#SikaLife Ep03: I go kill you with enjoyment, enjoyment ay

SikaLife is a new bi-weekly column where we interact with young people in Ghana about their personal finances and interesting experiences on how they earn and spend their income powered by InvestSika, you can share your own story anonymously here.

In today’s episode of SikaLife, a Corporate event planner shares her story, reveals some of her personal goals and motivations, talks about black tax and how she wants to focus on full-time enjoyment

Q: When was the first time you spent money? Can you recall?

I don’t think I can recall exactly because growing up my mum had a thing about giving us cash, so we got everything we needed but very rarely cash. It would have to be in boarding school maybe JHS1?

Q: Tell us about the first time you earned money yourself

The first time I earned money was for a music video shoot, I don’t remember who exactly it was for but I think it was a song that featured Kofi Kinaata on it. I remember Kofi kinaata because I didn’t know who he was when we shot that video and I found out after lol.

Q: What was your first salary and how big has it grown till today?

My first salary was about 500 cedis, I did an internship for about 7 months before I graduated from Uni. I think it’s grown by a good percentage.

Q: How so?

Well, in 2018 I started at my company with a 900 Cedis salary band as a Rental Assistant, which grew to 1,980 cedis by the following year 2019 as an event coordinator. By 2021, I was already making over 2,500 cedis and had already been promoted to Project Coordinator.

Q: oh wow, Big woman! what would you say is your life motto or philosophy?

haha, to be honest, Kidi says it all. “Allow me make I enjoy life, cos problem no dey finish”. I love to enjoy life so it’s only fitting.

Q: What does enjoyment mean to you?

So enjoyment to me involves doing the things I love to do with the people I love. So being able to afford going out to eat, try new places. Buy me and my friends the occasional beer and drinks. Being able to see events and be able to go to them without having to save for months. You know eating nice things when I want to, traveling every once in a while, going out to do groove often

Let’s not forget going out on dates too really and being able to buy books if I wanted to. Do you get it?

Q: Yes, I do. Now you mentioned dating. What is one word that describes the Accra dating scene for you?

I would say Interesting.

Q: Oh really?

You would definitely meet a lot of cool people, a lot of nuts loose-in-the-head people too. I think it is interesting because of how I approach it. I know lots of people swear dating in Accra is the ghetto but I think it is fun too.

Q: I agree, what 10 things would you do if you won 500k cedis today?

I cannot think of 10 but I would give you 5. I would quit my job, I do not like working and I’m at a point where I feel almost burnt out plus I do not need much to survive.

With this money I would go back home and see my parents then I would invest in a good camera for my YouTube channel. I would definitely travel, starting with investing a good amount of that money in seeing a bit more of Ghana. I would invest the rest, I think I need less than half of it for all of the things I’ve listed above so I can afford to invest the rest.

Q: I see. So, when you visit a restaurant, do you pay with momo, card, or cash?

I almost always pay with Cash

Q: Do you have any investments? How are you looking to invest this year?

At the moment I do not, I’ve had a lot of expenses that required my money over the past few years but that is changing a bit this year thankfully.

Q: Tell us about something you wished you could not afford when you were little that you afford now and it doesn’t mean so much

Nothing, I’m not into things like that

Q: Fair enough, what about experiences you could not afford when you were little that you afford now and it still means so much

I couldn’t afford to go out as much and now I can and it means everything to me to be able to do that.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

Being able to support my family too, I hate it but I’m grateful for it lol.

Q: I see, what are your thoughts on Black Tax

Hate that sh*t for real, It’s annoying. It feels like some people did not plan right and now I have to suffer for it, It also reduces my disposable income. It would be nice if I did when I felt like it and not it being something I absolutely had to do

Black Tax, a term commonly used in South Africa that refers to the obligations of first-in-the-family college graduates, professionals, or others who “make it” to assist their family members

Q: What is the most expensive thing you own today?

My laptop

Q: How financially responsible do you think you are?

Very responsible

Q: Interesting, would you rather earn more money or save more money to reach your goals faster?

Definitely picking to earn more money

Q: Tell us about one thing you found out super late about Money you wish you did earlier

I wish I knew about how difficult it was to make money, it always seemed easy. I blame Nollywood and all those movies where people who just left the university were living lavishly. I wish I figured out how difficult it was to make money and how quickly it goes, I would have probably started finding ways to make money earlier or at least before I figured out that I hate work and stress

Q: Chale same, we are excited about the possibilities InvestSika is bringing to the market to change bad money perceptions. How much do you think you would have to comfortably retire today?

I’ve never thought about this but 500k cedis is a good start, when do I send my account number?

Q: Tell me about your worst Uber/Bolt/Yango Payment experience

I’ve had none thankfully

Q: Tell us about you were stranded before financially, how was that experience?

I remember when I was in uni and I was so broke, I remember going to school and not knowing how I would make it back home. Back then I was still fully Christian and believed in God so I hoped he would send someone, lol I made it back home. It was humiliating and very unnerving

Q: What is the highest you have spent on food before?

I think about 300 cedis for just me and I didn’t even like the food that much so that was very very annoying

Q: What is the most exciting thing about your city today?

I think the accessibility! Everything feels like it’s within reach. Accra is the kinda city that convinces you that you can chill with the big boys because technically you can run into them any and everywhere. It’s a pro and a con because if you don’t respect yourself you will enter into trouble

Q: How many Ghanaian-made apps do you have on your phone right now?

2 actually, AcceessBank Ghana and InvestSika

Q: What are 6 apps you use every day?

Instagram, Twitter, Notes, WhatsApp, Bumble [*winks] and YouTube

Q: What did you like about the InvestSika app you tested recently?

I love the concept of the app, I really liked the concept of social investing being able to see what others within the community are investing in. I also really liked the representation with the avatars when you are signing up

SikaLife is a new bi-weekly column where we interact with young people in Ghana about their personal finances and interesting experiences on how they earn and spend their income powered by InvestSika, you can share your own story anonymously here.