Last year, we asked Nigerians to share some unconventional money hacks that saved them money, and received some truly unique responses.
But our economic realities have worsened since then, forcing Nigerians to tighten their purses even further. So, we asked Nigerians to tell us the personal saving techniques they’ve adopted in 2024 to help them survive.
These 7 stood out:
1. “Piggybank instead of PiggyFlex.” — @sacredsofy
Your Flex Naira is an excellent wallet for saving emergency funds for use within the month. But if you’re the type of person who loses the plot and starts going to your Flex wallet at every slight inconvenience, then switching to PiggyBank will do you a world of good.
PiggyBank offers an extra layer of accountability that could help you reconsider your priorities. Locking up your funds for longer periods can help you save more in the long run.
2. “Budgeting.” — @Laolu365
Budgeting is that obvious, yet vastly overlooked money-saving hack. A budget is a financial plan that covers a specific period. There are many steps involved in creating a budget: taking note of your income and expenses and making sure it is realistic and easy to adhere to. Budgets only work when you adhere to them, after all.
3. “Save 20% of my business monthly profit.” — @eyidaraa
Don’t we just love it when our customers are familiar with important budgeting principles? If you didn’t already know about the 50-30-20 rule, it is a budgeting rule that recommends you set aside 50% of your income for your needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and investments.
The 50-30-20 rule is a great way to build an emergency fund, ensure all your bills are covered, and even have some money for non-essential expenses. It also works for longer-term financial goals, like retirement planning.
4. “I remove my savings first from my every earning.” — @HopeRemy
There are many ways to save money as a Nigerian, and one really intuitive hack is to save first (aka pay yourself) before you start spending. Saving in these times can be really difficult, but by automating it, you can outsource this single hassle of having to save manually every month. PiggyVest’s Autosave allows you to choose your saving frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly), and even better, you can it off anytime you like.
We preach “saving before spending” because wahala no de finish. Best to have your emergency funds safely tucked away before the never-ending inconveniences of adulting show up mid-month, as usual.
5. “Once the money in my flex account gets to 100k I move it straight to safelock and flex the 10k interest on it for rainy days.” — @TiredZoey
This is some genius-level thinking. Letting money accumulate in your Flex Naira wallet up to a certain amount, and then moving it to a Safelock only to receive your upfront interest in your Flex wallet to use as rainy-day funds. And we can all agree that one of our favourite things about Safelock is the upfront interest you get just for saving.
Here’s another hack inside this hack: You don’t even have to spend the interest if you don’t want to, you can instead start compounding your interest by Safelocking it again. And again.
6. “Couch potatorism / by-force introvert.” — @EbaForBreakfast
Don’t underestimate how much money you save just by becoming a couch potato. After you’ve paid your Netflix and Prime subscriptions for the month, loaded your prepaid meter with ₦20k worth of units (stay strong, Band A users), and stocked up the freezer with food for the week, what more are you looking for?
Instead of going outside to do “savings or current”, it’s better to find a comfortable corner of your couch, or bed, and maximise your rent. Try to sit at home sometimes; you’re not Poco Lee.
7. “Weekly safelocks. The best thing since white bread.” — @IfyCynthetic
At this point, it’s safe to say Safelocking your funds is a savvy way to make a quick, quick buck on top of your savings. And what’s better than monthly Safelocks? Weekly Safelocks. In fact, it’s “the best thing since white bread,” @IfyCynthetic’s words, not ours.
Safelocking funds weekly is really a smart way to utilise the Safelock feature. Instead of staring at your money and fighting the urge to spend it every week, lock it up and spend the upfront interest instead. Everybody wins.
