My 2,500 naira daily budget is teaching me things no lecturer can

I sat down this morning with my phone calculator like I do every day. 2,500 naira for feeding. That's 750 for breakfast (bread and tea from Mama Ngozi's buka), 1,200 for lunch (rice and stew, no meat if I want to survive till evening), and 550 for dinner (maybe noodles or yam and oil). At the end I just stared at the screen. Because the numbers don't lie , I'm one unexpected expense away from real trouble.

Last week my sandal broke at the sole. The cobbler near the school gate charged me 800 naira to fix it. That day I ate just garri and groundnut for lunch. And I sat there chewing that dry garri thinking about how my father back in Awka thinks I'm eating well because he sends me 2,500 every morning. I never tell him the truth. I just say 'I don chop, papa' and he says 'good boy' and we end the call.

But here's what I'm learning , this struggle is teaching me resource management better than any Economics 301 class ever will. I know exactly how many days I can survive on 5,000 naira. I know which buka gives you the biggest portion for the lowest price. I know that hunger makes you creative, makes you find side hustles you never thought of. The system is not designed for us, but we are learning to design around it. And that skill... that skill will take us farther than any certificate from UNN.