₦airaland Forum

That is the sad situation for most of us. May God help us o and may we help ourselves by voting in the “right” candidate in 2027.

Vote wisely thats what I will say

OBIDIENTNAIJA:
Omo this is making me emotional. You know why. I am facing the same thing too.
My salary today has gone up from 2019 to 2026 but feeding takes a large chunk of it. I was having multiple savings back then, but now I struggle to save. This is not fair. What have we done to APC to plague us with this evil 🥹🥹
A kg of gas is now 1560 I filled 3 days ago. PH.
This is not fair. Those supporting this evil APC, no matter how you pray, God will never answer your prayers because you all are worst than the devil

gas still cheap for your side. Now na 2k for some places.

True. Same applies to me

Our Naira is now looking like Zimbabwean dollars 😂😂

Why give money in the name of tithe to a man who's already made?

You're giving out of your limited resource to a man whose resources are in abundance.

Add that 25k to your disposable income, and u have 150k.

BTW, I thought tithe was 10%. Why then are u giving 25k? You've already tasted the forbidden fruit, chop am with ur full chest.

There's no diety that'd eat up ur resources if you don't give, like they keep lieing to u guys.

OBIDIENTNAIJA:
Even the so called 1.2 million is already losing value. Is only those earning dollars in this country that are rich. The rest of us are just managing. Even the rich are careful with their expenses now. Facts

I know a lot of guys at my workplace who used to drive cars to work. Most of them have sold their car shortly after this govt came in. These are guys who earn more than 500k monthly back then and even with salary increase they still can't meet up.


So you have a point there

Muyiwaipere:
See ungrateful people o.

You better thank God and manage your expenses....I see married men collect #120k as salary

You want the poster to be grateful for being poorer just because some people earn way less?

Lol, you guys are unbelievable

Ifeoluwadev:
Before anybody calls me a liar or a complainer, sit down and read this first. Because I have numbers. And numbers don't lie.

In 2019, I was earning ₦150,000 per month. Junior staff. I was not rich at all. But I was comfortable. I could breathe.

Today in 2026, I earn ₦500,000 per month. On paper that is more than 3x growth. I should be living large. I should have savings. I should be talking about investments by now.

Instead I am broke before the 25th of every month.

Let me show you exactly why.


THE NAIRA ITSELF
In 2019, one dollar was roughly ₦360.
Today in 2026, one dollar is over ₦1,500.

The naira has lost about 75% of its value against the dollar in 7 years. So anything imported, whether electronics, medicine, baby products or even some food, now costs 4 times what it used to.

My ₦500k today equals roughly $333.
My ₦150k in 2019 was worth roughly $416.

Read that again.

I earn more naira but fewer dollars. In real purchasing power I have gone backwards even though my salary tripled on paper.


FOOD

In 2019, I fed myself comfortably for around ₦30,000 per month. Decent food, market twice a week, occasionally a small restaurant.

Today that same lifestyle costs me at least ₦120,000 and that is me managing carefully.

| Item | 2019 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bag of rice (50kg) | ₦18,000 | ₦85,000+ |
| Cooking gas (12.5kg) | ₦3,500 | ₦18,000+ |
| Groundnut oil (4 litres) | ₦2,800 | ₦12,000+ |
| Tomatoes (paint bucket) | ₦800 | ₦5,000+ |
| Full chicken | ₦2,500 | ₦10,000+ |
| Big loaf of bread | ₦350 | ₦1,500+ |

My food budget went up by 400%. My salary went up by 233%. The food is winning.



RENT

In 2019, I paid ₦350,000 per year for a decent one bedroom in a Lagos suburb. That is about ₦29,000 per month if you break it down.

Today that same apartment, same area, same size, same leaking ceiling, is ₦1.2 million per year. That is ₦100,000 per month equivalent.

I now spend 20% of my gross salary on rent alone. And landlords still want one to two years upfront. So every renewal season I need to drop over ₦1 million at once like I am buying land.



