101 Ways To Spend Less Cash In Nigeria (47-68)

HOUSE,FOOD, PETS AND REAL ESTATE

47.  Build your own house: In every single part of the world, it is common knowledge that it is cheaper to live in your own house than pay rent monthly. It is even better here in Nigeria where taxes aren’t as high as in developed countries.

48.  Cook at home instead of eating out: It is cheaper to cook at home instead of eating out in the long run. While it is okay to occasionally eat out, you will save more if you regularly cook your own meals even if you are a bachelor.

49.  Avoid unnecessary visits and visitors: don’t go out to visit people too often or you might spend more on transportation/fuel, and receive guests with caution especially those that always seem to time their visits to when you eat lunch or dinner.

50.  Use a pressure cooker: a pressure cooker will reduce the boiling time thereby saving you energy if you use an electric cooker, or gas, if you use a gas cooker. This is especially useful for those who like to cook and eat beans.lol

51.   Don’t buy bottled water when ‘pure’ water will do or canned drinks for N100 when ‘content only’ is N60, and you won’t need that can/bottle for anything at all except to show that you are a big boy. lol. If you have alternatives and there really is no advantage to the more expensive option then go for the cheaper or cheapest option and save money.

52.  Use rechargeable batteries: from lanterns to cars, to torches, to phones, it is far cheaper to use rechargeable batteries than other types of batteries, even if it is Duracell.

53.  Use your generator less: and save fuel, save the planet. Also use less of your A/C, it saves energy, it saves the planet. That naturally leads to the next two tips

54.  Consider solar panel: utilize the sun’s free energy. It’s without saying that in Nigeria, anything that will help you avoid having to buy fuel for generator again and again will be a money saver. I think solar panels are that messiah. Draw back is that they are a little expensive to purchase and install.

 

3.5kva portable solar generator with inverter

I saw this great product on Konga, it is both an inverter and a solar panel combined. Check it out it might save you some cash in the long run, especially if PHCN is virtually non-existent in your part of the country but it is very costly oh. (See the next tip)

Update (10/11/2014): I saw this great article by another Nigerian blogger Chukwudi Onyeneho on how to build your own solar panel. If you don't even have the money to buy, then consider building yours. Click the link to check it out.

55.  Use inverters: the typical inverters in Nigeria work by converting DC to AC and then storing up energy for future use. This is especially important in our country where power outages have become a part of our national culture.

1.5KVA Inverter System 

56.  Use LED (white) bulbs instead of Incandescent (red) bulb: the white uses up less energy, is cheaper, lasts longer (typical incandescent lasts up to 1500 hours while a goodLED can last up to 60,000 hours), produces no heat, and creates a cool ambience. Drawback is that some of them are fragile and might burn up faster especially if you don’t have a stable, efficient power supply.

57. Switch off the lights: If you are not using a light bulb, switch it off. Whenever you are exiting a room, turn off the lights. When you are brushing your teeth, don’t leave the tap running. You will save the planet and your pocket some money too.

58.  Find free entertainment: you don’t have to go to the cinema or a comedy show to be entertained, if you can simply find a park around and have picnic. Finding free entertainment is about finding cashless innovative ideas for entertaining your family, guests or yourself without looking cheap or miserly. Be creative and make watching a film at home more fun than going to the cinema.

59. Change neighbourhood: It’s cheaper to live in some states. For example it is far cheaper generally to live in Ibadan than Lagos state. The truth is that it is also cheaper to live in some parts of a state. This is a tricky one as relocating requires a lot of planning. But if you are an artisan, it might cost you less to relocate your services and your family to a state where the cost of living is lower. Though you might make a little less income compared to, say, working in Abuja, but you are sure to spend far lesser living in Abuja outskirts, Nassarrawa state, or Niger or Kogi states.

60.  Fix it yourself: ubiquitous on the internet is information on how to fix anything yourself. So instead of paying a neighborhood ‘computer guru’ to install a software for you or an electrician to fix your blender for you, google it and you will be surprised that it isn’t as hard as you thought it will be. And the beauty about fixing it yourself is that you can get to also fix it for others and probably charge them for it, or feel like a hero or superstar if you can’t/don’t want to bill them. Wikihow.com has a lot of great articles, and you can even supply the answers to some of the questions not yet answered.

