Jarus:


Later

Pls change to Jarus

Done.

Sorry. Got carried away.

Tinyemeka:


And you're field is in compliance?

Wrong!

Jarus:


Wrong!

I give up!

Was wondering if you were one recently featured guest I was admiring from afar.

Tranquility2345:


If na nice post, I dare you to click on that link at the end of the epistle

Ha, I nor even reason am sha

O boi, click wetin??

I don jagpa like this....

Tranquility2345:


Mods should ban all these hopelessspace bookers

Seun Dominique Mynd44 Lalasticlala

see dy pain you!!!

The kind of thread i love seeing on front page. To retire at 40 is the goal o, just that I'm yet to hit even 30% of what the man earn

moshoodn:
Retirement at 40 sounds great but it could end up being boring..

#My|Thoughts

Retirement at 40 doesn't mean he will stay at home mopping at the TV.

Retiring early is a vision to stop working like an ant, and use the remaining days of your life to actually do the things you enjoy.

Like traveling around the world, writing a book, sky diving, just doing what you want, without having to work 9-5.

Tinyemeka:



I give up!

Was wondering if you were one recently featured guest I was admiring from afar.

Nah

welzyj2:


You know the cost of a vintage car??

Your own mata get different angles...no need to explain anything to you

lol did you know that Peugeot 504 is a vintage car

I feel you, I'm a huge fan of being frugal in spending, but not at the expense of maximum comfort. We are only promised today, tomorrow is not guaranteed. I can't work my ass off, only for my kid to enjoy all the benefits and comfort that comes from it. A nigger can drop dead any time, so I'm gonna enjoy my life while investing for the future and retirement.

welzyj2:
Na only him choice of ride and apartment dey feel cooked up.

At the level he is now, he shouldn't be staying in a mini flat and drive a low end car. Even if he is frugal, a muscle is still understandable and a 3 bedroom (due to the fact he has a partner and kids)

Nice story till it got to his expenses sha

100k for A levels program in 2003 , I don't know if I should scream lie or whisper

welzyj2:


Keep guessing when you could have avoided my comment.

I'm not talking about splashing. My comment is about giving yourself comfort- only someone who is still gathering up shouldn't think of comfort. But judging the OP's level, a 3 bedroom isn't a big deal neither is a muscle. Except if the OP is greedy to himself and children

God won't let me see problem of having $130k investment without a personal car at least.

Your comment on the office car clearly shows your kind of personality really. (You stated the wrong reason not to have a car dear)

What looks like comfort to you might be nothing to some other person, even though they have more than enough to acquire it. What you don't know about money is that money and material things only trips those who are yet to have it. This might not be applicable to those with poverty mentality though.

ExtraVioment:
Why would someone healthy want to retire at 40? How old are those richest people we hear about? But they are still hustling, maybe their relaxation period is more than before.


At 40, or should I say from 40, I want to be more efficient in everything I do. From health, to finances, to family, to sex, etc


Life begins at 40. When race wan start, na when you wan end. Maybe I no understand wetin you dey yarn because I no read am finish.

Not everybody is interested in entering forbes list, some people are just fine with being okay and moderate living.

HenryDion:


Retirement at 40 doesn't mean he will stay at home mopping at the TV.

Retiring early is a vision to stop working like an ant, and use the remaining days of your life to actually do the things you enjoy.

Like traveling around the world, writing a book, sky diving, just doing what you want, without having to work 9-5.

Correct

bestmutiu2019:
lol did you know that Peugeot 504 is a vintage car

Bro vintage cars are cars made before 1930's

Classic cars are those after that period to probably 80's

ProfGday:
Summary of the story...

1. He he knew how to hunt for job.

2. He left a job for a better job

3. His course of study in University gave an edge in securing his desired jobs.

4. He cast his nets(job hunting) over a large area of catchments.

5. He put his brain into use.

6. He spent 3 good years as trainee

7. He has a baby mama with two kids.

8. His planning to retire by the time he clock 40.

9. His into crypto and many side bustles.

10. He's planning to have $1M as liquid asset by the time he retired...


The oga patapata of them all.... He stored his money away in dollars not in poverty-stricken naira..

I lay my hands on my head and .....
Olamide song comes to mind.... Poverty die die ...Poverty die die

You must have gotten distinction in your English waec

Absolute nonsense! Even Seun wey get nairaland will not waste his time to read this long epistle

Interesting!

RodgersAkpafu:

You must have gotten distinction in your English waec

Thanks boss... I had C6 in my English language.

Quick question

How do one invest or save their money in dollars

SaintUlot:


Not everybody is interested in entering forbes list, some people are just fine with being okay and moderate living.

You are right. I respect their choice.

Correct story.
Money is a tool, the smart ones make it work for them.
You can make your money work for you by making the right investments.

Esseite

Learn from this guy.

Hmmn am impressed, really wished but all hope isn't lost for me, I'll survive. Well if I have the kinda money the OP has, his net worth now should be up to #320M well I will have maximum comfort enjoy best things, but I will really help the needy and the oppressed, put smile on faces of the destitute kid, cause that's the essence of life and the fact that God really blessed you, cos if you have all this and can't help as u pass along this life las las na die go still end am, then your living in this life hasn't impacted others like one just lived a vain life.

Excellent!

BigCabal:
The 34-year-old engineer in this #NairaLife made a career switch into oil and gas in 2014. Since that time, his basic salary has grown to ₦1.7m/month. Now, he wants to retire in six years with $1m in liquid assets. How does he hope to get there?





What’s your oldest memory of money?

My parents worked in the civil service and most of the people I grew up with were in a similar economic class, so I didn’t think there were rich people or poor people. I went to a government-owned school for my first three years of secondary school before switching to a private school for my senior secondary education in 2001. There, I learnt of my social standing. The first thing I noticed was that my school fees jumped from ₦200 to ₦14k per term.

My allowance was ₦50, which was little compared to what others had. What this meant for me was that I had to save for days to afford things some of my classmates could buy in an afternoon.

There was also some anxiety that came with this discovery. I avoided school parties as much as I could because I didn’t think I had the right clothes or shoes to wear. My three years at the school made it clear I had to make money in the future to bridge the gap.

Did you do anything for money during this time?

No, not really. I may have done one or two things for my family that fetched me money, but that wasn’t my objective and they were also far and in-between.

I left secondary school in 2003 and enrolled for my A-Levels programme, and the tuition was ₦100k. This experience was also a reality check. While there were people who were taking the classes and writing the exam to apply to schools abroad, there was me who knew I was going to a university in Nigeria. I didn’t even finish the programme.

Oh, why not?

I applied for and got into a diploma programme at a university in the southwest before the year ended, so I decided to go for it. It cost ₦210k, and my parents took a loan from their cooperative society to pay for it. A year later, I was offered provisional admission to study electrical engineering at the same university.

