Jude is a 30-year-old professional who lives in Edo State. Since he came to the Ancient City in 2015 for youth service, he has worked hard and made something for himself. This, however, hasn’t been a smooth journey as he lost a lot during a crypto crash. This is Jude’s story:
Hello Jude, what do you do?
I do a lot of things but my major source of income, right now, comes from my public relations job at a university in Edo State. That aside, I am a brand manager. That’s what I do
What do you do at the university exactly?
My major function there is to liaise with the media houses we work with to ensure that they portray us positively. Secondly, I am part of the team that publishes the newsletter of this university.
I imagine your university job is full time and you also do brand management, how do you juggle all these successfully?
For me, it is all about time management and setting priorities. Of the brands I work with, some of them I manage completely, and there are others that I only manage their social media. Once I am done with the day in school, I often go to these brand jobs and do some work, so it is all about proper time management and setting priorities.
Given all that you do, how much do you earn monthly?
On a good month, maybe 400 – 450k. On a bad month, we are looking at 300 – 350k.
Wait, that’s a bad month?
Yes, it depends on whether the brand management gigs are active that particular month. Some are based on a timed contract and once we are done, that’s it. While others call from time to time.
Given the current state of things, would you say it is insufficient, sufficient, or more than sufficient for your lifestyle?
(Quickly) Insufficient.
Oh. do you care to explain?
Even if you are earning 1M, it won’t still be enough. And it is not about being greedy or not being content. The more you earn, the more your standard of living improves. Also, the more you grow and expand in your business. So, if I were using a phone of 200k and a ‘dead’ laptop and I begin to earn more, you don’t expect me to meet clients like that, I’ll have to upgrade.
What’s one financial principle you live by?
Uhm, I don’t buy things that I don’t need. I am not moved by peer pressure or trendy things. I think that’s one principle that has really helped me, otherwise, I’d be dead broke.
That’s interesting. Can we talk more about that?
Yeah, there are some times I splurge. Sometimes, I go, “You’ve worked hard, get yourself a gift”, but I also punish myself sometimes and deny myself some things because I didn’t do as well as I wanted. One thing I don’t deny myself sha is good food (laughs), no, I don’t do that.
What would be an ideal figure to earn a month?
As I said, even 1M is not enough because there is always space for growth. But if I earn what is enough to cater for whatever may be needed at the point in time, then I’m good. Take, for example, I want to travel to Kigali, which is about 1.2M right now, I’d have to think about it and I want to be in a place where I can do that without any thoughts.
Do you have any investments?
Ehm, for now, I don’t, unless, you are talking about properties. If you say properties are investments, then okay.
Let’s say properties are investments, what are we looking at?
Okay, I have lands, over time, I have amassed some lands, not in Edo State though. I also hope to purchase more. But I don’t have business investments that bring in money.
Would you say lands are the best investments you can make or is there something else you want to invest in but just haven’t done?
Investing in land is one of the best investment decisions I have made at this point. They say the best investment on earth is earth, which is to purchase land. But if I have the money, I will still invest in land because it does not depreciate. I mean sometime last year, one of the non-land investments I made ended up losing me thousands of dollars. It was a very painful experience.
Are you talking about crypto, Jude?
Yes, I invested in a project called Luna at the time. Sadly, it didn’t work out. Woke up one morning and found out that my crypto money had gone from so and so to zero. But if I had invested in land, I would still have my money and none of that sob story.
Would you say that land is a low-risk investment?
Compared to other investments, yes. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen to you with land? The worst I can think of is that you do not do your due diligence and make a bad purchase. Maybe the land ends up tied up in court. Maybe, erosion. But if you do your due diligence, you shouldn’t have any problem with land. There are a lot you can invest in: transportation, food, farming, and so on. In fact, agriculture is one thing I’d like to go into when I have the money.
What’s one financial decision you made that you think worked out for you?
In 2020 during Covid, I had a lot of money saved over the years and I was looking at doing one investment like that. I was contemplating and talked to my brother about it. He wasn’t sure himself and told me not to get into it. I told him to provide an alternative. So he told me about a parcel of land, which cost a lot. We put our monies together and bought it.
Now, if I had put my money in the first investment I was contemplating, I would have lost a lot of money. I mean, not long after, the forex market, which was the investment I was considering, crashed. I would have been a victim of that so I think not doing that was a financial decision that worked for me.
So Jude, what’s one financial mistake you’ve made, did you learn from it?
Not to put all my eggs in one basket. Don’t put all your money in one place, diversify and spread them. Why I am saying this is because of what happened with the crypto thing. I was making a lot of money from it before it crashed. If I had pulled out some of the money and spread it, I would not have lost so much. I was so depressed. That was the worst financial decision of my life.
What are your financial goals for 2023?
I don’t have financial goals for the year but the goal I have is to give more value. I think that would end up translating into money. I also want to be able to meet all my needs and wants whenever. I believe in giving value and that’s how I keep getting referrals because my clients see my value.
Thank you Jude
Here are ten baller jobs you can do to earn money like Jude.
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