61.  Do it yourself: if you have extra time, you can clean your shelf, wash your car, polish your shoes, iron your shirts etc, yourself. Sometimes it might require you creating the extra time out of your busy schedule just so you can save some extra bucks. This is especially important for people in debt, or who are looking for ways to spend less than they make. When I did a personal audit, I discovered I had no business dry-cleaning my clothes, giving my shoe out to be polished, shaving at a saloon, and many more. You will be surprised at the number of things you can do yourself that you spend transportation fare/fuel, and bills to get done for you.

62.  Find cheaper cable/satellite TV: many Nigerian guys love to watch premiership at home, but it cost close to N11, 000 monthly to fulfill that desire watching DSTV. But many don’t know that there are cheaper Asian equivalents of DSTV (e.g. Cnet, and Metro Digital) that will show all the matches every weekend for only N3,000 per month. Even paying for the 

      N5, 000 bouquet on DSTV will not give you access to the very same matches.

63.  Pay for your subscriptions in bulk and take advantage of the bulk discount: If you are on a monthly subscription to DSTV, the Economist, Tell, Punch, Netflix, your domain name registration/webhosting, etc, many offer discount for bulk purchase. Paying for the subscription in bulk might cost you more at first, but save you more money down the line because of the discount. But this will require you saving up for the payment. Another advantage you get is that the annual rising inflation rate in Nigeria at about 10% which theoretically makes your cash at hand today less valuable in future. The drawback is that your money is tied down even if you don’t want the subscription anymore.

64.  Use a diesel engine instead of petrol:  using a diesel engine machine costs more at the outset, including the fact that diesel is a little more expensive, but it burns slower and you will not need to refuel as often as you would a petrol engine. It is also less flammable and therefore safer.

65.  Be a vegetarian, avoid meat and fish: Avoiding Fish and meat, instead sticking to vegetables will not only pay health-wise, it can also help you save cash regularly. But this is not a tip that anyone and everyone can easily utilize. But consider it strongly. When for example we tell a diabetic patient to abstain from sugar drinks, eating large quantities of food at once, they rarely see that apart from the health benefit accruing, there is also a savings benefit as they can now save the money they will have used in buying those things.

66. Have a backyard garden and grow your own food: Growing your own food in your backyard will save you money in the long run not short term. Moreso, you will have an hobby that use can monetize down the line. And this is very similar to the next tip.  

67. Rear your livestock: if you are a heavy consumer of meat, it might be cheaper to rear them instead of having to buy them every time. In Nigeria today, there is a shortage of blue and white collar jobs, so agriculture presents a veritable source of living. Also, if you have the strength and knowledge, and you are less busy, instead of buying every single meat item you consume, you can rear them either in your compound, or in a small farm around your neighbourhood. You never can tell, this might just become a solid multiple source of income for your family.     

      I find that people who grew up in villages or with families that farmed regularly find it easier to do this tip.

68. Plan before buying or raising a pet: If you like dogs, don’t just go and buy two and keep them as pets without first counting the cost even if you want to rear them for their puppies. Unlike in developed countries, raising pets in Nigeria can be very expensive, especially when it comes to getting the appropriate food, medical care and household protective/safety equipments for keeping them and your visitors safe. I know people who raise pets (Alsatians) as a source of (multiple) income, but it also costs much to breed the dogs and their puppies. 

      You can buy or sell pets on (use the links) OLX or Tradestable. And here are  a list of businesses offering pets food for sale.

      The only Nigerian pets blog I found was Naija pets blog, but it doesn't seem to be active.

      You can also google cost-effective ways to raise a dog, and/or follow interesting pet blogs like Cat wisdom 101, You did what with your weiner  and Two french bulldogs 

      Click here for a list of the top pet blogs in the world  

   Continue with me tomorrow for more ways to spend less in Nigeria.