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Personal Finance – managing your money smartly as a teenager


Making money as a teenager is really fantastic. It’s such a liberating experience to have money as a young person (whether you’re working for it, or you are given it by your parents). Living as a teenager can also be expensive; and if you are not disciplined and controlled, no matter how little or how much you make, problems may arise and you would be left with nothing in the end. 

One interesting thing about being a teenager is that you do not have too many commitments, so this is the best time to learn strategies to boost your finances. It’s not too early to start your journey to financial stability, though the road can be rough. Regardless of your level of income, spending your money intelligently and wisely is one of the crucial ways to gain financial stability. Below are some tips to help you manage your money smartly as a teenager and improve your Finances.


Creating a budget doesn’t necessarily mean you have to forfeit all the fun stuff, it just means you have to set priorities and be disciplined enough to stick to your plan.

  1. Know Your Income & Create A Spending Plan: You may not like to hear the word, ‘budget’, but it’s really important if you want to spend wisely. The most important parts of budgeting are knowing your income, deciding what matters most to you, and ensuring you do not budget or spend more than you earn or have available. Creating a budget doesn’t necessarily mean you have to forfeit all the fun stuff, it just means you have to set priorities and be disciplined enough to stick to your plan. If with time, you realize that your budget is not working for you, you can always change it to fit your current needs.
  2. Save/Invest first: Whenever you have extra money after making your budget, don’t think of something else you can spend money on, you should save and invest first. You are not too young to start saving for your future.
  3. Set Goals For Yourself: Setting financial goals is a fantastic way to spur yourself on to follow your spending plan. This will help you develop self-control and prioritize your necessities. Regardless of what your goals are, if you can stick to your spending plan and maintain sound financial practices, you’ll achieve them quickly. You can set goals like buying a laptop or buying an asset. 
  4. Always Look for Alternatives: You don’t need to spend a lot of money to be entertained. For instance, instead of going to the movies with your friends, consider asking them to come to your house, eat popcorn and watch a movie on Netflix; or instead of eating lunch out at entries, try to pack lunch from home.


You are not too young to start saving for your future.

I have more to tell you but I will put them in another blogpost as this is one is already quite lengthy and I would not like you to skip over any of this great advice. In the meantime, follow the tips above consistently and let me know in the comments section how it goes for you.

Picture of Deborah Elegbeleye

Deborah Elegbeleye

An accomplished content writer, Deborah Elegbeleye is the Executive Assistant to the Director of Teens Going for Gold Network
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Board of Trustees

Dr. Waheed Awonuga

Member, Board of Trustees

Waheed Oyetola Awonuga is a trained Medical Doctor with five years of ongoing practice experience, specialising in Family Medicine. He is also an entrepreneur with a knack for developing ideas that are not only bankable but profitable.

Waheed attended Santa Maria Private School in Mushin and Government College Ikorodu. He holds a Diploma in Data Processing from Olabisi Onabanjo University and completed his medical education at the University of Sierra Leone, graduating with MBChB (Medicine and Surgery). He passed the West African College of Physicians Primaries Examination at UCH, Ibadan.

Waheed is an alumnus of the Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI), Africa Cohort 2. He owns Infinity Creative Media, a media consultancy firm in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Infinity Print House, a general print firm also based in Sierra Leone.

Waheed is an avid reader and writer who enjoys travelling and spending time with his family.

Management Team​

Hon. Tobi Olatunji

Executive Director

Hon. Tobi Olatunji serves as Executive Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, providing strategic leadership across TGFGN’s programmes and institutional partnerships.

He oversees programme delivery across all five active states and drives the organisation’s evolution into an institutional peace education body, ensuring that TGFGN’s work remains responsive to the complex social realities facing Nigerian youth today.

Management Team​

Ola Olaoluwa

Co-Founder

Olawumi Olaoluwa is a graduate from the Economics department of the University of Benin, Nigeria. He is also the Creative Director of JOSEL kolektionz, a clothing line.