How did uni go?

I lived mostly on the allowance I got from my parents. It was ₦5k and came once a month. I also had family friends in the city I was studying in and got some money from them at intervals too. However, I wasn’t saving or keeping money aside because it was barely enough. But I survived university and won’t say I had a tough time with money. I graduated in 2009.

I was mobilised for NYSC in June 2010 and posted to a state in the south-south. I worked in a secondary school owned by the state government. I lived on less than ₦13k/month for the entire year — the federal government paid ₦9,775 and the state government paid ₦3k. Luckily, food was also ridiculously cheap in the village I was posted to. I could make a pot of soup with about ₦320. I wasn’t exactly saving because I wasn’t earning enough, but by the end of my service year, I had about ₦50k in my savings account.

How?

The 2011 election was the game-changer. I worked as an ad-hoc staff for INEC during the voter registration exercise and got about ₦30k from it. I also got about the same amount of money from working during the general election.

This wasn’t the last sum of money I made off NYSC.

I’m listening.

After my service year, the federal government increased the allowance from ₦9775 to ₦19,800. My batch was eligible to receive payment arrears. I think they paid about six months arrears, which was good money to me, especially considering that I was at home and without a job.

Man, how long were you unemployed?

About three months. I got my first job in September 2011, as an engineer in an authorised repair centre for Nokia phones. My salary was ₦45k, which I thought was decent. I spent only four months there though.

Why did you leave?

One of my mum’s friends had a son who worked with a contractor that handled marketing for Nokia phones in Nigeria, and I was encouraged to apply for a job there. I did, and I got the job. Nokia was a flagship phone at the time, so there were lots of roles. I was hired as an in-store experience marketer. I was posted to a phone store to serve as a Nokia representative and market the phones to potential buyers. The job paid ₦90k.

That was twice what you earned as a phone engineer.

Yes, it was. At the end of my first month there, they transferred me to a North-central state, which was a bit of an inconvenience. There were no accommodation arrangements, and I had to figure that out myself. Guess what happened on the first night I got to my new station?

What?

I got a text from a bank I had applied to months earlier, inviting me to come for medicals. Man, I jumped on the first bus the following morning and left the town. I sent in my resignation on the same day.

I had to go to the bank’s training school first. This started in February 2012 and lasted for four months. They paid trainees ₦50k. However, my time at the training school was some of the best of my life. Unfortunately, my time as a confirmed staff of the bank wasn’t half as pleasant.

Why not?

Let me start with the good: I got a raise when I was absorbed into the bank’s workforce and my salary jumped to ₦208k. Subsequently, I was posted to the marketing department and had to find new customers for the bank. My department had an annual target of ₦4bn, and this was a drag on my life. In between finding new customers and retaining existing customers, my quality of life took a dip. At the height of it, my job satisfaction was low but the money was decent. Everything only made sense when my salary came in at the end of the month.

Thankfully, two months after I started work as a full-staff, a consulting company I had applied to months earlier reached out, inviting me to the final round of interviews. I got an offer letter from them in August 2012.

How much?

₦128k. Another pay cut, but I was only too happy to accept it. I was like, “If I’m not going to chase customers, pay me whatever you want.”

Haha. Fair enough.

After my induction, I was posted to management consulting. After my first year, my salary was increased to ₦150k. This was also around the time I delved into my first side hustle.

Tell me about that.

I started saving ₦50k from my salary every month because I wanted to buy a car. I saved ₦400k in eight months. One of my friends had an uncle who did Cotonou runs and shipped cars into Nigeria. We went to Cotonou together, but my ₦400k couldn’t buy me any of the cars I wanted. The best deal I got that was within my budget was a 1993 Toyota Camry, and they were going to sell it for ₦600k.

I eventually bought a 2001 Mazda, and it cost ₦700k. Two of my friends loaned me ₦150k each to buy the car. But the trip opened my eyes to the possibilities of shipping cars in and selling them in the country. The opportunity to act on this came a few months later when a friend wanted to buy a car and I told him I’d handle it. I went to Cotonou myself and brought the car in. On that trip alone, I made ₦75k in profit. For context, I was earning ₦150k per month.

You made half your monthly salary in a day.

Exactly. Omo, I started telling everybody I knew that I was selling cars. When this side business caught on, I was doing an average of two trips per month and making between ₦50k and ₦75k on each trip.

Interesting. How was it going with your day job?

I was now in my second year at the consulting company. One day, a former colleague who had left for an oil company called me and informed me that his company was recruiting. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it, but I applied and went through the entire process. I got an offer to start work in May 2014.

Whoop!

My basic salary was ₦650k, minus allowances. It would take me about six years to hit that number at the consulting company I was with. It was an easy decision.

I was hired as an instrumentation engineer. Basically, we automate the process used in bringing out oil and gas from the sub-surface.

The first payment I received from the company was an accommodation allowance. ₦22k per day for 90 days. And guess what? They paid everything at once. ₦1.98m landed in my account, and I hadn’t even done any work. It was the biggest lump sum payment I had ever received up until that point.

Subsequently, I was put on a trainee programme, moving around different on-shore facilities to work and learn about the job. Mostly, I was working for two weeks and taking the following two weeks off. My basic salary was ₦650k, but there was also some form of allowance payment every month. On average. I was earning up to ₦1m every month as a trainee.

Baller.

I also saw an opportunity for my side business there. I told everyone I could that I sold cars, and the orders came in. They had a higher purchasing power than the guys at my former workplace, so they went for higher-end cars — mostly vehicles around the region of ₦4m – ₦5m. My profit on these deals were about ₦1m.

Interesting.

I graduated from my trainee programme in 2017 and was transferred to my first facility. I got a raise and started earning ₦1.2m. The constant allowance I remember from that time was my accommodation allowance. The facility I was working out of didn’t have great accommodation options, so the company paid me ₦250k every two weeks to make up for that.

And how has your salary evolved since that time?

My salary has increased by at least 5% every year. At the moment, I earn ₦1.7m/month. But there are also a couple of allowances and bonus payments that come in during the course of the year. Everything I earn, including bonuses, stacks up to ₦25m – ₦30m per annum.


On the side, I invest heavily in cryptocurrency.

How did you get into crypto?

I grew out of the car business, so I started looking for something else I could do. I became interested in crypto in the early parts of 2020. I finally took the plunge in July when I bought one bitcoin for ₦4.5m. By the time I sold it, it was ₦4.9m. I made a profit of ₦400k on one trade.

Information is important when dealing with cryptocurrency, so I subscribed to every crypto subreddit I could find. And started doubling on my investments as much as I could. The more I got into crypto, the more I saw the possibilities. It’s been a game-changer, and it’s part of my retirement plan.

What’s your retirement plan?

