My friend Mr Briggs (not real name) was seeking for my advice over the weekend on his desire to own a simple car. Briggs is on a monthly salary of 130k and has two kids in nursery school. His question is, 'should he get a loan for the car purchase or just try to save up for it?' Mind you, he knows he needs to up his income, but as it is now, what's the way forward.
Helpful advice is welcome.
Cc Lalasticlala
Cc Mynd44
Cc Dominique
Cc Ishilove

Men don sleep already

I’m so interested in this too.

I believe he can still afford a simple and not overated vehicle. However, considering the liability that comes with owning a vehicle, I will advise he gets a vehicle that can fit into ehailing. That way, he would be able to balance things while still moving forward.

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Taking a loan depends on the interest. If you use a loan to buy a car, make sure it's not those cars submerged in Lagos floods with electrical issues

No sense in borrowing @24,5% PA interest to buy a car, assuming you're collecting the supposed loan from a Nigerian commercial bank!
I don't even use their credit for business, let alone using it to fund a depreciating asset like a private car.
Save up for it instead in my humble opinion.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my line of thought. But the choice is his.

Except you are sublimely encouraging him to start defrauding or stealing from his place of work all in the pride of a man living a decent life, then no wahala.

What exactly is stable in the Nigeria of today?

For instance, I will never advise him to take a loan if he values his peace of mind. The one thing that his family needs most now is his sound mindedness. A loan can scatter that in a seconds...not even with the devilish and inhumane loan offers out there. But of course, if he is so sure of repaying, then he can go ahead. Mind you, nothing as at today is certain until perhaps if Buhari leaves.

Back to my initial advise, I did not ask him to go and drive a coloured taxi. E-hailing is a transitional business for any individual looking towards greater goals without necessarily staying idle in the moment. Except he goes announcing publicly, nobody will know and he will still have his vehicle as a necessity, live a decent life while he continues to push forward codedly....it is all perception. And like you said, discipline is key.

Klass99:


PapaG owning a car as a family man or even as a single one, is a necessity not a liability. I wish more people would stop saying this or thinking this way! Why must the car be used for ehailing purposes? The man no deserve better thing for himself?

@ The Topic, If his wife earns a regular and stable income from work too, I will suggest he takes a loan because it will help him achieve his goal sooner rather than later and possibly school him in financial discipline and integrity. When you know you have a due date for payments on a loan, it gingers you to make it happen (that's discipline) and when you make it happen it shows you've got integrity as a person, so when you approach a lender again, in the future for help, they are willing to oblige you, but I don't encourage a lifestyle of frequent borrowing and debt.

If he decides to save until an outright purchase is doable, he may be on a very very long thing. Whatever he manages to save may be taken out of his hands by family emergencies, relatives or in-laws who have their eyes on his small 130k income, it may be like chasing the wind with the current state of affairs in Naija and erratic dollar rates. He can save 2.5M from now till March 2023 only to realize vehicle rates have gone up 10% since October 2022....that's just an illustration and my thinking sha.

Additionally, with the rising costs of living will consistent saving from 130k be sustainable? Titus sardine is no longer 350 a tin, milk and milo cost more, feeding is a daily event......you were right when you said he knows he needs to up his income and pls tell him no more pregnancies or children, two kids are just fine.