It is one of those days. You are walking home from a nearby market. You get to the junction of your street and find a spectacle that has promptly attracted curious observers. And because this is Lagos, and you must carry some of the gist to your sister, you too, against better judgment, inch closer to ‘investigate’ the source of the ruckus.
What you find fills you with a vicarious embarrassment you did not think you were capable of. You see this person fighting–and emphasis is on the phrase ‘this person’, because even though she is someone you laugh with and hang out with several evenings; you are quick to make a mental detachment from the mockery you are witnessing. So this your ‘padi’ from three houses away is engrossed in a vicious brawl with a bus conductor over…50 naira change.
Bus conductor and passenger fighting in Abuja.

It is unthinkable. This babe, with an iPhone and NGO job, fighting for 50 naira change like she was saving up for her last supper. Of course, weeks later, the excuse of ‘I just don’t like people cheating me’ is profusely offered in between awkward conversations attempted to salvage what is remaining of her dignity.
Anyway, you finally make your peace with it! Possibly because for a long time you have known that people are weird when it comes to money.
Nothing drives rage, strains relationships and generally brings out the worse in people like introducing money to the equation. True.
In fact, it is so important that you can easily profile a person based on their attitude to money. And naturally it applies to relationships too. You can decide to tick off a tedious list of qualities your partner should have or you can decide to watch out for the way the they deal with money. Trust me; the later is just as effective. And in this article, I want to profile five categories of ‘money habits’ and how they can ruin your relationship.


1.The Debtor: My first job ever was with a man who had a penchant to withhold salaries for months at a stretch. It was a tradition I was introduced to through staff gossip. After three months of my stay there, he began giving excuses of his inability to pay, all the while taking exorbitant vacations with his family round the world. Beyond employer-employee relationships, I always find it curious that a person could owe someone money and go about with an excessive lifestyle like nothing is happening. Such category of people do not have a conscience and quite frankly, any person who lacks empathy or the commitment to follow up on agreements should not be trusted with your heart.

1.The Haggler: Nigerians can ‘price’ for Africa. Only recently, I was driving behind a couple in a slow moving traffic situation. The man called this ‘bed sheet’ peddler and started to haggle the price. Off and on they went; the seller would walk away and be called back. The haggling continued for the entire 25 minutes we were on that road. I don’t know what was worse, that the haggler was driving a Mercedes while pricing wares from a street hawker or the fact he ended up not even buying the sheets. Such people are dangerous. If you stay with them, every single expense will be the subject of a debate.

1.The Miser: People who don’t like spending at all. Please, what are you even going to do with such a person? There is no lonelier relationship than being with a person who cannot invest financially in you. And I mean this vice versa.

1.The Waster: Of course, being stingy is not quite as irritating as someone who spends too much. I remember a meeting I had with a banker who said he spends most of his salary on food. But whether food, aso ebi or a glossy lifestyle, bottom line is, you want to be with someone who is responsible and able to make wise financial decisions. Otherwise, you are mortgaging your children’s school fees .

1.The Borrower. Most people know at least one person who habitually comes around with requests like ‘ do you have 1k with you, I forgot my wallet at home, will reimburse you tomorrow’. But what he fails to mention is that a similar request has been privately made to about six other people in the same vicinity. A request which happens every weekend and which he also conveniently forgets to repay. Honestly, such method of ‘obtaining’ is an art form. But still, being romantically involved with such a person can only lead to perpetual embarrassment.
Of course, no body is perfect. We all have our money issues. Just try not to fall into any of the categories above.

Too early for this crap

Well' couldn't read all becos am in church... Aside* viewed ur dp and I started sweating again

chrixus:
Well' couldn't read all becos am in church... Aside* viewed ur dp and I started sweating again

lol! gee, buh why the sweat. Rotfl