The Day I Realised Being Broke Is Actually Expensive
Nobody told me that being broke would require this much financial management. I genuinely thought rich people were the ones who needed accountants, but apparently, my ₦2,000 needs a whole finance department.
Last week, I had ₦5,000 in my account, and I was feeling like a responsible adult. I had already calculated how much I would spend on food, transport and data. I even had ₦500 left as emergency savings.
Then life happened.
I bought food, and the price was different from what I expected. I needed to recharge my phone because MTN had finished my data at the worst possible time. Then someone called me with that famous Nigerian line: “Please, can you help me with something?”
I checked my account and almost asked the person to help me instead.
The funniest part is that when you’re broke, everybody suddenly remembers you exist. Your landlord wants money, your friends want to hang out, your family needs something, and even your stomach starts behaving like it has a monthly subscription.
Meanwhile, when you finally receive money, you start planning your life like a billionaire. You want to invest, start a business, buy a laptop and change your entire generation.
Three days later, you’re checking your account balance to confirm whether the bank has mistakenly deducted your future.
At this point, I don’t think I’m bad at managing money. I think money just doesn’t like staying with me.
Being broke is not just a financial situation. It’s a full-time job with no salary, no weekends and unlimited responsibilities.