It’s already old news that ASUU has called off the strike; if you are a student in one of the affected universities and you’ve still not heard the news, comrade, please update the news app on your phone. The strike lasted for about eight months, and it’s conclusive to say that you can hardly find any student that didn’t start a side hustle, whether online or offline if you didn’t, well, congratulations, you are a BALLER. However, as easy as it is to make money and make your bank account go boom that even your bank’s customer care is calling you to commend you on your efforts, so also is it easy to spend all the money in your account and have your bank’s customer care blacklist you after they see the redness. It’s great that you’re preparing to go to school, and you might be in school already, but as a fellow student who understands how school tends to drain your money, you should learn how to avoid that.
READ: ASUU RESUMPTION: 10 REASONS NIGERIAN STUDENTS DON’T WANT TO RESUME
Prevention is better than Cure, they say. The prevention of SAPA is better than the cure for SAPA. SAPA is” that state where you are partially broke and hanging to your last 1k, or you entirely broke that you basically can’t even afford your transport fare to school and food to eat”. This is common among many students, and there are quite a few causes, but we’ll tell you ten ways to avoid SAPA now that you’ve resumed.
1. SAVE
You might think it isn’t as easy as it sounds, but saving will do you a lot of good. It’s not a crime to take a portion of your earnings or pocket money and keep it; if you are not confident enough, give it to a trustworthy friend who’ll save it for you. If you have ten thousand naira worth of pocket money in your account, you could save two thousand naira yourself or with someone so you’ll have some cash you can fall back on. We are now in the tech days where you don’t need a ‘kolo’ or ‘saving box’; all you need to do is download any saving app of your choice, e.g., Cowrywise, PiggyVest, etc., and start saving!
2. SPEND LESS
Apart from the necessary school materials, it would be best if you spent less on irrelevant stuff. You want to be a rich kid; okay, we get it, but what’s the point when after five days, you become so broke that you can’t even feed yourself? There is a time for everything as a student; you don’t need to buy it all and live extravagantly. Spend less wisely so you have enough money to prevent SAPA!
3. STOP DOING GIVEAWAY
Your friends can have a way of hyping you that enters your head to the point that you can give your CGPA to them if you are not careful. Every day is not your birthday just because you have worked during the strike. You are now wearing designer brands, or you did something special for your birthday, and you shared money doesn’t mean you have to do it again. Don’t forget you are a student and you have a long semester ahead of you, so to avoid going broke, minimize the number of giveaways you do daily; it is SAPAfull.
5. DON’T PRETEND TO BE A BALLER
It’s OK if you want to show you have money and spend it on your friends, but please don’t pretend to be what you are not. You don’t need to compare yourself to other students because you might not know their source of income or what they have to go through to be a real ‘baller,’ so instead of being bothered and pretending, mind your business and save yourself from falling into a bottomless pit of SAPAciousness!
5. AVOID DATING IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT
A fact that is well known even among couples these days is that ‘Na only person wey get money fit date.’ This is because you have to spend money on your partner, or else you are stingy. As a frugal student still trying to manage the pocket money you got from your parents or side hustle, it is not remarkable that you date and you can’t afford to spend money on your bae/boo; your friends will even blame you later for trying it in the first place. Nobody can deny that love is necessary for a relationship, but statistics have shown that what keeps that love most of the time is money. So if you are not stable financially and try it, get ready to be SAPAlized!
READ: OAU RESUMPTION: HOW TO RECOVER YOUR OAU STUDENT EMAIL PASSWORD
6. HAVE A SIDE-HUSTLE
The slang ‘hustle’ is also famous among students who understand the side effects of being broke. The cure to Sapa is Hustling. If you had a side hustle you were involved in at home, it’s not wrong to continue if you can balance it with your academics, but if you don’t have any, you might want to try having one. The strike has opened the eyes of many students to the wonders of the internet; you can work remotely or, if it’s not convenient because of the cost, start a business offline selling different products and have a passive income that will boost the money in your account, that way you will be SAPA-free!
7. AVOID DEBTS
Anything that will keep you in debt, run away from it because that is one of the primary things in ‘How To Avoid Sapa 101′. If, as a student, you know you can afford some stuff, don’t even try to buy it. It isn’t very pleasant to be a student and have a massive amount of debt, even running away from creditors. You don’t want to be that broke, so don’t enter that SAPA bus!
8. WEEKLY SPENDING DOCUMENTATION
This is a phenomenon whereby you consciously and consistently write down every essential thing you need, what you bought and how much you spent on it. You don’t need to be a student of accounting before you do this; at least you did business studies and Mathematics in secondary school, so you should have an idea. Just get a piece of paper and calculate how much you spent; this will help you track your expenses and help you see how much money you still have. You will see that SAPA will even maintain social distancing from you.
READ: ASUU RESUMPTION: TO WAYS TO AWAKEN THE STUDENT IN YOU.
9. DON’T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU
As a student, apart from your side hustle, you still have a certain amount of pocket money from your parents or guardians. Don’t disrespect them, and ensure that you call them regularly, not that it’s only when you need funds that you call home. You certainly can be wise about it.
10. PRAY!
In all you do, it’s not a bad thing to put God first. Just because you have money flowing in from different angles doesn’t mean you can’t still pray to God to help you avoid SAPA. God’s blessings are never-ending, so you should pray for your finances.
Having a good financial mindset will also help you avoid being broke. You are a student, and you haven’t committed a crime by being one, so don’t have the wrong mindset that, for every student, it’s normal to be broke. It is just a lie; many students have more than enough money to spend and enough to spare. You can be part of this new session so that whenever SAPA sees you, it’ll Japa without delay. Has this been insightful? Let us know what your thoughts are!
