Every week,91心頭利嫋 seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, itll be revealing.
What’s the first thing you ever did for money?
I was writing my guy’s notes in secondary school. I didn’t even have complete notes for myself.
Haha. What were your going rates?
About 250 for the day’s notes, which was about six or so hours of classes.
Why did you do it?
I wanted more money to spend during break time. I was getting 50 from my father to spend at school, and I wanted La Casera, which was 100.
What could 50 get you?
Fruits mostly, sometimes biscuits and water. Anyway, I didnt do any hustle again until after uni.
What came after Uni?
I got an internship position at a branding firm in Lagos in 2018. Id just turned 20 and submitted my final year project in school, so I came back home to Lagos to hustle before NYSC. It was nothing fancy or stressful, just long hours and 30k at the end of the month.
Tell me about your most stressful day.
We were working on a project for a telco, and I had to work till like 7.30 p.m. Coordinating with painters, carpenters and all kinds of skilled workers. I still had to make the three-hour commute back home I spent six hours commuting daily. Some days, it was longer.
Woah. Where?
I live with my parents on the outskirts of Lagos my mum built a house there.
After a while, I quit the branding firm. I was working in the projects management department, but I wanted to write.
I spent the next two months waiting for NYSC.
Did anything happen in those two months?
Nothing o, just my mum trying to convince me to join the police. It was a nonstarter for me!
Wait, why the police? Was she in the police force before?
Her father was a policeman. She felt that with my BSc and young age, Id be able to get favourable placement. I just ignored her and was passive-aggressive when it came up.
So, NYSC finally came.
I got a Lagos posting. Because I wanted to write, I wrote to a number of media houses to employ me. No bite. I eventually saw a job posting that said media house. I left camp for the interview and got the job. The man said hell pay me 20k monthly. And so began the hardest year of my life.
Im listening.
It was generally just harder than normal. I was still commuting from Mowe, but I was working every day. Even on Saturdays and Sundays it was a news aggregation site, and I was on the celebrity gossip beat.
I was miserable.
Man, Im so sorry.
The 20k wasnt cutting it at all, but my parents were angels. My dad almost always went out with me in the morning. So the morning costs were sorted. But then, I spent 600 in the evenings.
What were your daily deliverables?
I was writing 14 articles every day. About 200-300 words each. At a point, I was so good that Id deliver 14 articles before 4 p.m., then my boss would be on my neck to deliver more.
Ah, I know this grind.
Hahaha. Im sure you do. My formula was that Id try to get into the office before 9 a.m., so that by nine, Id be in the headspace fort writing. I was in charge of compiling our newsletter that went out by 12 p.m.. My goal was to get eight stories by then. Then Id stagger the pace and write about six or seven for the next six hours.
Interesting. How long were you at that job?
One year I spent my whole NYSC there. I wanted to leave, but I was stuck because of housing. I knew an even farther office was impractical. By the end of 2019, I finished NYSC.
So, that means throughout your service year, you earned from two streams eh?
Yes. Everything led up to 39,800 monthly. I tried to save 20k monthly, and my parents are the reason it was possible. By the end of NYSC, Id saved 180k.
Impressive. What came after NYSC?
Another job, and I was determined for it not to be gossip. I applied to another company. I thought Id get at least 80k, but to Jesus be my glory, I was offered 45k.
Is it just me or is this hilarious?
Its funny now o, but back then I wan mad. I took it sha, but I knew I wasnt going to last. It meant that I had to start squatting with family members, but Im never truly comfortable around extended family, so it just hastened my decision to quit. I was there for six months I quit when the pandemic hit.
Ah.
When it hit, I knew I wanted to be with my family for a bit. I didnt expect it to be this long.
For how long were you not earning?
I was always earning haha. I was already freelancing thats what gave me the liver to quit sef. My first gig was like 150% of the 45k salary. I also discovered that music PR people always needed someone to write release literature for them.
Interesting. How much were you netting as a freelancer?
I was making 140k on two stories monthly and about 20-30k from writing copy for PR. Sometimes more. I considered a full-time gig but Im a bit of a wallflower, so I didnt have the connections or see any openings in the places I wanted to work at.
Breakdown the 140k per two stories. For the culture.
Haha! I was contributing to publications: I always target doing two or more stories monthly. Publications typically pay around $200 for stories. Or more. So the first month I left my work, I did three stories. One was $200, another was $250. Theres only been one month since April 2020 where I havent done at least two stories.
Walk me through how you secured your first forex gig.
