Choosing to Live in Iyana Ipaja or Maryland

So you are a single guy, working on the Island, earning at least 100k monthly and you are contemplating whether to live in Iyana Ipaja or Maryland, Egbeda or Yaba, Abule-Egba or Surulere, Okokomaiko or Ikeja? Let me help you break it down.

A lot of factors need to be considered before making this decision. Most young people I see consider the huge rent they must pay to landlords in the “mainland highbrow”. This is where they get it wrong! You don’t consider that first, you need to sit down and do the calculations. Have you considered the transport fare you will pay daily to and fro work? How about the Danfo and Conductor Wahala? Did you consider the number of hours you will spend (waste) on the road to and fro work? Proximity to everywhere? How about the health implications?

It is usually not advisable to spend more than 30% of your salary as rent. So, you have 30k from your 100k monthly salary which is 360k to pay for your rent. I am sure you can get a decent self-contain apartment in the “mainland highbrow” for this budget. You can plan the rest of your budget on the remaining 70% and still live a comfortable life here in Lagos. Please try not to spend more than this except you are willing to make further sacrifices from other areas.

You deserve to be comfortable and you need some time to yourself to think. You need to have time to engage in other of life’s activities and not wasting 5 hours in traffic everyday wishing life was fairer even when you could make it fair for you.

I will leave you with this conversation between a guy and his girlfriend.

Girlfriend: Do you drink beer?

Guy: yes, I do

Girlfriend: how many bottles per day?

Guy: 3 bottles

Girlfriend: How much is a bottle?

Guy: 300 Naira

Girlfriend: That’s 900 Naira every day, 6k every week and 25k every month?

Guy: Yes, that’s correct

Girlfriend: How long have you been drinking

Guy: 20 years thereabouts

Girlfriend: That would have been 302k annually amounting to N6m and with interest in a savings account would have been about N10m to buy a brand new car!

Guy: Do you drink beer?

Girlfriend: No

Guy: Where is your brand new car?!

Girlfriend: ???

Understanding Finance in Relationships

Finance has been identified as a major factor in any relationship and more so in a marriage relationship. If not properly checked money issue can trigger arguments, fights and ultimately separation/divorce. It is important to discuss this issue as soon as you are getting attached to that special somebody to avoid unnecessary toxic air.

From my little experience and observation in life, I have identified three (3) different ways I have seen families manage their finances.  I will only highlight the three ways while you determine which you prefer and what will work for you. Since you are in a relationship, I have assumed that you love (you noticed I did not use trust) each other.

First of all, we have the relationship where the man is the all-in-all. This category is where the man’s money is our money and the woman’s money is her money. A lot of women prefer this as it gives them undue advantage even when they earn as much as their man (if not more). To this categories of women, #wehdonema. That said, this actually works well for many “already made” men and men that have full time house wives.

The joint account relationship. The individuals in this relationship practically open an account they call, “John and Jane” account, where they contribute a portion of their monthly earnings into. No one is bothered by the balance in the other person’s account (?).This works well for couples that do not want their spouse to know what they earn or just want their personal space.

The last but not the least is the relationship that manages their monies together. They both know what the other person earns and plan their spending around the “our money”. Here, there is no hanky panky, no suspicion, no “my money”, it is everybody’s money and everybody know the plan and the limits. This works only when there is TRUST (you noticed I did not say love?) in the relationship.

There you have it. It is good you understand your relationship and what will work for you. You actually need to have some conversation around this and decide on the best option. There is always room to adjust and readjust until you get the perfect option.

Bless you.