I want to retire at 40 with $1m in liquid assets. I’ve decided that crypto could get me there, so it’s pretty much my side hustle now. At the height of the bull run earlier this year, I had about $210k in my portfolio. But the dip happened and I held on. The last time I checked, I had $90k, and I’m building it back up.

Man, how do you decide what coins to bet on?

Research. I do a lot of technical and fundamental analysis. With the fundamental analysis, I look at the coin, what problem it solves, and who the backers are. I’m not good at technical analysis, so I follow a lot of people who are. I look at their research and decide whether to invest in a coin or not.

I know cryptocurrency is volatile, so I’m not putting all my hopes on it.

What are your other investments?

I started investing in Eurobonds in 2018. I started with about $20k, and the ROI is 12% per annum. When Covid hit last year, I wanted to put more money in it, so I took a loan of ₦14m from work and topped the account up at ₦440/$1. The total value of my Eurobond investment now is about $60k.

There’s also my company stock. Employees get a 15% employee discount, and I’ve been putting some of the money I get into that too. My stock in the company is currently valued at $30k.

I have some landed properties in two states in the country, but I don’t put a lot of thought into this. I believe landed properties are not the best investment choice in Nigeria — inflation eats at every profit you can ever hope to make. But I have a 3-bedroom project I’ve been working on since 2014 and is valued at ₦40m and another piece of land that’s worth ₦8m.

All of this should bring my total investments across my portfolios to at least $180k.

That’s impressive. Let’s talk about your monthly running costs. What do they look like?

I’m not married, but I have a live-in partner and we have two kids together, hence the housekeeping expenses. I took a loan from work last year to invest in Eurobond, and it’s spread over four years. I’m not mad about it — I’m repaying the loan in naira and earning my ROI in dollars.

I also don’t save or invest in naira anymore. When I get paid at the end of the month, I take out my monthly running costs, convert the rest into dollars and put it into my range of investment.

I really want to know how your perspective about money has changed over the years.

It has largely remained the same — money is a tool to get things. I acknowledge that and also understand that I need to stay hungry to make more.

Also, I don’t feel validation from owning things or splashing money on things I don’t need. I currently drive a 2004 European model car I bought for ₦1.5m. My annual rent is ₦500k. The plan is to keep expenses as low as possible and stack my bag up the best way I can. I’ve learned that money is like working out to grow muscles — you don’t get what you want in a day, so intentionality is key.

Looking at where you are in your career, how much do you feel like you should be earning?

For starters, I don’t feel underpaid. The next role I’m going into in my place of work should see my salary grow to ₦1.8m – ₦2m/month. I feel like I’m right where I should be.

Great. Is there anything you want but can’t afford then?

A Tesla maybe. I don’t think I can’t afford it, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy it when I’m living in Nigeria.

What about something you bought recently that required some planning?

I used my last phone — a OnePlus — for five years. The newest model came out earlier this year and I just decided to go for it. It cost me $1054. It didn’t require a lot of planning; I just had to think about it for a bit before I liquidated some of my investments in crypto.

I’m curious, when was the last time you felt really broke?

I can’t remember. I feel like I’m broke when the money in my account goes below ₦100k, and this hasn’t happened in a hot minute. Also, I know some money is available if I need to access it. I try as much as possible not to do it, but I could liquidate some of my assets if I badly need money. There’s some sense of security that comes with that.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your financial happiness?

8. There’s no great need in front of me that I can’t afford. I’m also excited about my potential earnings and the strategy I’m putting in place to hit them. Life couldn’t be better, really. If I hit my $1m target by 40, this might increase to a 10.

Source: https:///39nGEim

BigCabal:
The 34-year-old engineer in this #NairaLife made a career switch into oil and gas in 2014. Since that time, his basic salary has grown to ₦1.7m/month. Now, he wants to retire in six years with $1m in liquid assets. How does he hope to get there?





What’s your oldest memory of money?

My parents worked in the civil service and most of the people I grew up with were in a similar economic class, so I didn’t think there were rich people or poor people. I went to a government-owned school for my first three years of secondary school before switching to a private school for my senior secondary education in 2001. There, I learnt of my social standing. The first thing I noticed was that my school fees jumped from ₦200 to ₦14k per term.

My allowance was ₦50, which was little compared to what others had. What this meant for me was that I had to save for days to afford things some of my classmates could buy in an afternoon.

There was also some anxiety that came with this discovery. I avoided school parties as much as I could because I didn’t think I had the right clothes or shoes to wear. My three years at the school made it clear I had to make money in the future to bridge the gap.

Did you do anything for money during this time?

No, not really. I may have done one or two things for my family that fetched me money, but that wasn’t my objective and they were also far and in-between.

I left secondary school in 2003 and enrolled for my A-Levels programme, and the tuition was ₦100k. This experience was also a reality check. While there were people who were taking the classes and writing the exam to apply to schools abroad, there was me who knew I was going to a university in Nigeria. I didn’t even finish the programme.

Oh, why not?

I applied for and got into a diploma programme at a university in the southwest before the year ended, so I decided to go for it. It cost ₦210k, and my parents took a loan from their cooperative society to pay for it. A year later, I was offered provisional admission to study electrical engineering at the same university.

How did uni go?

I lived mostly on the allowance I got from my parents. It was ₦5k and came once a month. I also had family friends in the city I was studying in and got some money from them at intervals too. However, I wasn’t saving or keeping money aside because it was barely enough. But I survived university and won’t say I had a tough time with money. I graduated in 2009.

I was mobilised for NYSC in June 2010 and posted to a state in the south-south. I worked in a secondary school owned by the state government. I lived on less than ₦13k/month for the entire year — the federal government paid ₦9,775 and the state government paid ₦3k. Luckily, food was also ridiculously cheap in the village I was posted to. I could make a pot of soup with about ₦320. I wasn’t exactly saving because I wasn’t earning enough, but by the end of my service year, I had about ₦50k in my savings account.

How?

The 2011 election was the game-changer. I worked as an ad-hoc staff for INEC during the voter registration exercise and got about ₦30k from it. I also got about the same amount of money from working during the general election.

This wasn’t the last sum of money I made off NYSC.

I’m listening.

After my service year, the federal government increased the allowance from ₦9775 to ₦19,800. My batch was eligible to receive payment arrears. I think they paid about six months arrears, which was good money to me, especially considering that I was at home and without a job.

Man, how long were you unemployed?

About three months. I got my first job in September 2011, as an engineer in an authorised repair centre for Nokia phones. My salary was ₦45k, which I thought was decent. I spent only four months there though.

Why did you leave?

One of my mum’s friends had a son who worked with a contractor that handled marketing for Nokia phones in Nigeria, and I was encouraged to apply for a job there. I did, and I got the job. Nokia was a flagship phone at the time, so there were lots of roles. I was hired as an in-store experience marketer. I was posted to a phone store to serve as a Nokia representative and market the phones to potential buyers. The job paid ₦90k.

