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[the-everyday-nigeria]

Things I do to live a simple life

1. Settle for Second Place: In life we tend to push to be the best or the greatest at what we do, thereby putting ourselves under massive pressure. We're always in constant competition with the next guy, so in trying to live simply I've decided to settle for second place because I've decided that it's okay if my neighbor drives a Ferrari and I drive a Honda. As long as my car gets me to where I'm going it's alright.

2. No Multitasking: The modern world has taught us that we can do multiple things at the same time but in doing so, I found out that I put myself under a lot of undue stress and I end up with couple of incomplete task. So in trying to live a simple life I've decided to face a particular task squarely and finish it before moving on to the next one.

3. Reduce Social Media Consumption: With how we're getting shown people's picture perfect lives and we tend to envy and most times lose our way while trying to obtain that life, I quit a lot of my social media accounts and aside from that, we get lost in the endless scrolling cycle looking for the next dopamine fox to get us out of the humdrum instead of going out there and meeting/making friends or striving to be better we just scroll and later end up feeling like sh*t. So I quit most of my social media aside from YouTube (for learning) and WhatsApp (for communication).

4. Learning for Other People's Mistakes: "Let me learn from my mistakes": this is a common saying in the part of the world I come from but it is something I've never purposefully tried to apply. I don't believe in learning from my mistakes as some mistakes I've seen didn't give their owners the opportunity to learn from them so as much as it is in my power I learn from the mistake of others. It also saves me time as I already know what doesn't work; so instead of hammer at what someone has done and failed at, I'll look for a better way of getting it done.

5. Decluttering: This has been a big part of my life, since I picked up minimalism. I've greatly reduced the quantity of "stuff" that I own, cut down my wardrobe size to just the essentials, sold off items that had no purpose or I wasn't using anymore. Now I have more space, cleaning my house is easier, I don't bump into random things all the clutter is slowly but surely disappearing and I've seen the peace of mind the having less stuff brings plus it helped me give away some things and in doing so brought joy to other people.

These are some of the things I'm doing, feel free to suggest more simple life hacks in the comments!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

Things I Budget for in 2023

Since I started my personal finance journey and have decided to go bare bones with my budget, here are five things I'm paying for this year.

1. Housing: This kinda weird to put on this list as I don't actually pay rent because my late father left me a house but it's not in that state he or I would like so I put down the equivalent of it's rent into fixing the house up and getting it in a good state as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'll also be trying to get a rental property on the land.

2. Groceries: Everyone has to eat so definitely a good chunk of my money will be spent here. I won't be eating out as much I have to ensure that there is good food readily available to eat else I waste money eating food that won't satisfy me at exorbitant prices. My toiletries and clothing also fall under this category. Although I ain't gonna spend much on clothing, thrift stores all the way!

3. Utilities: Bills have to be paid to keep the lights on and the internet running. While a lot of people don't put too much thought into these things, my utilities are those things that make my life a little bit easier: electricity, internet, gas, running water etc. I definitely will be spending money on these things.

4. Transportation: I have to get to my 9-5 job if I want to earn the money required to pay for all the things I have on my budget so transportation is key and with the hike in fuel prices in my country this has become a major concern as it has caused the cost of transportation to increase, making transportation my most expensive expense. Although I'm doing things to cut some of the cost like going out earlier and walking some of the way.

5. Fun: I have never actually budgeted for fun until this year, so I don't really know what to do here but I'm keeping some money down that I plan to spend every weekend doing things I consider to be fun. Although I don't have much experience in that regard, I'll do my best. Feel free to comment on suggestions.

These are the things I'm budgeting for in 2023, hope it gives you some ideas in preparing your own budget!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

5 posts!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

First Anime Watched This Season

NINGEN FUSHIN NO BOUKENSHA-TACHI GA SEKAI WO SUKUU YOU DESU

Type: Winter 2023 Anime

Plot Summary: Nick used to be a member of a veteran adventurer party, helping his undisciplined friends with the accounts whenever he could. But what was his reward? Getting accused of embezzlement and kicked out by the leader he respected. Before long, he finds a few other jaded adventurers and kindred spirits, and together, they form their own unstoppable party!

