What is the value of HBD in my hometown?

It is no doubt that as a Nigerian, hive has given me so many benefits which I can’t even speak about enough, and one of these benefits is the ability to earn in both hive and HBD.

Before joining hive, I was working a 7-5 job, 6 times a week and earning 84.30 USD monthly which was never enough for me, I was miserable and always tired and I was barely earning above minimum wage in my country which is 72.26 USD.

My decision to join hive came after a realization that if I continued in my job, I would probably harm myself so I decided to quit and the rest is history.

I have been on hive consistently for almost eight months and I can’t tell you how much life has changed for me because I am not only earning hive and HBD, but I also have the opportunity to save and get interests through HBD savings which is tremendous.

HBD as a stable coin has been a blessing to me, especially since inflation in my country has decreased the value of our currency and increased that of dollars, and this makes earning HBD more wonderful.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF HBD IN MY COUNTRY?

Currently, 1 HBD is 0.97 USD which is 402.73 naira; naira is the official currency in Nigeria just in case you do not know.

Also, 10 HBD is 9.71 USD which is equivalent to 4031.49 naira, 100 HBD is 97.13 USD which is 40,327.40 and lastly, 1000 HBD is 971.33 USD which is 403,286.50 naira.

Now that we are done with the breakdown, I will be moving on to speaking about how much I spend as a Nigerian.

HOW MUCH DO I SPEND AS A NIGERIAN.

At this point, I will be breaking down my expenses by daily, weekly, and monthly, just so that I can go deeper into my spending.

Also, it is important to know that naturally I am not a heavy spender and because of this, my day-to-day might be way different than other Nigerians.

DAILY
I wouldn’t really say I spend too much daily because there isn’t exactly a reason for me to spend so, most days the highest I spend is about 2000 naira which is roughly 4.96 HBD.

This money is spent buying food for myself and my brother to eat and our meals mostly revolve around noodles, eggs, bread, and soda which we buy in retail instead of in bulk which isn’t exactly the wisest thing.

Noodles for a pack costs 150 naira which is 0.37 HBD and sometimes we get 4 depending on if we are eating once or twice a day, eggs and bread cost about 80 naira each which is 0.20 HBD, and we get bottles of coke for 200 naira each which is 0.49 HBD.

On certain days, my mother cooks because I live with her, this isn’t frequent but when she does I don’t spend any money, while other days, I might want to eat out and a plate of food cost about 1800 naira which is 4.47 HBD and I usually buy for me, my brother and my mother.

Not forgetting water to drink which we get a bag of it for 200 naira which is 0.49 HBD and this bag contains 20 sachets and it sometimes lasts more than a day depending on how hot it is.

We also get fuel once in a while which is 165 naira for a liter and usually we get 4 liters which is roughly 1.64 HBD.

WEEKLY
Most weeks, minus the basic things I spend on, I usually try to leave my house and visit friends or family, and transportation to the farthest location I go to costs about 0.49 HBD.

Also, as a Christian, I go to church about twice a week and I donate to the church weekly so my church affairs which include transportation and donations might round off to 4.96 HBD.

Lastly, I sometimes get to purchase my soap weekly which depending on which brand costs me about 0.49 HBD.

MONTHLY
Every month, I try to get myself certain essentials like a pad, perfume, body deodorant, amongst others.

Pads cost 400 naira which is 0.98 HBD, my perfume and body deodorant cost about 1700 naira which is 4.43HBD, and sometimes once a month, I buy chocolate and ice cream which is 2.48 HBD.

I will say that my biggest spending monthly is on data though because I have to constantly be online on hive and social media generally, and since I don’t have WIFI which most people don’t either, I spend almost 17.4 HBD on a data connection; some months, this finishes, so I might spend more.

Now, to be honest, the reason I spend so little is because I live with my mother, I don’t shop for clothes or shoes frequently; I haven’t since this year and also, I don’t make up or make my hair because I use wigs which as usually gifted to me by my siblings.

I think cutting all that off has helped my spending a lot especially since I have been saving for a phone which is about 500 HBD for a UK-used one.

ESSENTIALS OVER WANTS

It is also important to note that most days, I choose to buy things that are cheaper so that I don’t have to spend as much, an example would be that I buy a chocolate peanut butter spread which is 1,250 naira (3.1 HBD) over a Nutella hazelnut spread that cost 3,150 naira (7.81 HBD), for me, I feel like these things serve the same purpose and if I can save money by doing that, I will.

STANDARD OF LIVING IN MY HOMETOWN

All over Nigeria, there are different standards of living, you can’t compare someone in the capital to someone in a village and even though I don’t live in the cheapest location, compared to places that I have visited, it is way better.

As I said, I live with my mother but, my siblings pay rent and for a year they can get somewhere ranging from 500 HBD TO 1000 HBD depending on the area, number of rooms, and other factors.

For our electricity bill which we pay once a month even though power isn’t provided, sometimes we pay about 4.96 HBD to 9.92 HBD depending on how generous we are feeling, there is a price that we are given but most people don’t pay the amount because electricity is barely provided.

For our cooking gas, we spend about 7,900 naira (20 HBD) and we use this amount for two months depending on how much we are cooking that month.

10 HBD DAILY AND 100 HBD MONTHLY

I barely ever spend 10 HBD daily or 100 HBD monthly, but if I had to, I guess I wouldn’t think as much as I do about my finances because right now, I am very calculating about my spending.

I will probably splurge more, get new shoes and clothes which are needed, and also, get foods that I have been craving.

HOW HAS INFLATION AFFECTED MY SPENDING?

Inflation has done so much harm in my country and my life, over the years, prices have soared like crazy and things that were 1 HBD are currently 5 HBD or even 10 and even though I am at an advantage because I earn in dollars, it still affects my quality of life and that of my family.

Years back, as a family of eleven, we usually would spend 100 to 150 HBD but, now we are a family of three and we sometimes spend that same amount.

The sad part of everything is that while there is inflation and incremental in prices of things, there is no increase in salaries, so it makes life a bit hard.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE IN NIGERIA?

This might depend on the individual but for me, I feel like if I wanted to live the life I crave right now, I will need at least 2000 HBD monthly, pretty crazy right? But, this will be because I will love to move, buy a car, and rent an apartment among other things while supporting my mother, so this will be a perfect amount.

DO I HAVE A BUDGET?

To be truthful, I don’t have a budget right now because I barely spend enough, most days when I even do, I feel bad and this makes me not spend for weeks after that.

I will say I have an unhealthy relationship with money because of how I grew up but I am trying to work on getting a balance.

FINALLY,

Having HBD to spend is an advantage I have that most people in my country don’t and I am so lucky to have this advantage, also being able to use HBD savings and earn 20% APR or using PHBD-USDC and earning up to 40% APR is very huge.

These opportunities are once in a lifetime and I am so glad that I am part of the hive/leofinance community.