That was twice what you earned as a phone engineer.

Yes, it was. At the end of my first month there, they transferred me to a North-central state, which was a bit of an inconvenience. There were no accommodation arrangements, and I had to figure that out myself. Guess what happened on the first night I got to my new station?

What?

I got a text from a bank I had applied to months earlier, inviting me to come for medicals. Man, I jumped on the first bus the following morning and left the town. I sent in my resignation on the same day.

I had to go to the bank’s training school first. This started in February 2012 and lasted for four months. They paid trainees ₦50k. However, my time at the training school was some of the best of my life. Unfortunately, my time as a confirmed staff of the bank wasn’t half as pleasant.

Why not?

Let me start with the good: I got a raise when I was absorbed into the bank’s workforce and my salary jumped to ₦208k. Subsequently, I was posted to the marketing department and had to find new customers for the bank. My department had an annual target of ₦4bn, and this was a drag on my life. In between finding new customers and retaining existing customers, my quality of life took a dip. At the height of it, my job satisfaction was low but the money was decent. Everything only made sense when my salary came in at the end of the month.

Thankfully, two months after I started work as a full-staff, a consulting company I had applied to months earlier reached out, inviting me to the final round of interviews. I got an offer letter from them in August 2012.

How much?

₦128k. Another pay cut, but I was only too happy to accept it. I was like, “If I’m not going to chase customers, pay me whatever you want.”

Haha. Fair enough.

After my induction, I was posted to management consulting. After my first year, my salary was increased to ₦150k. This was also around the time I delved into my first side hustle.

Tell me about that.

I started saving ₦50k from my salary every month because I wanted to buy a car. I saved ₦400k in eight months. One of my friends had an uncle who did Cotonou runs and shipped cars into Nigeria. We went to Cotonou together, but my ₦400k couldn’t buy me any of the cars I wanted. The best deal I got that was within my budget was a 1993 Toyota Camry, and they were going to sell it for ₦600k.

I eventually bought a 2001 Mazda, and it cost ₦700k. Two of my friends loaned me ₦150k each to buy the car. But the trip opened my eyes to the possibilities of shipping cars in and selling them in the country. The opportunity to act on this came a few months later when a friend wanted to buy a car and I told him I’d handle it. I went to Cotonou myself and brought the car in. On that trip alone, I made ₦75k in profit. For context, I was earning ₦150k per month.

You made half your monthly salary in a day.

Exactly. Omo, I started telling everybody I knew that I was selling cars. When this side business caught on, I was doing an average of two trips per month and making between ₦50k and ₦75k on each trip.

Interesting. How was it going with your day job?

I was now in my second year at the consulting company. One day, a former colleague who had left for an oil company called me and informed me that his company was recruiting. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it, but I applied and went through the entire process. I got an offer to start work in May 2014.

Whoop!

My basic salary was ₦650k, minus allowances. It would take me about six years to hit that number at the consulting company I was with. It was an easy decision.

I was hired as an instrumentation engineer. Basically, we automate the process used in bringing out oil and gas from the sub-surface.

The first payment I received from the company was an accommodation allowance. ₦22k per day for 90 days. And guess what? They paid everything at once. ₦1.98m landed in my account, and I hadn’t even done any work. It was the biggest lump sum payment I had ever received up until that point.

Subsequently, I was put on a trainee programme, moving around different on-shore facilities to work and learn about the job. Mostly, I was working for two weeks and taking the following two weeks off. My basic salary was ₦650k, but there was also some form of allowance payment every month. On average. I was earning up to ₦1m every month as a trainee.

Baller.

I also saw an opportunity for my side business there. I told everyone I could that I sold cars, and the orders came in. They had a higher purchasing power than the guys at my former workplace, so they went for higher-end cars — mostly vehicles around the region of ₦4m – ₦5m. My profit on these deals were about ₦1m.

Interesting.

I graduated from my trainee programme in 2017 and was transferred to my first facility. I got a raise and started earning ₦1.2m. The constant allowance I remember from that time was my accommodation allowance. The facility I was working out of didn’t have great accommodation options, so the company paid me ₦250k every two weeks to make up for that.

And how has your salary evolved since that time?

My salary has increased by at least 5% every year. At the moment, I earn ₦1.7m/month. But there are also a couple of allowances and bonus payments that come in during the course of the year. Everything I earn, including bonuses, stacks up to ₦25m – ₦30m per annum.


On the side, I invest heavily in cryptocurrency.

How did you get into crypto?

I grew out of the car business, so I started looking for something else I could do. I became interested in crypto in the early parts of 2020. I finally took the plunge in July when I bought one bitcoin for ₦4.5m. By the time I sold it, it was ₦4.9m. I made a profit of ₦400k on one trade.

Information is important when dealing with cryptocurrency, so I subscribed to every crypto subreddit I could find. And started doubling on my investments as much as I could. The more I got into crypto, the more I saw the possibilities. It’s been a game-changer, and it’s part of my retirement plan.

What’s your retirement plan?

I want to retire at 40 with $1m in liquid assets. I’ve decided that crypto could get me there, so it’s pretty much my side hustle now. At the height of the bull run earlier this year, I had about $210k in my portfolio. But the dip happened and I held on. The last time I checked, I had $90k, and I’m building it back up.

Man, how do you decide what coins to bet on?

Research. I do a lot of technical and fundamental analysis. With the fundamental analysis, I look at the coin, what problem it solves, and who the backers are. I’m not good at technical analysis, so I follow a lot of people who are. I look at their research and decide whether to invest in a coin or not.

I know cryptocurrency is volatile, so I’m not putting all my hopes on it.

What are your other investments?

I started investing in Eurobonds in 2018. I started with about $20k, and the ROI is 12% per annum. When Covid hit last year, I wanted to put more money in it, so I took a loan of ₦14m from work and topped the account up at ₦440/$1. The total value of my Eurobond investment now is about $60k.

There’s also my company stock. Employees get a 15% employee discount, and I’ve been putting some of the money I get into that too. My stock in the company is currently valued at $30k.

I have some landed properties in two states in the country, but I don’t put a lot of thought into this. I believe landed properties are not the best investment choice in Nigeria — inflation eats at every profit you can ever hope to make. But I have a 3-bedroom project I’ve been working on since 2014 and is valued at ₦40m and another piece of land that’s worth ₦8m.

All of this should bring my total investments across my portfolios to at least $180k.

That’s impressive. Let’s talk about your monthly running costs. What do they look like?

I’m not married, but I have a live-in partner and we have two kids together, hence the housekeeping expenses. I took a loan from work last year to invest in Eurobond, and it’s spread over four years. I’m not mad about it — I’m repaying the loan in naira and earning my ROI in dollars.

I also don’t save or invest in naira anymore. When I get paid at the end of the month, I take out my monthly running costs, convert the rest into dollars and put it into my range of investment.

