What do you do?
I have a 9-5 and two side gigs. For my 9-5, I work as a community manager at Eden life, where I work on things like strategy, engagement, communication and all of that. I freelance as an influencer for brands and create content on social media. Then I also own a clothing brand.
What do you enjoy most about all your jobs?
I like the freedom associated with all three jobs. I used to work at an ad agency and I always felt boxed. There was no freedom to just create, there was a specific line and path you had to follow there versus in Eden life. I have the freedom to own my work and projects. I get the freedom to execute as long as I get the stakeholders’ buy-in. I like content creation and social media because I enjoy comms. I like to design because it gives me a creative outlet to express myself- the fact that I can create any design in my head, I like it.
9-5 Vs Entrepreneurship, which is it for you?
I like both.
Why?
With my 9-5, I enjoy the stability and security that comes with it. The fact that I am guaranteed a salary will be coming in at the end of the month, I like that. I also enjoy the creativity and freedom associated with making designs and creating content. I’m a creative person and designing is something I can do for free so if I can make money off it then that's great
If you did not have to work to make money, what would you be doing instead?
I would say travel, but it's not just traveling out of the country. I like experiencing new things, new cultures, and seeing new places. So for me, it would be traveling, drawing, designing and documentation.
A full-on creative, I stan
See, there was extra when they were creating me lol.
Are you an indoor or outdoor type of person?
I’m both.
Really, that's interesting.
Yea. Most people think I’m an extrovert, but I'm not entirely. Monday - Friday, I’m home watching Netflix or playing board games with my friends when they come over. I truly enjoy alone time. When I'm not home, however, I enjoy going out to change my environment. Also once work is stressing me, I like to change my environment to destress. So I'm not an extrovert neither am I a home buddy, I sit somewhere on the fence between both.
What are your three major spending buckets in a month?
Food, transportation, going out.
What do you spend money on the most, month on month?
I spend more money on transportation. Lagos buses make me paranoid so I like to take Uber when I need to go out.
Are you a saver, big spender, avoider, investor, or debtor?
I’m in-between saver and big spender.
How does that work?
So on the months where there's more influx of money, I'm more of a spender than a saver while on months where my income is reduced, I lean more towards saving than spending.
That's fair. So your money behavior is quite intentional
Yes, it is
Tell me about a bad money decision you made this year
I think either this year or last year, I invested in crypto and I lost my money. The thing was I invested out of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and also I didn't understand what I was putting my money in. At the time, my best friend's younger brother was cashing out on crypto and I didn’t want to be left out.
Since then, what else have you invested in?
Honestly, I haven't invested in anything yet. I wanted to invest in an ETF one time but I didn't understand it. However, I'm thinking of subscribing to a financial literacy community so I can learn and understand money better. I think with financial education I would invest more.
Generally, do you think you manage your money well?
I think I can do better with managing my money. I made a lot of money this year and I watched the value of that money drop with the devaluation happening with the dollar plus inflation in Nigeria. If I can learn how to invest, diversify and grow my money, rather than just leaving it in the account and watching it drop, I think I will be better off.
What does money mean to you?
Money is freedom. The fact that I can do things for myself like feeding and paying my rent without relying on anyone else, is freedom to me.
