The first day I saw my friend count out raw eighty thousand naira to buy a virgin hair, I thought she was mad. She used to be a big, classy lady who never settled for less. All her accessories were designers. If it wasn't Gucci guilty perfume of Coco mademoiselle/channel, then she won't go for it. Her shoes were mainly those expensive ones you could walk on comfortably without having to feel pains or discomfort from the China sticks they'd used in constructing them. I felt she was being wasteful with her money.
There was a time we went to buy my first laptop at computer village in Lagos, and I demanded something at about 80k. She said 'no' I shouldn't go for something that I won't be able to do everything with. So she added about 50k for me to get a good laptop. If I tell you now that I added the 50k to buy my laptop, will you believe it? Of course I didn't. I used my money in shopping okirika at yaba maket; the ones I sold at the hostel, and the ones I wore afterwards.
I remember telling my Cousin of my friend's extravagant life, and my Cousin saw me to me quite childish. She said to me, "don't condemn what you can't afford Iniobong. Wait and pray to be rich too, so that you can afford them. Except you don't like good things."
Few months to my friends wedding, my boss gave me good money to buy myself a brand new dress for the occasion cuz I was the Chief Bride. She drove me by herself to a bridal shop on the Island and asked me to chose a dress. I walked around this beautiful, exquisite bridal shop and when I saw the prices to the gowns I wanted to ease myself.
"Excuse ma, I don't like anyone." I said shyly. Na lie o. Every bridal gown in that shop was just my kind. But because Gidwin's daughter cannot squeeze out 150k to buy a gown that I will wear for outing, your girl cooked a lie just to get the money and buy lots of things with it.
I now sit down and laugh so hard when my kid sister tells me "you mean you bought common body scrub for 8k? God forbid" and I will giggle and tell her "it's my money na."
If you can afford anything, buy it.
IPhones, designers shoes, clothes, wristwatches etc. Buy them. You can decide on living on bottle water till your old age. As far as you can afford it, go for them. Life is beautiful, you won't realize if you don't enjoy the good things of life and share in them.
There is always a difference between expensive quality and 'the others'. Go for what you can afford, don't condemn what you can't afford.
Nothing is expensive, we can't just afford what we think is expensive.