I really want to know how your perspective about money has changed over the years.

It has largely remained the same — money is a tool to get things. I acknowledge that and also understand that I need to stay hungry to make more.

Also, I don’t feel validation from owning things or splashing money on things I don’t need. I currently drive a 2004 European model car I bought for ₦1.5m. My annual rent is ₦500k. The plan is to keep expenses as low as possible and stack my bag up the best way I can. I’ve learned that money is like working out to grow muscles — you don’t get what you want in a day, so intentionality is key.

Looking at where you are in your career, how much do you feel like you should be earning?

For starters, I don’t feel underpaid. The next role I’m going into in my place of work should see my salary grow to ₦1.8m – ₦2m/month. I feel like I’m right where I should be.

Great. Is there anything you want but can’t afford then?

A Tesla maybe. I don’t think I can’t afford it, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy it when I’m living in Nigeria.

What about something you bought recently that required some planning?

I used my last phone — a OnePlus — for five years. The newest model came out earlier this year and I just decided to go for it. It cost me $1054. It didn’t require a lot of planning; I just had to think about it for a bit before I liquidated some of my investments in crypto.

I’m curious, when was the last time you felt really broke?

I can’t remember. I feel like I’m broke when the money in my account goes below ₦100k, and this hasn’t happened in a hot minute. Also, I know some money is available if I need to access it. I try as much as possible not to do it, but I could liquidate some of my assets if I badly need money. There’s some sense of security that comes with that.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your financial happiness?

8. There’s no great need in front of me that I can’t afford. I’m also excited about my potential earnings and the strategy I’m putting in place to hit them. Life couldn’t be better, really. If I hit my $1m target by 40, this might increase to a 10.

Source: https:///39nGEim

Are you single

welzyj2:


Keep guessing when you could have avoided my comment.

I'm not talking about splashing. My comment is about giving yourself comfort- only someone who is still gathering up shouldn't think of comfort. But judging the OP's level, a 3 bedroom isn't a big deal neither is a muscle. Except if the OP is greedy to himself and children

God won't let me see problem of having $130k investment without a personal car at least.

Your comment on the office car clearly shows your kind of personality really. (You stated the wrong reason not to have a car dear)

I don't think he mentioned his living space anywhere. He only said his rent was 500k, and depending on the location could be a great house.

About the car, maybe he's just not a fan of cars.
Several billionaires ride cheap cars while some ride expensive machines. It's all choice boss.

BigCabal:
The 34-year-old engineer in this #NairaLife made a career switch into oil and gas in 2014. Since that time, his basic salary has grown to ₦1.7m/month. Now, he wants to retire in six years with $1m in liquid assets. How does he hope to get there?





What’s your oldest memory of money?

My parents worked in the civil service and most of the people I grew up with were in a similar economic class, so I didn’t think there were rich people or poor people. I went to a government-owned school for my first three years of secondary school before switching to a private school for my senior secondary education in 2001. There, I learnt of my social standing. The first thing I noticed was that my school fees jumped from ₦200 to ₦14k per term.

My allowance was ₦50, which was little compared to what others had. What this meant for me was that I had to save for days to afford things some of my classmates could buy in an afternoon.

There was also some anxiety that came with this discovery. I avoided school parties as much as I could because I didn’t think I had the right clothes or shoes to wear. My three years at the school made it clear I had to make money in the future to bridge the gap.

Did you do anything for money during this time?

No, not really. I may have done one or two things for my family that fetched me money, but that wasn’t my objective and they were also far and in-between.

I left secondary school in 2003 and enrolled for my A-Levels programme, and the tuition was ₦100k. This experience was also a reality check. While there were people who were taking the classes and writing the exam to apply to schools abroad, there was me who knew I was going to a university in Nigeria. I didn’t even finish the programme.

Oh, why not?

I applied for and got into a diploma programme at a university in the southwest before the year ended, so I decided to go for it. It cost ₦210k, and my parents took a loan from their cooperative society to pay for it. A year later, I was offered provisional admission to study electrical engineering at the same university.

How did uni go?

I lived mostly on the allowance I got from my parents. It was ₦5k and came once a month. I also had family friends in the city I was studying in and got some money from them at intervals too. However, I wasn’t saving or keeping money aside because it was barely enough. But I survived university and won’t say I had a tough time with money. I graduated in 2009.

I was mobilised for NYSC in June 2010 and posted to a state in the south-south. I worked in a secondary school owned by the state government. I lived on less than ₦13k/month for the entire year — the federal government paid ₦9,775 and the state government paid ₦3k. Luckily, food was also ridiculously cheap in the village I was posted to. I could make a pot of soup with about ₦320. I wasn’t exactly saving because I wasn’t earning enough, but by the end of my service year, I had about ₦50k in my savings account.

How?

The 2011 election was the game-changer. I worked as an ad-hoc staff for INEC during the voter registration exercise and got about ₦30k from it. I also got about the same amount of money from working during the general election.

This wasn’t the last sum of money I made off NYSC.

I’m listening.

After my service year, the federal government increased the allowance from ₦9775 to ₦19,800. My batch was eligible to receive payment arrears. I think they paid about six months arrears, which was good money to me, especially considering that I was at home and without a job.

Man, how long were you unemployed?

About three months. I got my first job in September 2011, as an engineer in an authorised repair centre for Nokia phones. My salary was ₦45k, which I thought was decent. I spent only four months there though.

Why did you leave?

One of my mum’s friends had a son who worked with a contractor that handled marketing for Nokia phones in Nigeria, and I was encouraged to apply for a job there. I did, and I got the job. Nokia was a flagship phone at the time, so there were lots of roles. I was hired as an in-store experience marketer. I was posted to a phone store to serve as a Nokia representative and market the phones to potential buyers. The job paid ₦90k.

That was twice what you earned as a phone engineer.

Yes, it was. At the end of my first month there, they transferred me to a North-central state, which was a bit of an inconvenience. There were no accommodation arrangements, and I had to figure that out myself. Guess what happened on the first night I got to my new station?

What?

I got a text from a bank I had applied to months earlier, inviting me to come for medicals. Man, I jumped on the first bus the following morning and left the town. I sent in my resignation on the same day.

I had to go to the bank’s training school first. This started in February 2012 and lasted for four months. They paid trainees ₦50k. However, my time at the training school was some of the best of my life. Unfortunately, my time as a confirmed staff of the bank wasn’t half as pleasant.

Why not?

Let me start with the good: I got a raise when I was absorbed into the bank’s workforce and my salary jumped to ₦208k. Subsequently, I was posted to the marketing department and had to find new customers for the bank. My department had an annual target of ₦4bn, and this was a drag on my life. In between finding new customers and retaining existing customers, my quality of life took a dip. At the height of it, my job satisfaction was low but the money was decent. Everything only made sense when my salary came in at the end of the month.

