We’ve all heard it before, “save your money”. Our parents, friends, and advice columns repeat it, yet people still struggle to save. Why? One obvious reason in Nigeria today is low income. There are other reasons: fear of missing out, social pressure, the YOLO mindset, and status signaling. On the surface, saving looks like it’s about logic, numbers, inflation, investments, and “the right thing to do”. But in reality, saving is an emotional decision.
Most people don’t save because saving feels like an imposition. Saving feels like missing out on enjoyment, of not having enough, risking being seen as inferior among peers, and deferring the joys of spending. They want to flex now, lodge in nice hotels now, blow money at the club, and impress people now, especially in the age of social media, where much of what we do is a performance for other people. We want to post on IG and snap stories, and we want everyone to see us doing well. The truth is, nobody cares as much as you think they do. They will hail you for your luxuries in the moment and forget, but your savings will still be gone.
At its core, saving is about courage: the courage to resist pressure, to stop living for validation, to delay gratification in a country where the opposite is the norm. It’s the courage to choose long-term dignity over short-term ease.
Why You Should Save
The number one reason to save is freedom. Freedom is one of the most valuable currencies in this world. With savings, you are not constantly kissing ass at work; you can give your opinion freely because you are not panicking about what would happen if you lost your job. You are not constantly looking forward to the next salary, because you are out of funds and have already spent all of last month’s pay. Also, you can afford to walk away from an abusive situation (job, negotiation, business deal, relationship) when you want.
Savings give you flexibility and options. With a sizeable saving, you can afford to leave your job to start a business, or wait for a good opportunity (career, business, or investment) to fall into your lap. Someone without savings is always running, panicking; they must take the first job offer, because what choice do they have? You can afford not to be desperate. You can take bolder risks, retire early, and give yourself time to find your passion.
Even if you never spend your savings, just knowing you have it allows you to move differently in the world. It affects your confidence: the way you walk, talk, and stand. Because you are not constantly concerned about necessities, like food and rent, you can afford to think long-term, plan for a career, and a business. When you see an unexpected opportunity, you can grab it faster than the unprepared. People with savings can walk more calmly in the world and breathe easier than most. And this isn’t about income level. Lots of high earners spend it all and go broke the moment income stops.
Finally, save for no reason. Saving for no reason gives you a hedge against life’s unknowns. Life is unpredictable, and the black swan events of the world, like illness, accidents, job loss, scams, losing a spouse, or disability, usually strike without warning. Savings protect you from worries and provide a cushion so that you won’t be forced into desperate decisions.
The Power of a Strong Why
Many people live on financial autopilot. They earn, spend, rinse, and repeat. Their salary finishes, and all they do is wait for the next month’s pay. They don’t stop to think about saving; sometimes they do, but their mind avoids lingering on it. Thinking about it is too painful, because they know they should be saving, but they are not doing it. They can’t even bear to look at their bank debit alert messages. So they defer it, they postpone. They tell themselves: “When I earn more money, I’ll save more”, “next month I’ll start”. They procrastinate.
I believe that the number one reason people struggle with saving money is the lack of a strong why. People already know they should save, but it feels like general advice, like they are saving money for an abstract future reason. Someone saving to treat a medical condition would save more aggressively than someone saving to buy a pair of shoes. Likewise, someone saving for a potential layoff will save a lot more than someone saving for a birthday celebration. Your reasons matter, and to take savings seriously, you need a why strong enough to pull you forward. But how do you find a strong enough reason to save?
Find Your Why
Ancient Stoicism practised something called premeditatio malorum. It means negative visualization. They would intentionally imagine worst-case scenarios such as illness, death, and unexpected hardships. Before you say “God forbid”, they did it, not to make themselves sad or wish themselves bad luck, but to prepare themselves mentally, to value what they have now, improve their resilience, and to get their affairs in order.
Sit in a quiet place with pen and paper. Think about your short and long-term financial needs. Write down what could go wrong if you don’t have savings. What would happen if you lost your job today? Do you have enough money to survive till you get a new job? Would you be able to cover rent till you find another? What if you had a sudden illness or your car broke down on an expressway? Could you handle it? Think long term. What if you were forced to stop working due to old age or disability? Would you survive? Think about every facet of your life that could crumble if you don’t have money saved. Write them all down, even if your current income can not cover it all. Seeing it written down makes your situation more real.
Practical Reasons to Save
- Job loss survival
- Emergency fund: general life emergencies: car, house, generator, gadget repairs
- Bulk-food buying (bag of rice, oil, protein, spices)
- Children’s School Fees
- Healthcare (yours, spouse, parents, newborns)
- Rent
- Wedding
- Business capital
- Career advancement (courses, certifications, exams, books)
- Investments (Stock, bonds, treasury bills, Money Market funds)
- Real Estate (land, building)
- Japa/future relocation
- Retirement
After listing, group them into short-term and long-term goals. For each group, prioritize by the most urgent needs and start saving for them. For most people, rent, food, and transport come first. Saving is like a muscle; the most important thing in the beginning is to train that muscle. Even saving towards buying builds discipline. Once you succeed, move towards more complex saving goals, like building an emergency fund, and eventually, a strong perpetual why to keep you saving even if you exhaust all your whys, retirement savings. The more you save, the better at it you will get, and the more you will be able to resist spending everything you earn.