ELECTRICITY AND GENERATOR
In 2019, NEPA was bad but manageable. Fuel was ₦145 per litre. My monthly gen fuel was around ₦8,000.

Today petrol is close to ₦1,500 per litre. My monthly generator fuel alone is ₦45,000. And NEPA is still giving me the same 4 hours they gave me in 2019. Nothing changed on their side except the bills went up.


TRANSPORT

Bus from my estate to office in 2019 was ₦150 each way. That is ₦300 per day, about ₦6,600 per month.

Same route today is ₦700 minimum each way. ₦1,400 per day. Nearly ₦31,000 per month.

Ride hailing? Multiply that by three. I now spend between ₦30,000 and ₦50,000 every month just moving my body from home to work and back.



SO WHERE DOES THE ₦500K GO?

| Expense | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Rent (broken down monthly) | ₦100,000 |
| Food and groceries | ₦120,000 |
| Generator fuel | ₦45,000 |
| Transport | ₦35,000 |
| NEPA bill | ₦18,000 |
| Airtime and data | ₦12,000 |
| Toiletries and misc | ₦20,000 |
| Tithe | ₦25,000 |
| **Total** | **₦375,000+** |

That leaves me ₦125,000 for savings, emergencies, hospital, clothes, sending money home, school fees if you have children, and anything unexpected.

In 2019 on ₦150,000, my total expenses were under ₦90,000 and I had ₦60,000 left. That leftover was worth $167 at the time. My ₦125,000 leftover today is worth $83.

I saved more real money when I earned less. That is not a feeling. That is arithmetic.



THE PART NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Beyond the numbers, what has changed is how money feels.

In 2019, seeing ₦100,000 in my account felt like safety. Like I had options. Like I could breathe easy.

Today I see ₦500,000 land on payday and my first feeling is anxiety, not happiness. Because I immediately start calculating what is owed, what is running out, what will still not be enough.

That shift from feeling okay to feeling like you are always one emergency away from trouble, even as your salary grows, is what this economy has quietly done to the Nigerian middle class.

We are not imagining things. We are not lazy. We are not bad at managing money. We are just running on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.



MY QUESTION TO NAIRALANDERS:
What was your salary in 2019 and what is it today? Are you genuinely better off or are you like me, earning more and living less?

Drop your numbers in the comments. No judgement for anybody. Let us count together.

Good one. When the govt borrows and their family and friends loot them away, inflation is how they steal from you, impoverish so they can keep borrowing and continue to maintain their opulence.

And to make matters worse, the govt keeps borrowing like it's nobody's business.

This is the reality of 95% of Nigerians. It's never enough, as you struggle to catch up, it just keep eluding you.

This is also why we have many political jobbers , cos politics is currently the only lucrative job in Nigeria today.

This is exactly my experience.. .. you can have a lot of cash and it still feels worthless, you buy a few things and it all gone

Even if tulumbu makes fuel #10,000 per litre,his people will still tell you what you should be asking yourself is how you should be creative enough to make more money.
These people are hideously and demonically unthinkable.
Tufiakwa!!

Sad reality, i feel choked on payday, because my salary finishes that day. If not God's blessings through online hussle, i for beg da chop. Fill gas for 1700/kg. Rice recently increased, transportation too. May APC never happen to us again

Muyiwaipere:
See ungrateful people o.

You better thank God and manage your expenses....I see married men collect #120k as salary

It's not even about how fullish u are. It's more about ur subordinates who liked ur post.

naturalwaves:
Too many exaggerations. So, you expect everything to be the same under a 7 year comparison?

So, you stay in a one bedroom apartment in a suburb with a leaking roof for 1.2M naira per year? That was the lie that made the remainder of your writeup a hogwash.

So you also expect a house he has stayed plus 7 yrs nit to leak? You can see how you too judge?

Sadly, I agree with him.