Thankfully, two months after I started work as a full-staff, a consulting company I had applied to months earlier reached out, inviting me to the final round of interviews. I got an offer letter from them in August 2012.

How much?

₦128k. Another pay cut, but I was only too happy to accept it. I was like, “If I’m not going to chase customers, pay me whatever you want.”

Haha. Fair enough.

After my induction, I was posted to management consulting. After my first year, my salary was increased to ₦150k. This was also around the time I delved into my first side hustle.

Tell me about that.

I started saving ₦50k from my salary every month because I wanted to buy a car. I saved ₦400k in eight months. One of my friends had an uncle who did Cotonou runs and shipped cars into Nigeria. We went to Cotonou together, but my ₦400k couldn’t buy me any of the cars I wanted. The best deal I got that was within my budget was a 1993 Toyota Camry, and they were going to sell it for ₦600k.

I eventually bought a 2001 Mazda, and it cost ₦700k. Two of my friends loaned me ₦150k each to buy the car. But the trip opened my eyes to the possibilities of shipping cars in and selling them in the country. The opportunity to act on this came a few months later when a friend wanted to buy a car and I told him I’d handle it. I went to Cotonou myself and brought the car in. On that trip alone, I made ₦75k in profit. For context, I was earning ₦150k per month.

You made half your monthly salary in a day.

Exactly. Omo, I started telling everybody I knew that I was selling cars. When this side business caught on, I was doing an average of two trips per month and making between ₦50k and ₦75k on each trip.

Interesting. How was it going with your day job?

I was now in my second year at the consulting company. One day, a former colleague who had left for an oil company called me and informed me that his company was recruiting. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it, but I applied and went through the entire process. I got an offer to start work in May 2014.

Whoop!

My basic salary was ₦650k, minus allowances. It would take me about six years to hit that number at the consulting company I was with. It was an easy decision.

I was hired as an instrumentation engineer. Basically, we automate the process used in bringing out oil and gas from the sub-surface.

The first payment I received from the company was an accommodation allowance. ₦22k per day for 90 days. And guess what? They paid everything at once. ₦1.98m landed in my account, and I hadn’t even done any work. It was the biggest lump sum payment I had ever received up until that point.

Subsequently, I was put on a trainee programme, moving around different on-shore facilities to work and learn about the job. Mostly, I was working for two weeks and taking the following two weeks off. My basic salary was ₦650k, but there was also some form of allowance payment every month. On average. I was earning up to ₦1m every month as a trainee.

Baller.

I also saw an opportunity for my side business there. I told everyone I could that I sold cars, and the orders came in. They had a higher purchasing power than the guys at my former workplace, so they went for higher-end cars — mostly vehicles around the region of ₦4m – ₦5m. My profit on these deals were about ₦1m.

Interesting.

I graduated from my trainee programme in 2017 and was transferred to my first facility. I got a raise and started earning ₦1.2m. The constant allowance I remember from that time was my accommodation allowance. The facility I was working out of didn’t have great accommodation options, so the company paid me ₦250k every two weeks to make up for that.

And how has your salary evolved since that time?

My salary has increased by at least 5% every year. At the moment, I earn ₦1.7m/month. But there are also a couple of allowances and bonus payments that come in during the course of the year. Everything I earn, including bonuses, stacks up to ₦25m – ₦30m per annum.


On the side, I invest heavily in cryptocurrency.

How did you get into crypto?

I grew out of the car business, so I started looking for something else I could do. I became interested in crypto in the early parts of 2020. I finally took the plunge in July when I bought one bitcoin for ₦4.5m. By the time I sold it, it was ₦4.9m. I made a profit of ₦400k on one trade.

Information is important when dealing with cryptocurrency, so I subscribed to every crypto subreddit I could find. And started doubling on my investments as much as I could. The more I got into crypto, the more I saw the possibilities. It’s been a game-changer, and it’s part of my retirement plan.

What’s your retirement plan?

I want to retire at 40 with $1m in liquid assets. I’ve decided that crypto could get me there, so it’s pretty much my side hustle now. At the height of the bull run earlier this year, I had about $210k in my portfolio. But the dip happened and I held on. The last time I checked, I had $90k, and I’m building it back up.

Man, how do you decide what coins to bet on?

Research. I do a lot of technical and fundamental analysis. With the fundamental analysis, I look at the coin, what problem it solves, and who the backers are. I’m not good at technical analysis, so I follow a lot of people who are. I look at their research and decide whether to invest in a coin or not.

I know cryptocurrency is volatile, so I’m not putting all my hopes on it.

What are your other investments?

I started investing in Eurobonds in 2018. I started with about $20k, and the ROI is 12% per annum. When Covid hit last year, I wanted to put more money in it, so I took a loan of ₦14m from work and topped the account up at ₦440/$1. The total value of my Eurobond investment now is about $60k.

There’s also my company stock. Employees get a 15% employee discount, and I’ve been putting some of the money I get into that too. My stock in the company is currently valued at $30k.

I have some landed properties in two states in the country, but I don’t put a lot of thought into this. I believe landed properties are not the best investment choice in Nigeria — inflation eats at every profit you can ever hope to make. But I have a 3-bedroom project I’ve been working on since 2014 and is valued at ₦40m and another piece of land that’s worth ₦8m.

All of this should bring my total investments across my portfolios to at least $180k.

That’s impressive. Let’s talk about your monthly running costs. What do they look like?

I’m not married, but I have a live-in partner and we have two kids together, hence the housekeeping expenses. I took a loan from work last year to invest in Eurobond, and it’s spread over four years. I’m not mad about it — I’m repaying the loan in naira and earning my ROI in dollars.

I also don’t save or invest in naira anymore. When I get paid at the end of the month, I take out my monthly running costs, convert the rest into dollars and put it into my range of investment.

I really want to know how your perspective about money has changed over the years.

It has largely remained the same — money is a tool to get things. I acknowledge that and also understand that I need to stay hungry to make more.

Also, I don’t feel validation from owning things or splashing money on things I don’t need. I currently drive a 2004 European model car I bought for ₦1.5m. My annual rent is ₦500k. The plan is to keep expenses as low as possible and stack my bag up the best way I can. I’ve learned that money is like working out to grow muscles — you don’t get what you want in a day, so intentionality is key.

Looking at where you are in your career, how much do you feel like you should be earning?

For starters, I don’t feel underpaid. The next role I’m going into in my place of work should see my salary grow to ₦1.8m – ₦2m/month. I feel like I’m right where I should be.

Great. Is there anything you want but can’t afford then?

A Tesla maybe. I don’t think I can’t afford it, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy it when I’m living in Nigeria.

What about something you bought recently that required some planning?