2019 felt monumental to me for Nigerian journalists and content creators internationally. I saw Nigerian topics being covered contextually by Nigerians in international publications. That inspired me. I said to myself, a foreign byline wont be bad. One day at the office, I got three British editors emails and pitched them an interview. I had just done it to see how it went. By the next Monday, I got emails expressing interest from two editors. Thats when I knew I had to pay some attention to this.
Love to see it. Whats your average income per month now?
Let me first add that I signed a retainer with a PR firm that pays me 80k per month. I took it because I was bored when I wasnt working on stories. A conservative month will see me earn 190k/month. In my best month, I made about 300k, without factoring in this 80k it was mostly a backlog of invoices coming through. My best invoice ever was for three stories billed together, and it had $750 on it.
How does the money go from your Abroad editor to your wallet?
Its fairly easy. I submit an invoice with a whole bunch of details that I can pull up if you need specificity. Its usually a 30-day wait, so in a way, its like monthly income. I once had to chase an invoice for like 60 days sha. But basically, it just comes into my bank account like a transfer or any fund will.
How has the general experience shaped your perspective on money?
I used to be so guarded about money because I worked hard and it was literally dripping like a bad tap. But this year, Ive worked smarter, and its been a good year. Ultimately, I feel like money comes and goes jare.
What do you think about all of this in the context of other journalists like you?
I know a couple of people, but I dont really talk about finance with them, though they hint that its not really encouraging. One guy I know worked as a writer with one of those first digital publishers. He was earning less than 85k and working seven days a week. Hes quit now though.
Now, lets talk about your monthly expenses.
I have no serious black tax from the nuclear family, except that lockdown period sha. Also, I ensure that I have above 20k in my account at all times, just in case. I keep whatever is left inside Piggyvest.
Whats in your Piggyvest these days?
Close to a million. Its all for my apartment set up sha. A quaint mini-flat somewhere on the mainland. Just one couch, a big ass TV and gaming system.
How much do you imagine your ideal set up will cost?
Uhm, realistically, 2 million, but Ill never blow that on my apartment because japa bells are ringing at the back of my mind too.
Tell me about the japa part.
I was supposed to exit this year I gained admission and my mum was going to take a loan to pay for the first semester. It was a very wuru-wuru plan sha, but I was gingered to go because nothing was happening for me here.
Then COVID happened.
Masters eh? Are you still as gingered now that youve hacked income here?
Im still gingered o, #EndSARS even solidified my resolve to go.
I feel you. Back to income, how much do you feel like you should be earning at this point?
Make I no lie, 400k monthly. Im presently netting between 140k and 220k monthly, which is decent. But between all my hustles, theres still loads of free days that arent filled and could be put to productive use. If I hack how to make them productive, Ill be on to something.
How many days a week will you say youre productive?
Less than 50 hours. See, Im young (and capable of putting in more hours), but this number is me being generous with the hours. Im almost always in the constant process of ideation, and I consider that work. Core work hours are probably less than 25 hours a week.
Do you ever wonder why you have more productive hours working less, but still earning more?
Capitalism, chief. I know that being plugged into the global economy of content while residing in Nigeria is the simple reason for the change. I keep opening myself up to speak with as many people as I can. Its a little gesture in the grand scheme of things, but I believe in multiplicity.
If I show A my pitch that got accepted somewhere or help B finetune an essay, they know whats up and can help person c and d and so on.
Neat. And thoughtful.
Thank you.
When was the last time you felt really broke?
2019 December. Broke meant that by Christmas, I hadnt been paid and didnt have any money at all.
Ouch. Must have sucked.
I cant even put it in words.
Do you have an emergency plan for weird stuff like health emergencies?
At all o. Its vibes and in shaa Allah. I keep praying because I know myself. I dont ever want to do GoFundMe.
Why?
Its not pride;I just have never been one to put my problems on another persons neck. So if it came down to GoFundMe or literal death, I truly dont know.
Do you have any financial regrets?
Not starting to freelance as a university undergraduate. I would have had more reach, influence and financial safety by now.
Whats a purchase you made recently that improved the quality of your life?
A phone. It cost 95k and elevated me from worrying about my phone getting hot or not charging fast enough.
How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?
5.5. If I could afford the tuition for a sports management course in a European university, it instantly goes to 8.5. The remaining 1.5 is the residual discontent that gingers my hustle.
Sports management? Interesting.
Id love to be a football coach someday.
Tell me more.
Growing up, I was football-mad. Of course, playing didnt work in Nigeria because you must be a doctor or go to school. So I started throwing myself into tactics, football principles and all that. But to progress how I want to, I need to go to Europe to study. Thats the home of the best football.
How much do you think itd cost?
Roughly 10 million.
Is there anything you think I should have asked you but didnt?
No, we pretty much touched everything. Thank you! Talking about these things is therapeutic lowkey.
