Only The Living Gets To Eat

There is this popular saying in my locality that goes, “Na who dey alive dey chop,” meaning “Only the living gets to eat.” The idea behind it is actually very simple — enjoy life while you can and for quite a long while, I held onto that mindset like it was a life manual.

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My name is Dinma and in my early adult years, I had convinced myself that saving was almost a pointless act. Whenever I felt the need to buy something, whether I actually needed it or not, I reminded myself, “Na who dey alive dey chop o.” The thought of running out of money didn’t scare me one bit because I always believed that somehow, money would come again.
That belief carried me comfortably until life decided to teach me a serious lesson; the one that I would never ever forget in a hurry.

It was during my second year at the university. I had decided to move into the school hostel for a little bit of independence. When I informed my dad, he chuckled and said, “With the way you spend, are you sure you will even survive one semester on your own?”
I heartily laughed it off. “Of course, I will. If money finishes, another will come.”
“Alright then,” he said, shaking his head.

When it was time to return to school, my dad gave me a reasonable amount of money that was enough to comfortably sustain me for two weeks if I managed it wisely.
The first thing I did after settling into the hostel was to head straight to the supermarket. I bought everything my eyes fancied ranging from imported cereals to biscuits, chocolate spreads, drinks, snacks, like, you name it. In my head, this was me simply enjoying life, after all, why should I even be stressing myself?

By the fourth day, I started noticing that things were starting to run really low. But I still felt like it wasn’t anything to worry about. But by the seventh day, reality hit me real hard. My provisions were almost gone, and the money had completely disappeared. Of course, it was spent on things that gave me momentary excitement but no real sustenance.

At first, I tried to convince myself that things were just expensive. But deep down, I knew the truth and that is - I had been wasteful.

I picked up my phone and called home.

“Daddy,” I started carefully, “things are really expensive here and so, the money is actually finished.”
He burst into laughter. I waited, hoping that he was just teasing me. But what he said next left me really frozen.

“Well,” he replied, “manage what you have my dear. I’m not sending anything else until the two weeks we agreed is over.”

I was sure I didn’t hear that correctly. “Daddy, are you serious?”

“Very serious,” he said so calmly. “You wanted to be independent right? Now, learn to manage what you have.”

Immediately, I called my mum, hoping she would plead on my behalf. But to my surprise, she agreed with him. “This is important for you to learn,” she said.

I won’t lie, I cried till my eyes could no more bring tears. It felt like the ground should open and swallow me. But there was no escape route. I was left with only a few packs of noodles, half a pack of cereal and water.

That week honestly humbled me. I had to adapt to the 0-1-0 equation. No breakfast, noodles or cereal for lunch and water for dinner.
It was actually not just about being hungry, It was about the realization that I had been wasteful and it was not just with money, but with the mindset that money would always appear simply because I needed it to.

By the time the next allowance came, I was a completely different person. This time, I made a list before heading to the market. I prioritized essentials like food items that could last, things that were both affordable and filling and snacks became a treat, not a priority.
The next time I called home, my dad sounded surprised. “How are you managing?” he asked.
“Very well Sir,” I replied. “I planned better this time.”
I could hear him smiling through the phone. “Good. Now you understand. When you don’t waste, you won’t lack.”

And truly, he was right. That experience taught me more than any lecture ever could. I learned that being prudent isn’t about depriving yourself but about being wise enough to make what you have last.
It’s a lesson I carry with me till today and that is “ waste not, want not.”