I used my last phone — a OnePlus — for five years. The newest model came out earlier this year and I just decided to go for it. It cost me $1054. It didn’t require a lot of planning; I just had to think about it for a bit before I liquidated some of my investments in crypto.

I’m curious, when was the last time you felt really broke?

I can’t remember. I feel like I’m broke when the money in my account goes below ₦100k, and this hasn’t happened in a hot minute. Also, I know some money is available if I need to access it. I try as much as possible not to do it, but I could liquidate some of my assets if I badly need money. There’s some sense of security that comes with that.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your financial happiness?

8. There’s no great need in front of me that I can’t afford. I’m also excited about my potential earnings and the strategy I’m putting in place to hit them. Life couldn’t be better, really. If I hit my $1m target by 40, this might increase to a 10.

Source: https:///39nGEim

Very inspiring story. God has been good to you. I think you need to be a bit more generous to yourself (and your family maybe) Not necessarily indulgence in excessive luxuries but enjoy the fruits of your labour than just saving and investing aggressively. Life is too short and unpredictable to deny yourself basic luxury when you can actually afford it. I think retiring early is also a great idea. retire, travel the world and go after your passions.

Jarus:


I have been featured here before - but it doesn't come with name of the sharer!

Sir, we miss you on Facebook

what a blessed man you are. Keep soaring!!

BigCabal:
The 34-year-old engineer in this #NairaLife made a career switch into oil and gas in 2014. Since that time, his basic salary has grown to ₦1.7m/month. Now, he wants to retire in six years with $1m in liquid assets. How does he hope to get there?





What’s your oldest memory of money?

My parents worked in the civil service and most of the people I grew up with were in a similar economic class, so I didn’t think there were rich people or poor people. I went to a government-owned school for my first three years of secondary school before switching to a private school for my senior secondary education in 2001. There, I learnt of my social standing. The first thing I noticed was that my school fees jumped from ₦200 to ₦14k per term.

My allowance was ₦50, which was little compared to what others had. What this meant for me was that I had to save for days to afford things some of my classmates could buy in an afternoon.

There was also some anxiety that came with this discovery. I avoided school parties as much as I could because I didn’t think I had the right clothes or shoes to wear. My three years at the school made it clear I had to make money in the future to bridge the gap.

Did you do anything for money during this time?

No, not really. I may have done one or two things for my family that fetched me money, but that wasn’t my objective and they were also far and in-between.

I left secondary school in 2003 and enrolled for my A-Levels programme, and the tuition was ₦100k. This experience was also a reality check. While there were people who were taking the classes and writing the exam to apply to schools abroad, there was me who knew I was going to a university in Nigeria. I didn’t even finish the programme.

Oh, why not?

I applied for and got into a diploma programme at a university in the southwest before the year ended, so I decided to go for it. It cost ₦210k, and my parents took a loan from their cooperative society to pay for it. A year later, I was offered provisional admission to study electrical engineering at the same university.

How did uni go?

I lived mostly on the allowance I got from my parents. It was ₦5k and came once a month. I also had family friends in the city I was studying in and got some money from them at intervals too. However, I wasn’t saving or keeping money aside because it was barely enough. But I survived university and won’t say I had a tough time with money. I graduated in 2009.

I was mobilised for NYSC in June 2010 and posted to a state in the south-south. I worked in a secondary school owned by the state government. I lived on less than ₦13k/month for the entire year — the federal government paid ₦9,775 and the state government paid ₦3k. Luckily, food was also ridiculously cheap in the village I was posted to. I could make a pot of soup with about ₦320. I wasn’t exactly saving because I wasn’t earning enough, but by the end of my service year, I had about ₦50k in my savings account.

How?

The 2011 election was the game-changer. I worked as an ad-hoc staff for INEC during the voter registration exercise and got about ₦30k from it. I also got about the same amount of money from working during the general election.

This wasn’t the last sum of money I made off NYSC.

I’m listening.

After my service year, the federal government increased the allowance from ₦9775 to ₦19,800. My batch was eligible to receive payment arrears. I think they paid about six months arrears, which was good money to me, especially considering that I was at home and without a job.

Man, how long were you unemployed?

About three months. I got my first job in September 2011, as an engineer in an authorised repair centre for Nokia phones. My salary was ₦45k, which I thought was decent. I spent only four months there though.

Why did you leave?

One of my mum’s friends had a son who worked with a contractor that handled marketing for Nokia phones in Nigeria, and I was encouraged to apply for a job there. I did, and I got the job. Nokia was a flagship phone at the time, so there were lots of roles. I was hired as an in-store experience marketer. I was posted to a phone store to serve as a Nokia representative and market the phones to potential buyers. The job paid ₦90k.

That was twice what you earned as a phone engineer.

Yes, it was. At the end of my first month there, they transferred me to a North-central state, which was a bit of an inconvenience. There were no accommodation arrangements, and I had to figure that out myself. Guess what happened on the first night I got to my new station?

What?

I got a text from a bank I had applied to months earlier, inviting me to come for medicals. Man, I jumped on the first bus the following morning and left the town. I sent in my resignation on the same day.

I had to go to the bank’s training school first. This started in February 2012 and lasted for four months. They paid trainees ₦50k. However, my time at the training school was some of the best of my life. Unfortunately, my time as a confirmed staff of the bank wasn’t half as pleasant.

Why not?

Let me start with the good: I got a raise when I was absorbed into the bank’s workforce and my salary jumped to ₦208k. Subsequently, I was posted to the marketing department and had to find new customers for the bank. My department had an annual target of ₦4bn, and this was a drag on my life. In between finding new customers and retaining existing customers, my quality of life took a dip. At the height of it, my job satisfaction was low but the money was decent. Everything only made sense when my salary came in at the end of the month.

Thankfully, two months after I started work as a full-staff, a consulting company I had applied to months earlier reached out, inviting me to the final round of interviews. I got an offer letter from them in August 2012.

How much?

₦128k. Another pay cut, but I was only too happy to accept it. I was like, “If I’m not going to chase customers, pay me whatever you want.”

Haha. Fair enough.

After my induction, I was posted to management consulting. After my first year, my salary was increased to ₦150k. This was also around the time I delved into my first side hustle.

Tell me about that.

I started saving ₦50k from my salary every month because I wanted to buy a car. I saved ₦400k in eight months. One of my friends had an uncle who did Cotonou runs and shipped cars into Nigeria. We went to Cotonou together, but my ₦400k couldn’t buy me any of the cars I wanted. The best deal I got that was within my budget was a 1993 Toyota Camry, and they were going to sell it for ₦600k.

I eventually bought a 2001 Mazda, and it cost ₦700k. Two of my friends loaned me ₦150k each to buy the car. But the trip opened my eyes to the possibilities of shipping cars in and selling them in the country. The opportunity to act on this came a few months later when a friend wanted to buy a car and I told him I’d handle it. I went to Cotonou myself and brought the car in. On that trip alone, I made ₦75k in profit. For context, I was earning ₦150k per month.