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Released: 2023

Source: gogoanime

[the-everyday-nigeria]

Things I Intend To Stop Buying in 2023

2023 is finally here and as it's the case with my country January is the toughest month financially so here are some things I'll be cutting back on or eliminating to help me achieve my financial goals for 2023!

1. A new smartphone: I'm actually the type of person that changes his mobile phone every two years and 2023 is supposed to be the year I change my current smartphone but as I've started my personal finance journey, I've decided not to do that this year or the next I would only be changing it if my current phone goes bad. The prices of smartphones skyrocketed because of the low value of my country's currency so a new smartphone is definitely not on my purchase list this year.

2. Haircuts: As someone that was raised to cut his hair every week, I've realized that that's another area my money is being spent. It might just be a couple of bucks per week but adding that up by the end of the year, you find out that you've spent a whole lot on a haircut. So while I will not be doing away with my barber, I will restrict my haircuts to once a month and I'll use my clippers to clean up my hairline and the likes before my haircut appointment.

3. Full Price Clothing: I normally don't do this but the prices of clothes are beginning to become "cut throaty". So this year I don't intend to buy any clothes from boutiques or clothing stores; all my clothes and accessories will be gotten from thrift stores, open sales, give aways and the likes.

4. Over-priced Food: This year I plan to be intentional with my food, I plan to reduce the rate at which I eat out to a near zero figure unless it is a means to reward myself for achieving a goal. Eating out in my country at a good restaurant can cost almost an arm and a leg even the not so good restaurant charges exorbitant prices for terrible meals that won't satisfy anybody, so overpriced food is out of my budget this year. I'll learn to cook and be happy with the meals I prepare; even ordering for takeout is cancelled!

5. Addictive Substance: While I don't smoke or do recreational drugs, I'm kinda addicted to sweet things and this year I plan to cut back as much as I can on the biscuits, cakes, pancakes, chocolates, etc, as these things tend to cost a good deal these days and being someone who is not satisfied a having just one, I have to intentionally cut them off and fight my cravings. This one might be the toughest thing I have to do away with on this list, I will keep you updated on my battle.

These are the things I intend to stop buying in 2023, feel free to comment on the things you'll be doing away with in 2023 and also comment suggestions on how I can achieve my financial goals!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

Attaining My Financial Goals in 2023

As 2022 comes to an end and I've looked at my savings, I realized one thing I could have done better. Granted that I got into the personal finance space in the last four months of the year, here are some tip that I plan to use in 2023 to help me attain my goals with ease and in record time!

Prepare an actual budget: This is one of the things I need to really get done because I don't think I've ever really budgeted before. I've tried and failed because I rarely ever stick to it but come 2023, the plan is to first find out how much I spend and what I spend on and from there work out the things I need to cut out or the things I need to add depending on the situation.

Make attainable goals: This really a big deal for me as most finance hack videos or articles talk about saving $10,000 but for someone like me who is from a very corrupt country where the minimum wage is #30,000 (approx. $66.66) saving $10,000 (approx. #4,500,000) is not really a feasible goal with an income of #186,000 (approx. $413.33) monthly. So I think starting with $1,000 (approx. #450,000) in savings is a better goal to with, and hopefully this saving helps grow my income and help me attain greater goals.

Write down said goals: Another thing I need to do is write down my financial goals on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis and tick them off as I achieve them. I believe doing this will make the goals look a lot less overwhelming. For instance in my casa I want to save #450,000 and this is a whole lot of money to people from my country but if I divide that money by 4, it means every quarter I should have #112,500, dividing that by 3 means I should save #37,500 on a monthly basis to achieve my goal. Looking a this I could easily say I want to save #40,000 instead and following the calculations will lead me to #480,000 (approx. $1066.66) which is $66.66 higher than my proposed goal!

