A lot of people think living in Ibadan is automatically cheap until they actually start tracking their expenses properly.

For one full month, I decided to monitor every naira I spent — from transportation to random snacks, data subscription, food, and even small “unimportant” purchases.

The result shocked me.

One thing I discovered quickly was that money doesn’t disappear only from big bills. Small daily spending quietly adds up faster than expected.

Transportation

Transport alone consumed a serious part of the budget.

Moving around areas like:

* Challenge

* Mokola

* Dugbe

* Bodija

* UI axis

multiple times weekly became more expensive than I initially estimated.

Estimated monthly transport:

₦25,000 – ₦60,000 depending on movement frequency.

Food and Cooking

Cooking at home helped reduce expenses, but foodstuff prices still affected the budget heavily.

Things like:

* Rice

* Eggs

* Tomatoes

* Cooking gas

* Indomie

* Bread

all increased gradually throughout the month.

Estimated monthly food expenses:

₦40,000 – ₦100,000 depending on lifestyle and household size.

 Data and Internet

This was another hidden expense.

Between streaming, social media, business activities, and regular browsing, data finished faster than expected.

Estimated monthly internet/data spending:

₦10,000 – ₦30,000+

 Electricity and Utilities

Even people staying in rented apartments still spend money on:

* Electricity bills

* Charging fuel

* Water

* Small household maintenance

especially during unstable power periods.

 Unexpected Spending

This category was the biggest surprise.

Things like:

* Random outings

* Snacks

* Impulse online purchases

* “Urgent” contributions

* Delivery fees

quietly consumed money without proper planning.

 What I Learned

* Budgeting mentally is not enough

* Small expenses matter a lot

* Bulk buying saves money

* Daily transport can quietly drain income

* Tracking expenses changes spending habits

The truth is, many people don’t actually know where their money goes until they start writing things down consistently.

Sometimes, financial discipline begins not from earning more… but from finally paying attention to where the money is disappearing.