When a Strong Why Isn’t Enough
For most people, a strong why is enough to get them to start saving but for some, that isn’t enough motivation. They may have a deeper psychological relationship with money or even an addiction to spending they can’t shake. It’s not always about low income. Some people can’t just resist spending all their money, even when they know the consequences. They would rather enjoy the pleasure of spending now and then scramble later during emergencies, run around, scanning their contact list, asking friends for money, or borrowing from loan apps. It’s the same mindset as waiting until till the last minute to do an assignment, except here, it’s towards money. A saver doesn’t wait until the last minute of an emergency to scramble for funds; they would have prepared for months prior.
Imagine this scenario: a couple is expecting a child. They budget for a normal delivery but make no preparations for an emergency C-section. Come delivery day, the doctor says a C-section is necessary. Now the husband is scrambling for money, begging relatives, or borrowing. A saver would cringe at this because, at their core, a saver is a long-term thinker, planner, and systems thinker.
But not everybody has that “saver gene”, so to speak, and for people who want to be savers, they need to build their habits. At first, it will be hard, because they’re just coming into their identity. They still have their old, impulsive spending habits ingrained in them, and it’s going to take time to shed the old skin. As a new saver, you have to rely on systems that you will put into place. They will protect you from yourself. These systems will hold your hands in the early stages, like training wheels, until you build deeper saving habits. Let’s look at some example systems you can put in place.
- Emotional Regulation: Wealth isn’t just numbers; it’s psychology, it’s your identity. It’s in how you manage your emotions. Emotions can hijack your decision-making skills to the point where it’s not enough to know that you should save, because it won’t matter if you’ve not built emotional resilience. Stress, sadness, anxiety, or even excitement can push people to overspend despite their goals. You could have decided on the percentage of your income to save every month, but if something happens that destabilizes your emotions, you might find yourself reaching into your purse to buy a big tub of ice cream or going on a shopping spree to feel a little bit better. Instead, build routines that regulate your emotions so you’re not relying on spending to cope. You can start with journaling, meditation, breathwork, dancing, yoga, long walks, or exercise. Even doing some deep house cleaning can help you calm down. You can also delay non-essential purchases, for instance, if you’re trying to buy something online, wait 24 hours before buying to see if you still want it. That will tell you if this is an impulse spend. The key thing to remember is, you can’t always think or talk yourself out of emotional overspending because your emotions will almost always override your willpower every single time. Stay regulated.
- Automate: This is about making sure that every time you try to save, you don’t have to rely on willpower. By taking full advantage of automation, you are forced to save, even in times when you would have overspent. For instance, I try to avoid too much social media usage because of how toxic it can be, but for many years, I failed. I struggled with my willpower for the longest time until I decided to automate it with the help of technology to my advantage by using blocking apps like App Blocker and Freedom on both my mobile phone and laptop. I could set a target limit of 30 minutes for apps like Instagram and YouTube, and for some others, I blocked them permanently. This meant that even when I had a burning need to scroll or get some scoop on some trending gossip, my blocking app said NO for me. As far as savings, modern savings apps like Piggyvest and Cowrywise have features that allow you to automatically get your bank account debited periodically for savings. Even some banks allow you to give standing orders where a certain percentage of your account gets sent into a different savings account. Check with the HR at your company to see if they can help with diverting funds to other accounts for savings.
- Gamify Saving: People who love to spend often love the thrill attached to buying something new. But what if you applied that to savings? Make saving feel like a game. You could start a streak where you mark days on the calendar for days when you save or don’t go out of your spending budget for the month. Try a one-week spending fast, and gradually increase the duration.
- Add Friction: Friction is when you make it harder to do something. For instance, you can save in a locked fixed deposit account, or in one of those locked features that saving apps offer. You could also have a dedicated bank account that you don’t connect to your phone, hence disabling your access to USSD code, and bank app for transfers. Also, don’t get debit cards for the account. One other way is to leave your debit cards at home when going out. You could increase the pain of paying for things by deciding to use cash for all transactions. Research shows that physically parting with your cash makes it psychologically painful to overspend, while easy payment modes like online transfers and POS make it easier to overspend. Reduce the amount of cash you carry as well when you leave the house, too.
- Find an Accountability Partner: Find a trusted friend, spouse, or family member and tell them what you would like to accomplish with your savings. Make them hold you accountable when they see you overspending. This could also be a cooperative society or an Ajo group where you save together. Shame and peer pressure can help where self-control fails.