Make use of high interest savings account and investment platforms: This is could be the biggest tool I plan to use in achieving my financial goals. As with platforms like these, I can enable instant savings withdrawal on pay day, get massive saving interest rate that can be compounded monthly, limit access to savings, get bonuses for saving monthly among other things. The actual platform I am going to be using called piggyvest because of the fact that it contains all these packages in one simple app. I also plan to limit my usage of conventional bank accounts and stick to these upcoming online banks and micro finance banks that don't charge most of exorbitant fees that conventional banks charge and they also give good interest rates of up to 2% as compared to the 0.001% given by conventional banks!

Reward myself as I achieve my goals: With this I hope to give myself positive reinforcement for achieving my goal. As this is not usually in my character this could possibly be the hardest thing on this list. Growing up in a home and a country where most achievements are taken for granted; I hope to break the norm, reward myself for goal accomplished and continue to push myself towards greater heights!

Honorable mentioned

Increasing my income: While I don't have a definite plan for this I'm looking into building rental property as it is quite easy to buy a land and build houses in my country. If you have any suggestions as to how I can increase my income While working a 9-5 job please feel free to comment down below.

Well then these are the things I plan to use as stepping stones in my way to financial freedom, I will also be sharing my progress in hopex that it motivates others to do same. Hope you join me on my journey and it spurs you to do same or spurs you to do better if you are already on your way! Stay Blessed!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

Winter 2023 Anime List (January-March)

As the last quarter of 2023 draws to a close here's a list of animes that will be gracing the screens along with their release date starting next year

MONDAY

Vinland Saga Season 2 - 09/01/2023

Ayakashi Triangle - 09/01/2023

High Card - 09/01/2023

The Vampire Dies in No Time Season 2 - 09/01/2023

Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari - 09/01/2023

Reborn to Master The Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire - 09/01/2023

FLAGLIA: Natsuyasumi No Monogatari - 16/01/2023

TUESDAY

Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save The World - 03/01/2023

Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible - 10/01/2023

Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill - 10/01/2023

WEDNESDAY

Bungou Stray Dogs Season 4 - 04/01/2023

Tomo-chan is a Girl - 04/01/2023

The Magical Revolution of The Reincarnated Princess and The Genius Young Lady - 04/01/2023

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague - 04/01/2023

Tsurune: The Linking Shot Season 2 - 04/01/2023

Technoroid Overmind - 04/01/2023

BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense Season 2 - 11/01/2023

Kaina of The Great Snow Sea - 11/01/2023

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen - Chaos in Urbanrama - 18/01/2023

THURSDAY

Spy Classroom - 05/01/2023

ONIMAI: I'm Now Your Sister - 05/01/2023

The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World - 05/01/2023

DanMachi Season 4 Part 2 - 05/01/2023

Buddy Daddies - 05/01/2023

Revenger - 05/01/2023🍂 FRIDAY

My Life as Inukai-san's Dog - 06/01/2023

Farming Life in Another World - 06/01/2023• Sugar Apple Fairy Tale - 06/01/2023

Giant Beasts of Ars - 06/01/2023

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War - 06/01/2023

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte - 06/01/2023

The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made Season 2 - 13/01/2023

D4DJ All Mix - 13/01/2023

SATURDAY

The Misfit Of Demon King Academy - 07/01/2023

UniteUp - 07/01/2023

Kaiko Sareta Ankoku Heishi (30-dai) no Slow na Second Life - 07/01/2023

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World For My Retirement - 07/01/2023

Tokyo Revengers Season 2 - 07/01/2023• The Reincarnation of The Strongest Exorcist in Another World - 07/01/2023

Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro - 07/01/2023

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten - 07/01/2023• Nier Automata Ver 1.1a - 07/01/2023

Trigun Stampede - 07/01/2023

Hikari No Ou - 14/01/2023

SUNDAY

In/Spectre Season 2 - 08/01/2023

Handyman Saitou in Another World - 08/01/2023

By The Grace of The Gods - 08/01/2023

The Tale of Outcasts - 08/01/2023

Mou Ippon - 08/01/2023

These are the anime for the first quarter of 2023! Feel free to comment on what you'll be watching!

