Managing Money As A Student

For students like me who aren't from a wealthy family, managing money was a necessity. My parents send me 5000 naira monthly, and this wasn't enough to feed me for a week, but I knew how hard they worked for it, so I wasn't ready to waste it without properly accounting for it. It was 2018, the price of commodities were high compared to the previous years, a mudu of rice was #1000, beans was #600, sugar was #600 and garri was #300. The 5000 naira was meant for foodstuffs and also to pay for handouts and whatever that was required in school, so here is how I managed it.

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I had an alternative for virtually everything. About five students fed from my stuff, so it was a matter of what was necessary and could last longer, that counted. Garri was cheaper, and I could buy plenty of mudu if I used 1500 for it. Garri also lasts longer than rice, so on my preference, garri came first, followed by beans which seemed to swell very well when cooked. Whoever wants to drink garri with sugar will get one for himself except in a case when I don't need to buy garri because one of the students already has some. To manage garri, we could soak it for long and allow it to swell until it could swell no more before drinking, that was the money way we could assure our garri will last long.

In a case where we all have money sent to us, we share what each person would buy based on how much they have, not everyone was sincere to this though. In school, whatever task I could do, I do it instead of paying for it or I go for a cheaper alternative. Money wasn't ever enough for me, my strategy was going for cheaper alternatives and longevity and In some cases where my brain could get me free meals and treats, I go for it.