In Nigeria, is financial success more about earning money or keeping it?

[QKBOOJ]

In our country recently, I have been confused about what financial success really is. Is it how much money you can earn, how well you are able to manage and keep that money, or is there more to it?
We often struggle to increase our income by getting better-paying jobs, businesses, side hustles, and others. But at the same time, we see people earning well and still struggling financially due to poor money management, poor lifestyle choices, or lack of discipline.
On the other hand, there are people who do not earn that much, but they are careful with their spending, avoid unnecessary pressure, and slowly build some level of stability over time, being disciplined with their plans and money management.
From what I have observed so far in my years of staying in this country, where the prices of things increase as they like, earning money alone is not enough. One has to be disciplined. If you cannot control what comes in, it will still go out just as fast.
But please, let us also keep it in mind that if the income is too low, even good money management has its limits.
Honestly, I am trying to understand which one matters more in reality—is financial success in Nigeria more about how much you earn, or how well you keep and manage what you earn?

[Sammye3]

I would say it's more of earning money than keeping it, you can't possibly save money for long when you don't have a stable source of income.

There is always need for money, and you can't possibly avoid spending forever. So with a constant income, one could achieve financial success.

Financial management is important but can never be overemphasized when the source of income is shaky, that is the basis of a balanced life.

[QKBOOJ]

I get what you’re saying, and it makes sense sha. Without steady income, saving for long becomes very hard.

But then again, even people with stable income still struggle sometimes because as money increases, expenses also tend to increase and it's very common in our society.

So maybe income is like support, you need it to even survive. But how you manage will determine if it will hold or collapse little by little.

I do agree that financial management is important, but even that one still depends on the kind of income you have.

But, do you think people will automatically become disciplined once their income is stable, or it’s still something that has to be learned deliberately?

[Hyphen(-)]

Honestly, I am trying to understand which one matters more in reality—is financial success in Nigeria more about how much you earn, or how well you keep and manage what you earn?

You have said it all, you have explained everything in the thread already and your explanation really explains the situation of the country and how some of us end up despite the amount they are earning.

Financial success is all about you and how you manage your finances if you really source of income, but if you don’t have source of income, you are not in this conversation because you are just hustling for survival.

Sometimes, we do earn enough money to stay successful but peer pressure drive us and changes our mentality. Some of us believe that impressing the society is what is important, they always tends to make sure people know they have, and in that process, they keep spending to maintain their lifestyle which is the reason why they hardly have good investment to rely on.

To have financial success, you need to have a working plan that will guide you to have good investment with your earnings, make sure you are not driver by peer pressure, always focus on what is important and avoid saving in fiat, always invest so that you will maintain the values your investments.

[Nathrixxx]

Financial success is far beyond just earning money and saving it, as a matter of fact if you look at the reason behind why bitcoin was created, you will discover that there is a serious global challenge to financial system and people have been keeping silent to this serious issue until we have bitcoin being introduced, when you earn money, try to invest, after you have invested, also try to diversify and be in control of your assets altogether.

[Franctoshi]

I would say it's more of earning money than keeping it, you can't possibly save money for long when you don't have a stable source of income.

There is always need for money, and you can't possibly avoid spending forever. So with a constant income, one could achieve financial success.

Financial management is important but can never be overemphasized when the source of income is shaky, that is the basis of a balanced life.

It's both earning more money and keeping it, keeping it in the sense that you're investing it somewhere, because you don't become successful only by the amount you've saved in your bank account but by your ability to grow and multiply that very money.
The game of wealth is a game of asset acquisition and not really about your savings in the bank, because inflation will rob you off 10% of that money each year. To be successful, you have to run your own business or acquire appreciating assets, like gold, Bitcoin, and landed properties.

[Shadiq]

Just as the body needs hands, feet and ears, financial success requires a good source of income, management skills and discipline to maintain it. You cannot ignore any of them, no matter which country you live in, you must have these three qualities to be financially successful.

Especially in Nigeria, where high and volatile inflation is seen, good sources of income as well as financial management skills and good planning to maintain them are needed. Because, your earnings today can depreciate tomorrow. The short-term solution to protect yourself from inflation should be stable currencies and the long-term solution can be Bitcoin. You have to learn to adapt to each situation and environment as needed.

[Antotena]

I would say it's more of earning money than keeping it, you can't possibly save money for long when you don't have a stable source of income.

There is always need for money, and you can't possibly avoid spending forever. So with a constant income, one could achieve financial success.

Financial management is important but can never be overemphasized when the source of income is shaky, that is the basis of a balanced life.

You have said it all. It's easier to make savings if you earn alot than when you make less savings, this is not a rocket science, that's how life is anywhere and not just Nigeria, it's everywhere around the world. The more you earn, the more your standard increases and the more you will want to make good decisions about your finance but when you earn less, your savings will suffer, you will hate your lifestyle because you will be working and you wouldn't see the income.

I want you to also know that inflation is one thing that affect us in this country but if you earn more you are going to be on the safer side, but if you want to be even better, make an investment. Don't save your money if you don't want the value to depreciate over time but if you want to consider emergency savings for things like health and some things that do come up in your life. It's best if you make investment instead of putting your money to savings.

[Dogedegen]

I would say it's more of earning money than keeping it, you can't possibly save money for long when you don't have a stable source of income.

It is not about that, it is about the amount of discretionary income. You can definitely save money even if you don't have a fully consistent source of income as long as your discretionary income during times of employment is sufficient enough. But if you are more unemployed then employed this will probably not work, so the details are really important to know the truth about these things.

So with a constant income, one could achieve financial success.

Many people with constant income are barely able to save anything, and even fewer are able to achieve any kind of financial success so it is not about constant income. This also proves that it is primarily about discretionary income and not about income stability.

Financial management is important but can never be overemphasized when the source of income is shaky, that is the basis of a balanced life.

All sources of income are shaky, some are just less shaky than others.

Financial success is far beyond just earning money and saving it, as a matter of fact if you look at the reason behind why bitcoin was created, you will discover that there is a serious global challenge to financial system and people have been keeping silent to this serious issue until we have bitcoin being introduced, when you earn money, try to invest, after you have invested, also try to diversify and be in control of your assets altogether.

This is true but I would say that not that many people are still interested in these things. Look at the different communities around crypto and you will find that very few people are trying to live the life of challenging the financial system. This is even more prominent in shitcoins where probably 99 percent of the users do not care about decentralization or financial freedom, they just care about fiat profit. I mean some of them can talk a big game, but if they are not living their life in accordance to the beliefs that they claim that they have then their beliefs are not real.