[the-everyday-nigeria]

Financial Lesson I learnt in 2022

In the year 2022 I've learnt a lot of this some good, some bad and some have absolutely no purpose whatsoever but here are some financial lessons I learnt in 2022 that have made my life all the better.

1. Every penny you save will one day save you: In the middle of the year I got a job that paid about 7x my previous job and hoped my life would automatically become worthwhile and I wouldn't have to the way I did previously and would have more money in my account but to my greatest surprise, this wasn't the case as I seemed to save less money than when I was at my previous job. This became very evident when my younger brother's school called for resumption suddenly, I realized that I had no money to support him and had to resort to borrowing. If I had saved as I was supposed to I wouldn't have had to beg for money to support my brother's education. So it is important that we save a little money for emergencies; no matter the level of income that you are at currently, try to keep at least 1/10 of your monthly income for emergencies because while we do not pray for them eventualities will always arise: you could lose your job, a family member or yourself can get sick, you can make a bad investment, etc and then in your days of trouble, your savings will save you!

2. If it sounds too good to be true, it most usually is: In Nigeria, it is very common to hear: invest 20,000 and get 100,000. Simple mathematics shows that this kind of investment is trying to 500% returns on your investment and there is currently no business on God's green earth that can do this even for stock traders that invest wisely and safely make around 8-12% returns on their investment. Your average business man doesn't make that much profit, neither does your international business man or even your most experienced crypto trader (which by the way I would advise against if you want your money to be safe). So any business that promises you an absurd amount of returns be it online or physical, is usually a Ponzi scheme that will leave a lot of so-called investors in tears!

3. If you can't afford to pay in cash don't buy it: With the advent of things like Easy Buy, buy now and pay later offers; more and more people are tempted to buy things they cannot afford and sometimes things that they do not need. While this is not something I practice, I have a colleague let's call him Bob that bought a phone using one of these services and it would surprise you that the resulting debt accrued by Bob could not be paid in six months for a phone that just cost around 60000! He was knee deep in debt that he had to take loans to pay the phones cost and this spiralled out of control as he was borrowing from one loan app to pay the other and all this started because he bought a phone he could not pay for in cash!

4. Stay Broke: While this might sound like a terrible advice, hear me out. If for example you're like myself that was making a particular amount and you were living comfortably then you 7x your income and immediately raise your standard of living, spending on frivolities, etc; your account balance and assets will most definitely not reflex your new income. Instead of doing what I did, if you instead try to maintain your standard of living or maybe just raise it a bit and avoid non essential things as much as you possibly can: then you have more money to save, more money to invest in things that will serve your future. So while it might sound counter intuitive, staying broke is one of the things I learnt in the year 2022

5. Don't forget to have fun: In my quest to do better with my finances, I found myself at a place where I completely avoided things that I used to do for fun as I said to myself that they were just excuses to spend money that I should be saving; this mentality change when I cracked and went on a spending spree as I had been starving myself of fun things I used to do. If you don't have fun every once in a while, the day you finally break, you would incure the worst expenses ever. So, keep some money aside for fun things, doesn't have to be too much but just enough to keep the "fun monster" satiated!

6. Make efforts to learn about money and how you can make more of it: Growing up in a religious family we rarely talked about money and living in a country where it is very possible to make money from fraudulent and/or mystic way having too much money is usually regarded as a bad thing but one truth I've learnt about money is that money buys you time for example if you had sufficient money you wouldn't have to work extra hours to make more money. Those hours could be spend with friends and family or used to pursue a hobby rather than bursting your butt on a job you don't really like. So while some people might view money in a bad light I've learnt that money obtained legally and genuinely while it might not buy you happiness as we have always been told, will buy you the time you need to find happiness. So learning about your finances and how to make more money is one of the most important things I learnt in 2022.