Life can sometimes be a difficult puzzle, and life hacks are the keys that unlock its hidden doors. Before I went for my service year, I was the kind of person who liked to spend a lot; I didn't have the habit of saving. If you actually want to get me to spend, just take me to the market, I will start picking things that I don't even need.
However, reality began to weigh on me when I wanted to go to my national youth service program. The program will allow me to be far away from my parents. And there is one common thing with Nigerian parents; I don't know if they do that in other countries. Once you have finished university, you actually won't get any money from your parents again, be it money, food, clothing, or other things.
One day, there was actually no money on me because I had used it to buy clothes,so I called my dad, hoping that he wouldn't send me money.
He promised that he was going to send the money, but frankly speaking, I chatted with him for hours, and he didn't reply to me.
That was when I realized that I'm in for it. And if I don't find something to do with my life, I will end up being miserable. At first, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to go about it. But when the hunger was getting much for me, it was then that I looked at the ceiling fan, and I said to myself, "This Sapa must end.
I adopted the discipline of saving first and foremost. I locked up my money using PiggyVest and other sites. I knew that I might not want to transfer the money to my account, so I made an automatic transfer.
This helped me control my impulsive spending, despite the first challenge.
I also made some changes to my spending patterns. I used to be the type of girl who enjoyed eating out, but I soon realized that doing so would cost a lot of money.I made the switch to buying foodstuffs and other necessities in bulk and carefully budgeted for each month's requirements. Making this change was essential to adjusting to the shifting financial conditions and growing costs.
Due to the fact that the economy is getting worse each day and the allowance I'm getting from my service year won't be enough, I decided to embark on a journey to acquire new skills.
To supplement my income, I delved into side jobs such as creative design, recognizing the need to diversify my skills to navigate the challenges of the evolving job market.
What started out as a reaction to financial difficulties ultimately became a way of life focused on strategic planning, ongoing skill development, and financial responsibility. and this made me a living proof that life hacks, when adopted, can create a meaningful and long-lasting way of life.