

Her next steps? Upskilling and cutting down her expenses.

Read her #NairaLife

My Husband and I Tried Joint Accounts. Here’s Why We’ll Never Do It Again

Folake* (36) has been married for 7 years now, but a joint account almost ended her marriage in the first year.

She recounts how losing her financial independence and her husband’s spending habits pushed their relationship to the brink, and the unexpected solution that saved their marriage. Read the full story here

Two Years After Moving to the UK, I’m Still Chasing a Job That Can Sponsor My Stay

Edidiong (25) moved to the UK chasing a better life. Two years later, he’s still hustling for a job that can sponsor his work visa.

From his perspective, this is what life really looks like for a Nigerian graduate trying to stay abroad.

Read here

Ask Aunty M with Reni

I didn't grow up rich. But I’ve always been a smart kid, so I did well in primary and secondary school. I had a slight lapse in uni, yet l turned out fine. I’ve always been a lifelong learner and focused on my career. As a result, I have risen up the ranks rapidly in less than five years, getting promotions, raises, and a new role recently that comes with some perks. I consider myself a prudent person. For context, I have a spreadsheet where I plan my annual expenses and potential income with everything budgeted to a T. Once I notice my current income will only handle my expenses, I will try to get a new job or focus on freelance consulting gigs. To unwind, I try to take trips, but this happens once a quarter or every six months, depending on my work schedule, with returns from high-yield savings or money market funds handling this. The issue is my girlfriend wants to join me on these trips, which I don't mind. The perplexing part is that she expects me to pay for my trip and hers simultaneously. It doesn't hurt me financially to pay a part for her. I just think it's unfair that I'll pay the entire fee twice. I have mentioned how it's not feasible for me to keep doing this, but she gets moody. So I'm left with no choice but to oblige most times. Then again, the unintended consequence of me doing this is the resentment it might breed in the long term. I'm transparent about money and earnings with her. So how can I navigate this? - M, 27

Hey. I totally understand where you’re coming from, and this is a lot more common than you think! The fact that you’re already talking to your girlfriend about money is great, but it sounds like you need to go a little deeper so expectations are clear and tension doesn’t build up.

But before you have that conversation with her, you need to have one with yourself. Do you actually want to be the type of partner who covers her trips, or do you want her to contribute her share? Does providing feel good to you, or do you value a more equitable 50/50 split? You mentioned that it doesn’t hurt you financially, but it does hurt you emotionally…and that’s important. It means your values aren’t fully aligned with how this is playing out, which will only breed resentment over time. So get clear first: is it that you don’t mind paying, but don’t want it to be an expectation? Or that you’d be okay covering sometimes, but you’d like to see more gratitude?

Once you know where you stand, you can sit down with her for a real conversation. Frame it as wanting to build a partnership where both of you feel comfortable and respected, rather than as a complaint. You might say something like, “I love traveling with you, but I also want us to find a way to make trips feel fair for both of us. Here’s what feels sustainable for me. What feels fair to you?” That way, you’re setting boundaries without making it adversarial, and giving her a chance to share her perspective too.

The goal isn’t just about figuring out who pays, it’s about building a shared understanding of what partnership looks like for you both.

I hope this helps. Truly rooting for you.

Xoxo, Reni

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