Let me tell you one of the funniest things about saving money in Nigeria: sometimes, the best way to save your money is to give it to someone else first.
Sounds crazy, right?
But think about it.
When ₦20,000 enters your account, suddenly there are plenty of things you can do with it. Data needs to be renewed. Someone needs a transfer. There's food to buy. You remember that thing you've been wanting to purchase. Then there's that unexpected expense that always seems to appear at the worst possible time.
Before you know it, your ₦20,000 has finished.
And you're wondering:
“How did I spend all this money?”
This is one reason I understand why (contribution) has remained such a popular way of saving among Nigerians. Especially when saving for a specific thing.
With contribution, you don't just intend to save. You commit to saving.
And sometimes, that small difference can completely change how you handle your money.
How contribution Helps Me Save;
Imagine joining a contribution where 5 people contribute ₦10,000 every month.
That's ₦50,000 in the pot.
If it's your turn to collect, you get ₦50,000 at once.
But here's the important part: if you were keeping that ₦10,000 by yourself every month, there would probably be several opportunities to spend it.
Once it's committed to the contribution, you can't casually say:
“Let me just borrow ₦2,000 from my savings. I'll replace it later.”
Because you will definitely be reminded when your contribution is due.
And that's where the real benefit comes in ; accountability.
Contribution turns saving from something you hope to do into something you have already committed to doing.
For me, that's one of the simplest money-saving tricks: don't rely only on self-control; create a system that helps you stay disciplined.
And there are a few other simple tricks I try to use too...
Like target savings ; I make use of an app,the app automatically saves any amount I'm supposed to save weekly.
Another one is spend and save:
I get to save a certain percentage for every transaction I make from my bank app.
There are other simple tricks that work for me and might work for you too.. especially if you're someone that spends unnecessarily.
Apart from the contribution; I get to save immediately I receive money.
Start with a releastic amount.
It must not be a bigger amount.
Don't keep savings together with spending money. Even if it means to open a new account from another bank.
Hope this helps as savings can be a very hard task for someone people.
Thanks for stopping by.
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