I wouldn't answer this until I know who you voted for in 2023.

some of us deserve what we're passing through now, you're slightly lucky with 500k left, 2027, we go again.

OnionBandit:
Talk true, you don dey carry woman, abi na Tulumbu?

At least, you should be sensible enough to ask reasonable questions.
You think everyone will be like you.
The fact that you are into hook or carry hook up girls doesn't mean everyone do the same.

lamentor78:
You are not a serious human being, how many people earns 500k monthly, go to school teachers in public schools and see their earnings

I earn 40k as salary, yes it's small but I cut my Budget and adjust according to my income.
I'm seeing the poster put up bag of rice at 85.
Must be buy it? Even me I get these average rice at 300 naira per cup.
Problem with poster is that he inflated his way of living

DrAda:
True. Same applies to me

let's talk via email please

Shey your purchasing Power has been reduced, we never see FDI, na LDI dey try rugged am, even the LDI are not allowed to breath as Government would still be encouraging import as if China got to where it's doing that . You all better be advising your Government and President instead of criticism all the time.

wfjimmytobby:
You lucky to have a job of 500k

Is he not lucky to even have a job at all in this Tinubu economy of All Promises Cancelled, APC

anonimi:
Tinubu sets 3-year economic revival, 50million jobs target

August 29, 2023

President Bola Tinubu who reiterated his commitment to economic revatalisation said he will not permit indolence or any act capable of derailing his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ by any of his ministers.

He gave a marching order to the 45-member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to perform or be ready to be fired for incompetence.
@
@
Edun said the Tinubu administration inherited a bad economy with an unacceptable high rate of unemployment, and with inflation standing at 24%.

He said:“Per capital has fallen steadily, inflation is at 24 percent, unemployment is high, you know m are rebasing the way in which it’s calculated. Either way, it is high and youth unemployment is even unacceptably high, these are the key metrics that we have met.”
@
@
Edun said: “Clearly, *the Federal Government is not in a position to borrow at this time*. Rather, the emphasis has to be on creating a stable, macroeconomic environment. Stable inflation, stable exchange rate, an environment within which people can come and invest and thereby increase production and further grow the economy; Improve and create jobs and reduce poverty.
@
@
Anite said President Tinubu was planning to create 50 million jobs.

She stressed: “In Mr. President’s manifesto during his campaigns, he promised 50 million jobs and that’s our target. We will take it in phases; we are looking at different sectors of the economy that will contribute to this job creation chief among them is the creative industry and the digital economy, and then the agric sector, agro-processing zones, and mining, oil and gas. So we’re very confident that we will achieve this.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/tinubu-sets-3-year-economic-revival-50million-jobs-target/

Babangidapikin:
Shey your purchasing Power has been reduced, we never see FDI, na LDI dey try rugged am, even the LDI are not allowed to breath as Government would still be encouraging import as if China got to where it's doing that . You all better be advising your Government and President instead of criticism all the time.

Plus guide me on how to advice the president since you seem to have the experience.

Leepeak:
Vote wisely thats what I will say

Because voting choices have consequences

It's scary brother man!

Ifeoluwadev:
Before anybody calls me a liar or a complainer, sit down and read this first. Because I have numbers. And numbers don't lie.

In 2019, I was earning ₦150,000 per month. Junior staff. I was not rich at all. But I was comfortable. I could breathe.

Today in 2026, I earn ₦500,000 per month. On paper that is more than 3x growth. I should be living large. I should have savings. I should be talking about investments by now.

Instead I am broke before the 25th of every month.

Let me show you exactly why.


THE NAIRA ITSELF
In 2019, one dollar was roughly ₦360.
Today in 2026, one dollar is over ₦1,500.

The naira has lost about 75% of its value against the dollar in 7 years. So anything imported, whether electronics, medicine, baby products or even some food, now costs 4 times what it used to.

My ₦500k today equals roughly $333.
My ₦150k in 2019 was worth roughly $416.