You made half your monthly salary in a day.

Exactly. Omo, I started telling everybody I knew that I was selling cars. When this side business caught on, I was doing an average of two trips per month and making between ₦50k and ₦75k on each trip.

Interesting. How was it going with your day job?

I was now in my second year at the consulting company. One day, a former colleague who had left for an oil company called me and informed me that his company was recruiting. I didn’t put a lot of thought into it, but I applied and went through the entire process. I got an offer to start work in May 2014.

Whoop!

My basic salary was ₦650k, minus allowances. It would take me about six years to hit that number at the consulting company I was with. It was an easy decision.

I was hired as an instrumentation engineer. Basically, we automate the process used in bringing out oil and gas from the sub-surface.

The first payment I received from the company was an accommodation allowance. ₦22k per day for 90 days. And guess what? They paid everything at once. ₦1.98m landed in my account, and I hadn’t even done any work. It was the biggest lump sum payment I had ever received up until that point.

Subsequently, I was put on a trainee programme, moving around different on-shore facilities to work and learn about the job. Mostly, I was working for two weeks and taking the following two weeks off. My basic salary was ₦650k, but there was also some form of allowance payment every month. On average. I was earning up to ₦1m every month as a trainee.

Baller.

I also saw an opportunity for my side business there. I told everyone I could that I sold cars, and the orders came in. They had a higher purchasing power than the guys at my former workplace, so they went for higher-end cars — mostly vehicles around the region of ₦4m – ₦5m. My profit on these deals were about ₦1m.

Interesting.

I graduated from my trainee programme in 2017 and was transferred to my first facility. I got a raise and started earning ₦1.2m. The constant allowance I remember from that time was my accommodation allowance. The facility I was working out of didn’t have great accommodation options, so the company paid me ₦250k every two weeks to make up for that.

And how has your salary evolved since that time?

My salary has increased by at least 5% every year. At the moment, I earn ₦1.7m/month. But there are also a couple of allowances and bonus payments that come in during the course of the year. Everything I earn, including bonuses, stacks up to ₦25m – ₦30m per annum.


On the side, I invest heavily in cryptocurrency.

How did you get into crypto?

I grew out of the car business, so I started looking for something else I could do. I became interested in crypto in the early parts of 2020. I finally took the plunge in July when I bought one bitcoin for ₦4.5m. By the time I sold it, it was ₦4.9m. I made a profit of ₦400k on one trade.

Information is important when dealing with cryptocurrency, so I subscribed to every crypto subreddit I could find. And started doubling on my investments as much as I could. The more I got into crypto, the more I saw the possibilities. It’s been a game-changer, and it’s part of my retirement plan.

What’s your retirement plan?

I want to retire at 40 with $1m in liquid assets. I’ve decided that crypto could get me there, so it’s pretty much my side hustle now. At the height of the bull run earlier this year, I had about $210k in my portfolio. But the dip happened and I held on. The last time I checked, I had $90k, and I’m building it back up.

Man, how do you decide what coins to bet on?

Research. I do a lot of technical and fundamental analysis. With the fundamental analysis, I look at the coin, what problem it solves, and who the backers are. I’m not good at technical analysis, so I follow a lot of people who are. I look at their research and decide whether to invest in a coin or not.

I know cryptocurrency is volatile, so I’m not putting all my hopes on it.

What are your other investments?

I started investing in Eurobonds in 2018. I started with about $20k, and the ROI is 12% per annum. When Covid hit last year, I wanted to put more money in it, so I took a loan of ₦14m from work and topped the account up at ₦440/$1. The total value of my Eurobond investment now is about $60k.

There’s also my company stock. Employees get a 15% employee discount, and I’ve been putting some of the money I get into that too. My stock in the company is currently valued at $30k.

I have some landed properties in two states in the country, but I don’t put a lot of thought into this. I believe landed properties are not the best investment choice in Nigeria — inflation eats at every profit you can ever hope to make. But I have a 3-bedroom project I’ve been working on since 2014 and is valued at ₦40m and another piece of land that’s worth ₦8m.

All of this should bring my total investments across my portfolios to at least $180k.

That’s impressive. Let’s talk about your monthly running costs. What do they look like?

I’m not married, but I have a live-in partner and we have two kids together, hence the housekeeping expenses. I took a loan from work last year to invest in Eurobond, and it’s spread over four years. I’m not mad about it — I’m repaying the loan in naira and earning my ROI in dollars.

I also don’t save or invest in naira anymore. When I get paid at the end of the month, I take out my monthly running costs, convert the rest into dollars and put it into my range of investment.

I really want to know how your perspective about money has changed over the years.

It has largely remained the same — money is a tool to get things. I acknowledge that and also understand that I need to stay hungry to make more.

Also, I don’t feel validation from owning things or splashing money on things I don’t need. I currently drive a 2004 European model car I bought for ₦1.5m. My annual rent is ₦500k. The plan is to keep expenses as low as possible and stack my bag up the best way I can. I’ve learned that money is like working out to grow muscles — you don’t get what you want in a day, so intentionality is key.

Looking at where you are in your career, how much do you feel like you should be earning?

For starters, I don’t feel underpaid. The next role I’m going into in my place of work should see my salary grow to ₦1.8m – ₦2m/month. I feel like I’m right where I should be.

Great. Is there anything you want but can’t afford then?

A Tesla maybe. I don’t think I can’t afford it, but it wouldn’t make sense to buy it when I’m living in Nigeria.

What about something you bought recently that required some planning?

I used my last phone — a OnePlus — for five years. The newest model came out earlier this year and I just decided to go for it. It cost me $1054. It didn’t require a lot of planning; I just had to think about it for a bit before I liquidated some of my investments in crypto.

I’m curious, when was the last time you felt really broke?

I can’t remember. I feel like I’m broke when the money in my account goes below ₦100k, and this hasn’t happened in a hot minute. Also, I know some money is available if I need to access it. I try as much as possible not to do it, but I could liquidate some of my assets if I badly need money. There’s some sense of security that comes with that.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your financial happiness?

8. There’s no great need in front of me that I can’t afford. I’m also excited about my potential earnings and the strategy I’m putting in place to hit them. Life couldn’t be better, really. If I hit my $1m target by 40, this might increase to a 10.

Source: https:///39nGEim

Jarus:


I have been featured here before - but it doesn't come with name of the sharer!

Good evening sir, please I’ll like to ask if you know any when McKinsey do carry out their YLP program for corpers. I just graduated with a first class and I’ll like to apply and try my luck. Thanks as I await your response

lajid:


Good evening sir, please I’ll like to ask if you know any when McKinsey do carry out their YLP program for corpers. I just graduated with a first class and I’ll like to apply and try my luck. Thanks as I await your response

I don't know tbh