This Man Has Done The Impossible

“If you have a job that pays more than your Man’s, and he asks you to resign and relocate to be with him… what would you do?”

Back then we used to ask this question for fun. You know those random debates that start with, “Let’s be honest oh…”

And everybody will start forming strong head.

“Me? I’m not resigning for anybody.”

“He should be the one to move na.”

“Love is sweet, but let’s not be stupid.”

We’ll laugh, argue small, then move on.

Until life decided to use me as “ For example.”

Three months after Jeffery proposed to me, the question became my reality.

To be fair, he had mentioned it before. One random evening conversation, nothing serious.

He just said,

“When we get married, we’ll have to figure out the job situation… you might have to resign and come over.”

I didn’t react. Because in my head, that kind thing is always “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Well… we got there.

The conversation came up again.

This time, it was serious. And I was quite pissed.

Because I was earning ₦1.2 million, while Jeffery was earning ₦900k.

So I’m like…

“Wait… I’m the one that should resign? How does that even make sense?”

The feminist in me was already warming up. Ready to give TED Talk. But instead, I calmed down and used something stronger.

Money, logic and numbers.

I asked him straight up “If I’m earning more than you… why is it me that should quit my job?”

He went silent, I couldn’t even read his facial expression at this point. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he spoke.

“Okay, Baby. Let’s not argue or fight about, let’s do this…”

He said we should do a savings challenge.

I was taken aback, not what I was expecting. When I think about it, it’s giving the wisdom of King Solomon’s judgment with the 2 mothers and one baby saga.

₦3 million in 6 months. Whoever achieves it…The other person goes with their decision.

I won’t lie, I was very confident.

I mean… I’m earning more. This thing should not even be a competition.

The first month, I saved small.

Second month, I tried to adjust.

Third month… my financial habits started catching up with me.

Meanwhile, Jeffery? I kept seeing credit alerts on the designated joint savings wallet.

By the time we got to the sixth month…

He hit ₦3 million. I didn’t.

And it pained me ehn.

Yes, I was earning more… but I wasn’t managing money better.

A deal is a deal, so I agreed to move in with my Bobo. Atleast, I should not lose twice. Fortunately, my company even refused my resignation. They said they would transfer me to “my Abuja” since they were opening a new branch there.

What I learned from this experience, and what you should take from this, is that money is not about how much you earn. Income will give you confidence. But it’s how you handle that income that will give you the real financial stability.