Read that again.

I earn more naira but fewer dollars. In real purchasing power I have gone backwards even though my salary tripled on paper.


FOOD

In 2019, I fed myself comfortably for around ₦30,000 per month. Decent food, market twice a week, occasionally a small restaurant.

Today that same lifestyle costs me at least ₦120,000 and that is me managing carefully.

| Item | 2019 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bag of rice (50kg) | ₦18,000 | ₦85,000+ |
| Cooking gas (12.5kg) | ₦3,500 | ₦18,000+ |
| Groundnut oil (4 litres) | ₦2,800 | ₦12,000+ |
| Tomatoes (paint bucket) | ₦800 | ₦5,000+ |
| Full chicken | ₦2,500 | ₦10,000+ |
| Big loaf of bread | ₦350 | ₦1,500+ |

My food budget went up by 400%. My salary went up by 233%. The food is winning.



RENT

In 2019, I paid ₦350,000 per year for a decent one bedroom in a Lagos suburb. That is about ₦29,000 per month if you break it down.

Today that same apartment, same area, same size, same leaking ceiling, is ₦1.2 million per year. That is ₦100,000 per month equivalent.

I now spend 20% of my gross salary on rent alone. And landlords still want one to two years upfront. So every renewal season I need to drop over ₦1 million at once like I am buying land.



ELECTRICITY AND GENERATOR
In 2019, NEPA was bad but manageable. Fuel was ₦145 per litre. My monthly gen fuel was around ₦8,000.

Today petrol is close to ₦1,500 per litre. My monthly generator fuel alone is ₦45,000. And NEPA is still giving me the same 4 hours they gave me in 2019. Nothing changed on their side except the bills went up.


TRANSPORT

Bus from my estate to office in 2019 was ₦150 each way. That is ₦300 per day, about ₦6,600 per month.

Same route today is ₦700 minimum each way. ₦1,400 per day. Nearly ₦31,000 per month.

Ride hailing? Multiply that by three. I now spend between ₦30,000 and ₦50,000 every month just moving my body from home to work and back.



SO WHERE DOES THE ₦500K GO?

| Expense | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Rent (broken down monthly) | ₦100,000 |
| Food and groceries | ₦120,000 |
| Generator fuel | ₦45,000 |
| Transport | ₦35,000 |
| NEPA bill | ₦18,000 |
| Airtime and data | ₦12,000 |
| Toiletries and misc | ₦20,000 |
| Tithe | ₦25,000 |
| **Total** | **₦375,000+** |

That leaves me ₦125,000 for savings, emergencies, hospital, clothes, sending money home, school fees if you have children, and anything unexpected.

In 2019 on ₦150,000, my total expenses were under ₦90,000 and I had ₦60,000 left. That leftover was worth $167 at the time. My ₦125,000 leftover today is worth $83.

I saved more real money when I earned less. That is not a feeling. That is arithmetic.



THE PART NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Beyond the numbers, what has changed is how money feels.

In 2019, seeing ₦100,000 in my account felt like safety. Like I had options. Like I could breathe easy.

Today I see ₦500,000 land on payday and my first feeling is anxiety, not happiness. Because I immediately start calculating what is owed, what is running out, what will still not be enough.

That shift from feeling okay to feeling like you are always one emergency away from trouble, even as your salary grows, is what this economy has quietly done to the Nigerian middle class.

We are not imagining things. We are not lazy. We are not bad at managing money. We are just running on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.



MY QUESTION TO NAIRALANDERS:
What was your salary in 2019 and what is it today? Are you genuinely better off or are you like me, earning more and living less?

Drop your numbers in the comments. No judgement for anybody. Let us count together.

Yeah things are far more expensive than they used to be and the major reason is the economic restructure of this govt,you dont need to pull out every hair in your head thinking what the problem is.... its was certain things would be tough with subsidy removal

naturalwaves:
Too many exaggerations. So, you expect everything to be the same under a 7 year comparison?

So, you stay in a one bedroom apartment in a suburb with a leaking roof for 1.2M naira per year? That was the lie that made the remainder of your writeup a hogwash.

Make research and ask questions. If you stay in either of Abuja, Lagos, or Portharcourt, then you'd know that rent is very expensive

For example, the least 1 bedroom you'd get in Portharcourt is around 800k, that's more like substandard. Most 1bed are from 1.2m upward. Except you stay around the outskirts in places like Oyigbo, Igboetche, or Iriebe, where you'd have to pay a lot to transport yourself to work everyday, that's where you'll find 1bed around 500 to 700k.

I stay around the outskirts. My rent went from 300k in 2024 to 400k in 2025. Just about a month ago the landlord brought a notice, and he had just increased it to 1.2m.

If you doubt, I have the letter from the lawyer.

You can only doubt the op if you stay in Ebonyi, Bornu or Yobe states.

That country is not a real place at all.

OBIDIENTNAIJA:
Omo this is making me emotional. You know why. I am facing the same thing too.
My salary today has gone up from 2019 to 2026 but feeding takes a large chunk of it. I was having multiple savings back then, but now I struggle to save. This is not fair. What have we done to APC to plague us with this evil 🥹🥹
A kg of gas is now 1560 I filled 3 days ago. PH.
This is not fair. Those supporting this evil APC, no matter how you pray, God will never answer your prayers because you all are worst than the devil

What if it is a prayer for repentance and asking for forgiveness?

Ebenezer2021:
let's talk via email please

Sure

It was interesting reading your frustrations on Nairaland.

You are asking life some difficult questions today, but a time may come when life asks you even harder questions.

You chose the path of employment rather than self-employment or business ownership. By that choice, you accepted the reality of the "golden handcuffs" that often accompany a salary-dependent lifestyle.

If you understand that life is full of unequal advantages and that inflation is a persistent force that steadily erodes purchasing power, how much of your 2019 salary did you convert into dollars to protect its future value? Since you are familiar with comparing the naira to the dollar as a measure of inflation's impact, what steps did you take to shield your earnings from the silent thief called inflation?

Back in 2019, if you were earning ₦150,000 per month, how much of that income did you invest in productive assets or the capital market for the future?

From your narrative, I can reasonably infer that even if your salary were increased to ₦2 million per month today, it might not fundamentally change your financial situation. Higher income alone rarely solves financial challenges when wealth preservation and capital allocation are neglected.

We are all responsible for the decisions we make in life.

Life itself is an exchange. You exchange your time, skills, and energy for wages or a salary. You then exchange that salary with landlords, transport providers, food vendors, utility companies, and manufacturers of consumer goods.

The critical question is: what did you keep for yourself? did you ever pay yourself first?

You became aware of the Nigerian capital market and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), yet you chose not to participate. Today, the same government that helped stabilize an economy facing severe fiscal challenges is being held solely responsible for your financial frustrations.

Meanwhile, millions of Nigerians are still competing to exchange their time and labour for a monthly income of ₦500,000—an amount that inflation steadily diminishes.

The lesson is simple: earning income is only one part of financial security. Preserving purchasing power, acquiring productive assets, and investing for the future are equally important. Those who ignore these realities often find themselves running harder each year merely to maintain the same standard of living.

https://youtube.com/shorts/qrXhw9OwGxU?si=Ah8Spe6zELqih5-v

Ebenezer2021:
I earn 40k as salary, yes it's small but I cut my Budget and adjust according to my income.
I'm seeing the poster put up bag of rice at 85.
Must be buy it? Even me I get these average rice at 300 naira per cup.
Problem with poster is that he inflated his way of living

baba you dey thief . You dey thief money. What kind of nonsense talk be that. How much is meat? Fish?;egusi? Oil ? Remove the fish self how much do u spend in cooking a pot of soup and how many times a month? What about stew? Guy u dey thief.