We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training
– Archilochus, Greek Philosopher
When Saving Isn’t Possible
It’s not always your fault that you can’t save; sometimes, the math just doesn’t work. One example is people with very low income whose expenses are always equal to or even exceed their income. By expenses, I mean stripped-down essentials like housing, rent, transport, health care, and food; not luxuries like vacations, parties, expensive wigs, and gadgets. That being said, if you can spare a tiny symbolic amount (e.g. 500 per week), save it, just to build the habit. But know that real wealth building begins once you are out of survival mode.
Another example is when someone has debt, where they pay interest. Interest with debt is always going to be a priority over saving because not only do you have the initial debt capital to pay off, but the interest on that debt is creating more debt for you to pay off. It’s like double jeopardy and reverse wealth-creation. The longer you go without paying that debt and its interest, the more money that is taken from your future self. My recommendation? Face it head-on and pay it off, so you can start actual wealth creation as soon as possible. For people in debt, you will still benefit from having a small emergency fund even just 1-2 months’ expenses saved up. Otherwise, one unexpected bill could push you into deeper debt.
For people in this category, my advice is to increase your offense strategy. Saving is a defense strategy; it preserves what you already have. An offense strategy is about growing your money via business, upskilling, or applying for better jobs. Until you get out of survival mode, offense matters more than defense.
The 50/30/20 Rule and Other Static Rules
You’ve probably heard rules like “save 20% of your income”, or “10% of your income”, or the “50/30/20 rule” (50% for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for savings). These rules can be useful training wheels for beginner savers, but don’t treat them like a Bible, because the goal should be to learn how to think for yourself long term and tailor your savings to your specific situation.
If your income is small, and housing alone takes 50% of your salary, the formula falls apart. You can’t squeeze yourself into numbers that don’t fit your reality. On the other hand, imagine someone who earns 5 million Naira a month after taxes, and then decides to follow one of these rules that says, save just 20% and then spend the rest. If 20% of that salary was enough to cover their needs and wants? Are they supposed to spend the remaining 80%? Doing so would leave money on the table that could instead grow their savings.
The goal is not to follow rules blindly. It is to think about your financial goals for the future. Do you want to retire early or even retire at all? Would you want to create a university fund for your children? What do you want? When you think about what you want, start saving according to your plans. Instead of following static rules, let your saving strategy adapt to your income, expenses, and goals. When you come across new rules, never apply them blindly, not even with this blog; use it as a spark and then learn to do the thinking for yourself.
Where Should You Keep Your Savings?
When you first start saving, a regular savings account should work. The point is to build the habit. Make it your identity, and an ingrained part of the way you see yourself. But once you’ve mastered the art of saving, you don’t want your money just sitting in a regular bank account because they typically don’t give interest at all. And then when they do, it is always a tiny percentage.
In Nigeria, saving apps like PiggyVest let you lock away your money for a fixed period of time, with a yield between 18-21%. And even some banks have fixed deposits where you can earn better interest rates than regular saving accounts with yields between 9-15%, depending on the time period. That’s much more rewarding than a basic bank savings account. Money market funds are another solid option that offer reasonable returns. Eventually, for long-term investing, you might want to look into treasury bills, stocks, bonds, and more. Each of these investment vehicles deserves its own deep dive, and I’ll be covering them in future posts.
When I started my first high-paying job, I earned in dollars. I saved around 90% of my income for almost two years without investing a single dollar. Granted, I was single, lived alone, and had no responsibilities. But I didn’t touch that money for that long because at that point, that was the largest amount of money I had touched in my life. And I was afraid of making a mistake.I knew that if I messed this up, I would regret it. So during that time, I read finance books, content, and just devoured everything I could find: reading, learning, and studying. By the time I finally decided to start investing, I knew exactly what to do, and I did it with my full chest.
So if you are just starting out, don’t feel pressured to rush into investing. Because if you rush, you could lose all of your money, fall victim to scams, and make investing mistakes that are not worth it. So just calm down, take a deep breath, and build the habit first. Use trusted saving tools and actually give yourself time to learn. Read books, finance content like this blog. Join finance groups on Facebook, Reddit, and the like. When you are ready, step into investing with clarity instead of fear.
Summary
Saving money isn’t always simple. For some, the challenge comes from low income or debt; for others, it’s emotional spending or the lack of systems. But the truth is, everyone can start somewhere. Whether it’s by setting up automatic deductions, using savings apps, or simply redefining what your “why” is, the key is to stop relying on willpower alone and build structures that carry you forward.
Static rules like the 50/30/20 framework can give you a starting point, but your savings journey must reflect your unique reality. And even if your income feels too small or your debt feels overwhelming, saving is still about more than the money; it’s about creating the mindset and habits that will later carry you into investing and real wealth-building.
The point isn’t perfection. The point is to start. Start with what you have, build consistency, and learn as you go. Over time, those small, steady steps will open the door to the bigger financial goals you dream about.