Vocationally, he is a writer, content developer, actor, and leadership enthusiast. One of the pioneer volunteers of Teens Going for Gold Network, Olawumi has over five years of experience in teen mentoring and coaching. He currently serves as Director of Human Resources.

In his own words: “The opportunity Teens Going for Gold Network presents me with to impact teenagers with qualitative and sustainable education is the main attraction the organisation holds for me.”

Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha

Member, Board of Trustees

Dr. Mala Mustapha is an academic and development professional with deep expertise in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and institutional governance.

His scholarly and practitioner experience spans multiple Nigerian states and regional contexts, providing TGFGN with critical insight into the structural dimensions of peace and security in Northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region.

Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan

Chair, Board of Trustees

Idayat Hassan is a leading expert in security, governance, and democracy in West Africa. She serves as the Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), one of the region’s foremost policy research and advocacy organisations.

Her work spans election monitoring, conflict prevention, and democratic institution building across Nigeria and the broader West African sub-region. She brings decades of governance expertise to TGFGN’s Board of Trustees.

Management Team​

Godsgift Chayil Obi

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Godsgift Chayil Obi serves as Deputy Director of Teens Going for Gold Network, supporting organisational management, programme coordination, and operational delivery.

In this role, she works closely with the Executive Director and management team to ensure that TGFGN’s programmes achieve their intended impact across all active states, maintaining the quality and consistency of delivery that has defined the organisation’s 12-year track record.

Board of Trustees

Dele Olomide​

Member, Board of Trustees

‘Dele Olomide currently leads the Human Resources and Admin function of Clarke Energy Nigeria, the largest authorised distributor and service partner for Jenbacher gas engines and a leading brand in the power and utility sector in Nigeria. His interests are Leadership Development, People Development (Coaching and Mentoring), Organisational Development and Change, Strategy and Growth.

‘Dele is an HR professional with approximately 10 years of generalist experience spanning Manufacturing, IT, Gaming and Energy. He is also an Associate Pastor with El-Shaddai Covenant Church, Lagos. Before now, he has worked with two multinationals, three start-ups, and a Secondary School.

He graduated from the University of Ilorin where he studied Mathematics/Statistics and holds an MBA in Marketing Management. He is an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management.

Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi

Member, Board of Trustees

Adedolapo Osuntuyi is a children and education advocate. She is the founder of Dolly Children Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that equips the African Child to adopt twenty-first-century skills through education, capacity building and advocacy programmes.

Inspired by her upbringing, she has a passion for empowering and creating equal opportunities for children from low-income backgrounds. Dolapo has developed organisational strategy and management processes in the Foundation that have impacted over 22,000 children in 25 communities in four states.

Dolapo has over a decade of experience in child protection, early childhood and community development programmes. A graduate of Botany from Lagos State University, she also holds a master’s degree in Child Health and Social Care from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.

In 2015, she received an Africa-America Institute Scholarship to study Social Sector Management at the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria.

Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi

Secretary, Board of Trustees

Adebanke Ilori Oyeniyi is a lawyer and development professional. Her professional experience spans across politics, inclusive governance, and legislative reforms. She serves as the Executive Director of Raising New Voices Initiative and as the Managing Editor of Lawyard, a platform for interactions around the practice of law in Nigeria.

In 2019, Adebanke led New Voices to conduct the national #BreakTheHold campaign providing resources to competent young people under 35 contesting to be members of the Federal House of Representatives. As a woman in politics, she was appointed as the National Publicity Secretary of Kowa Party — making her the youngest female to occupy the position in Nigeria.

As an advocate for social equality, she has championed the right of prison inmates to education in line with the UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and has worked for the implementation of laws to promote the rights of children and prevention of violence against persons.

As a Pan African, she has facilitated extensive deliberations at the African Union on the importance of youth integration in the actualisation of Agenda 2063.

Adebanke holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, a Certificate in Public Management from Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, and is pursuing her Master’s in International Development and Policy at the University of Chicago. She is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow.