10 Money Lessons for Friends and Lovers

“Money separates friends” is a phrase I heard quite often growing up, and along with the quote, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” it formed my money philosophy as a teen. I witnessed enough “friendships” go sour because someone borrowed and didn’t pay back, to know that there was truth to the saying. So unless I was gifting cash, I avoided the topic as much as possible when it came to friends and lovers.

As I grew older however, it became more and more difficult to keep the subject of money out of relationships. Read more…

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5 Ways to Help If Your Husband Gets Laid Off

Recession is not just a word. Every day, people are losing their jobs and it’s not a function of their performance. Many companies just can’t afford to keep people on.

Being there for a fired husband is not a walk in the park. Men are expected to and socialized to see themselves as providers, and when a man can’t provide, it affects him seriously. As a result, even if his severance package can tide you over until a new job comes so you don’t have to deal with the financial strain, being out of work is still extra hard for a man’s ego.

What can you do?

5 Things Rich Couples Do That Others Don’t

Have you ever wondered how come you and your partner earn good incomes and yet are not really rich? I’ve realized that it is not enough to make money; it must be managed properly and made to grow. All the land being bought and vacations being taken are not entirely funded by salaries. Here are 5 things ordinary couples like you and me, who attain financial freedom, do differently… continue reading

Top 5 Money Mistakes Young Nigerians Make

Financial education is not included in the curriculum for students in Nigeria, but it should be. It is not enough to make money; it must be managed properly and made to grow. If you find yourself struggling financially, even despite having good income, you are likely to be making one or more of these 5 mistakes. 

1. Living above your means: You need to track your spending and know if you’re living within your means. Spending more than you earn will ensure that you never amount to anything financially. A good place to start is to track your daily spending. Looking at a record of where all your hard earned money really goes is an eye-opener, and you just may be surprised at what you discover. If you’re spending so much that you have nothing to save, you will never know financial freedom no matter how much money you earn. Which brings us to our next point…

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Why Having a Joint Account in Marriage is Not the Real Issue

“Don’t ever let love so intoxicate you to the point of opening a joint account.”

This was the advice one of my mothers-in-Christ gave me long before I got married. I understood that it was based on her own experience, as well as those of women she had counselled. Still, I couldn’t help wondering whether or not the experiences of an unfortunate few made the practice wrong.

Emeke, who recently started dating Ese, expressed his desire to run a joint account with her should they eventually get married. “I like it because it shows openness. It worked great for my parents.”  Unfortunately, Ese holds the opposite view. “I don’t like the idea at all. It was horrible for my mother. If we’re saving together towards a common goal or project then that’s fine, but just running a joint account together like that, no please.”

On the surface this looks like yet another item of baggage being carried over from parents’ marriage into that of the offspring, but a closer look reveals otherwise.

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