“How Did I Get to this Point?” has become the question on the lips of a Nigerian returnee who moved back from the UK and is now struggling to adjust to the country’s rising cost of living. In a video that has since gone viral, the young woman opened up about the financial pressure she has faced since settling back at home, saying daily expenses have consumed far more than she budgeted for.
The lady, identified on TikTok as @melissa_oti, explained that living in Nigeria has become significantly costlier than she expected. According to her, she had always believed that Nigeria would help her cut down on expenses, but the reality hit differently when she started handling basic needs such as repairs, feeding, and fuel. Using the phrase “How Did I Get to this Point?”, she expressed her struggle to understand why her income seems to vanish so quickly despite tracking her spending closely.
One of the major shocks she noted was the difference in car maintenance between Nigeria and the UK. She explained that car insurance in the UK covered most repair costs, which made life easier abroad. However, since moving back, she has had to pay a large sum from her own pocket just to fix her vehicle. She added that she may also spend another significant amount repairing her broken phone screen — something insurance would have handled abroad without stress.
The returnee didn’t hold back in expressing concern over the high cost of food items. She said that the price of groceries has skyrocketed to a point where even her carefully planned monthly budget can no longer sustain her. Despite setting a financial limit for herself, she said she still finds her expenses exceeding the amount she allocates each month. This made her pause and ask again, “How Did I Get to this Point?”, wondering whether she was overspending or simply underestimating the economic situation around her. “A lot of things don’t make sense anymore” she wrote.
According to her, she has always maintained a certain standard of living, and lowering it has been challenging. She insisted that adjusting downward just because she is back in Nigeria is not something she can easily do, especially after experiencing a more structured living system abroad. She noted that this has contributed to her spending more than she anticipated, particularly on feeding and transportation.
Fuel, in particular, has become a major drain on her finances. The young lady stressed that the cost of fueling her car in Nigeria is far higher than what she used to pay in the UK, especially considering the frequent use of vehicles due to limited public transportation options. She questioned how people earning minimum wage manage to survive when basic necessities cost this much.
Looking at the economic landscape, she said the “maths is not mathing.” For her, comparing Nigeria’s minimum wage to the amount an average person spends daily doesn’t make sense, and she worries that many citizens may be going through even worse struggles. She concluded by admitting that she constantly checks her budget, tries to monitor her spending, and still ends up wondering whether she is doing something wrong — or whether life in Nigeria has simply become too expensive for comfort.
Vhiktor26 said: “What exactly do you want?”
Florence 🇳🇬 said: “from UK standard of living u will spend 500k per person”
Ny Nana said: “Nigeria is expensive ooooooooooooo don’t be deceived, band a and feeding will send you back to the uk”
ppp said: “You are getting it wrong by trying to track or always check mate your expenses,one can run mad doing that…All I can say is that I don’t know how God is doing it for us ooo but we are alright”
Paul | Health and fitness said: “Not just you. Couple of months in naija and when I checked my account transactions for the months, Omo I wondered to myself how people survive on the so called minimum wage. Am hemorrhaging expenses from all sides and angles that I pray to finish my project on time and return to base”