5 Ways To Save Money In Nigeria!!! - Business

We all love it when we get an alert from the bank, or a client pays us. It’s a good feeling, right? But then it all starts flying out of your hands. Where does the money go? We all have necessary expenses. There are things we can’t quite get away from paying for. These include school fees and healthcare. However, there are some expenses that we have control over.

1) Motor Insurance

Third party car insurance is required in Nigeria. Yes, Nigerians, we’re looking at you. Complete motor insurance isn’t a requirement, although this can be a good idea. What’s the difference? Third party insurance will only cover damage to the other person’s car or property in the event of an accident. Complete motor insurance will cover your own car too. To save money on rates for either type of insurance, it is good to shop around. Be sure to get quotes from several different insurance companies. To compare apples to apples, be sure to give the same information to all the insurers.

2) Gas Costs

There is not much you can do about the cost of gas in Nigeria. The difference in price between gas stations is not always significant. Between regulation by the government, fuel scarcity and price fixing, it’s a hard life out there for car owners. It is also rare for a Nigerian company to permit work from home, although it can’t hurt to ask (if it makes sense for your role). Some people have reported saving money by combining errands. This requires planning, especially in a business setting. Others choose to share a ride with colleagues to save money.

3) Mobile Phones and Data Plans

Check out your phone costs for the last three months. The majority of mobile phone users in Nigeria are on prepaid phone plans. Can you estimate what you spent on airtime and data?

•     Are you paying too much or too little for your data plan? For most telecommunications operators, you get cheaper data if you pay a higher amount. Looking at Etisalat, you can get 50 MB of data for N500 (N10/MB). Alternatively, you can get 500 MB for N2,000 (N4/MB). If you can afford to pay more at the start, your data costs will be cheaper per megabyte. If you run a business, be sure to compare providers to check out the best price for internet services for the company.

•     Text messages have become cheaper in recent years (N4 instead of N10 or N15). However, if you already have a data plan, messaging apps like BBM, 2go and Whatsapp can be used to send messages for no extra cost. Free is better than N4 any day!

4) Grocery and Food Bills

Eating out every day can get expensive. Look for decent food that is affordable and within your budget. Save the fancy hotels and eateries for an important business lunch or a special occasion (and not for every day lunch).

Some people are able to bring lunch to work or school. This is definitely more cost effective than eating out every day (We realize that this is not feasible for everyone, especially if your lunch consists of perishable food and there is nowhere to store it.)

Take advantage of specials and discounts for lunch and groceries when available

For groceries that you know you use a lot, buy in bulk where available.

5) Save Money on Purchases

There are many purchases that are unavoidable. However, do what you can to ensure that you are getting the best price on the item. You have to do some comparison shopping to see what that price is. Caveat – comparison shopping works best when comparing identical or similar items. Where can you compare prices in Nigeria?

General ecommerce retailers such as Konga and Jumia

Niche ecommerce retailers such as Gloo (for groceries)

Price comparison websites in Nigeria such as PriceCheck and NgPriceHunter

Physical stores in your area

Your network of friends and family