Big-Man, with my hands in the air and bowing for you in a worship-like manner at the moment.

I respect what you and your wife have done to better your situation.

I even respect you more for being man enough to recognise that your wife is the one with more business skills and you allow her to flourish without letting your ego get in the way.

@ OP

I think you got some valuable advice here.

Apart from that, I personally will advise you (if it is not already too late) to plan your family. I will never advise anyone to have just one kid, if you think this situation is not likely to change in the near future, do not have more than 2 kids so you can really support the family.

Secondly, if you have transferable skills or experience that is in demand, try outside Lagos. If you are earning 50K in Abeokuta or Lokoja, you will live a far better life.

The bottom line is "planning is everything".U dont need to complain but sit down(with ur wife) and do some serious thinking.I once was earning 40k after service and thought that if i could earn 200k i ll be fine.I later made my boss increase my salary to over 200k by leaving for another company(he called me back and offered me a good package).The first two years after my salary increase things didnt change as i could hardly save,this was because i wasnt tracking my spending.The best thing u can do is to draw up a budget every month and make sure u follow it to an extent.That s the first step in taking charge of ur finances.Then others(such as investing) can follow.

All of you made very useful suggestions. What I've experienced is that no matter how much money one makes, nothing canbe achieved
without discipline and staying focused! Even the N80k the poster has can be put to good use, but his wife MUST do something to add to
his income, otherwise cost of living and caring for young children will not allow any savings.

Waooo, Contributions from people on this topic have really inspired me more in life. Financial transparency to one's spouse is very key in achieving this goal. Before i got married i was afraid i couldn't take care of a family cos of my poor salary. Then, one day God opened my eyes to see many security guards in my office with salaries of not more than 20k, yet have  families of 3 or even more.

Is never too late to realize one's mistakes and make amends. 80k is huge sum in today's Nigeria provided you set your priorities  right.

Osiehumen, I totally agree with you. It's never too late.
God will be with the guy I pray that soon he will begin to soar.
It takes someone with a determination to succeed to open up the way the poster did.

@ Poster,

Get a sewing machine for your wife, some basic training, some yards of china white material, some yards of white lace cotton trimmings and a roll of elastic band. Let her make under skirts (chemise or shimi) for ladies and package and sell them as ready made. The market is inexhaustible and she will turn regular profits in no time. In addition, she wont even have to leave the house. Believe me she wont be able to cope with the demand.

good luck, and may God bless you and crown your efforts with success, amen.

Soldee, this is truly a very good suggestion, I tell you if she is serious in no time, she will be laughing to the bank.

slaughter:

mr poster, u are not serious, in 2008 my salary was just N19,000 (nineteen thousand naira only per month) i stayed in 2 bedroom with N90,000 per anum a wife who was not working & 2 children when suffer gum my head i resingned with one month salary to start life with, today 2010, with GOD'S help only i have a registered bussines , 8 computers all flat screen 3 photocopiers 2 offices one for my wife one for me and money is now rolling in but we are still crawling i know GOD we make us fly soon mr poster use your brain and read motivational books with GOD all things are possible , 80k is huge amount if i had that by 2008 by now i wil be riding lexus jeep,

I beg what kind of business did you engaged that gave you a breakthrough. I love to know.

I bet you, this is welcoming and inspiring. Hummmm!!!! My brother u dey complain, Wey somebody dey wey dey earn exactly half of wetin u dey earn, with 1 kid and expecting another soonest, But thanks my WIFE also is highly enterprising.

Anyway, u better start to dey thank God now. I have to look inward rather than outward and also, Pary more harder and do serious thinking also,

Big-man, you are a bomb,

nice thread. 80k is not that small but transportation from festac to vi will definately affect your pocket man, try to set up a little business for ur wife.

80k is not small and its not much as well. It all has to do wiv how well you can manage the funds and you shouldnt be contend with that amount. If u believe in urself that you can earn more than that, u will, u just have to strive towards ur goal. And note that if u cannot manage that amount properly, when u start earning bigger , u might face the same problem.

how may kids do you have?

if they are few then minimize you spendings cause some people get 60k a month and don't complain

All you need do is to get an estimate of you monthly Expenditure and get the food stuffs for the month on Pay day. Then you settle every member of the family for the month ahead. If it does not work. Buy a bag of Garri and 5k Naira worth of Kuli Kuli. I bet you it will remain for the next month. Shikina.

Hon. Prof.:

All you need do is to get an estimate of you monthly Expenditure and get the food stuffs for the month on Pay day. Then you settle every member of the family for the month ahead. If it does not work. Buy a bag of Garri and 5k Naira worth of Kuli Kuli. I bet you it will remain for the next month. Shikina.

i bet you'r not serious

How do u invest 1million naira to get a huge turnaround in 6months. Any suggestions?

Any ideas on how to fund the account after opening wiv a foreign ip, i also heard about virtual credit card, is it possible to recharge a virtual credit cRD AFTER exhausting the funds on the card

@ marami , i am not giving u tales by moolight this is real, i am not rich now but am o.k i dont know ur religion but which ever 1st pray 4 God to open ur eyes of understanding 2nd read motivational books they help a great deal . Back to ur question i just discovered the need of some set of peopple i provided it and i made the money , right now i have discovered another need of another set of peopple and i need just N350,000(three hundred and fifty) and i will be making at least N120,000(one nundred and twenty thousand) per month and this will increase with time , i am working on this now when i.e am gathering the cash when am through i will let u know, keep watch , u can contact through my e-mail i.e imputeconcept@aol.com see u @ d top,

I can offer you a job that will pay you well if you can write in good English. Call me at 07039824993. My name is Abayomi Aje and if you are scared, that I am a scammer then please go get the March 15 edition of success digest to read my interview there or google abayomi aje.

if you fail to plan you as well are planning to fail. with 80k you can plan your family well with the help of your wife, i.e if she is not the notice me type, that wants to use all your salary to beautify herself.

I once had a colleague who couldnt cope and was always heavily indebted because his wife wasnt working and his pay was low and irregular. When part of his accrued outstanding salary was paid he was advised to invest in his wife to ensure that his family will at least be able to feed during difficult times. His wife trained as a fashion designer and could work at home to save shop costs but he bought grinding machines in addition to ensure that they have daily income from which they could do "ajo" (thrift savings abi?). Anyway from the savings she got a big shop. Today they have a flat in Lagos fully paid for and rented out while they built a bungalow which they live in. The man is currently jobless but the family is coping.

As pointed out by Big Man, the empowerment of a woman usually makes a difference in the family economy. Find out what your wife has passion for and can start small then encourage her and assist her financially. It will lighten your burden and add value to your life.