Getting yourself out of debt can open a whole new world of opportunities for you, allowing you to reach your goals. Moreover, you will also be stress-free as you won’t be hung up on the debt cycle.

While it might seem impossible, some people have managed to live their lives without any debt. But it all comes down to choice. How bad do you want it? Are you willing to put in the work needed to enable you to become debt free?

If you are looking for tips on how to master the art of staying debt free, then this article is for you. Below are five practical ways that you can incorporate and stay on track toward a debt-free life.

Pay yourself first

No matter how bad your finances look, if you are committed to living a life that’s free from debt, then there are certain ‘tough’ measures that you will need to put in place. And one such way is by paying yourself first even when you believe you don’t have enough. In fact, paying yourself first is one financial piece of advice that you will never miss when it comes to saving.

Paying yourself first simply means putting money aside every month from your paycheck or business into an emergency savings account. Why is this important? Having ready funds available that you can use to pay for emergencies will help keep you away from credit cards or loan apps to cater to these emergencies. With an emergency savings account, you will be able to maintain a debt-free life in the event things don’t go as planned.

Pay off all your debt to be “debt-free”

Now, we are not saying that you need to pay all your bad debt at once. Paying off debt – accrued or current – is hard. It’s even worse if you have accumulated a huge amount of debt but your income has remained the same over time. Still, it’s doable.

For starters, make peace with the fact that paying off your debt won’t happen overnight. Secondly, assess all your debt and establish a plan on how you want to pay it over a given period. Start with the bad debt and then double down on other debts until they are all cleared.

Create a budget

There are plenty of reasons why you might not want to create a budget. But if you properly analyze the reasons you have, more often than not it all comes down to some of the myths that have existed for years around budgeting. But it’s nearly impossible to live a debt-free life when you can’t account for your funds. Creating a budget not only enables you to plan for the future, but it allows you to keep track of your spending and know where your money is going. This way, you can cut back on anything that isn’t necessary and channel that money to either paying off a debt or towards savings.

Understand the difference between needs and wants

One of the hardest things you will need to do when looking to establish a debt-free life to leave behind a meaningful financial legacy for your kids or family is to understand the difference between needs and wants. It is one of the most basic rules when it comes to controlling your spending, yet, the hardest to master.

A need is something you need to live each day. Clothing, food, and shelter are needs. Wants, however, are almost everything else. Of course, there is a grey area on this. For instance, just because you need a smartphone, it doesn’t mean that you need to purchase the latest release as soon as it’s launched. Similarly, a home upgrade could be necessary, but not an immediate need. Taking the time to differentiate between needs and wants will go a long way in helping you master debt-free living.

Stick to a plan once you are debt-free

Congratulations!!! You have finally managed to get yourself out of debt. And while that’s a step in the right direction, staying out of debt is the goal. Anyone who has had a debt that they struggled to pay for a while can bear witness that if proper measures aren’t taken, it’s easy to fall back into the same debt cycle.

So, how do you stay out of debt? You create a plan on how you intend to stay out of debt and stick to it. Of course, you will stumble and fall. Don’t stay down too long to return to your old ways.

The post How to Stay Debt Free appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

But if you an existing entrepreneur or someone who is looking for an interesting business idea, these TV shows can inspire you to finally take the big step. These shows are not only entertaining, but they provide a practical guide on how to run a business in particular African environments, the dos and don’ts of business in specific countries and mentorship from actual Africans who know what its like to run a business in Africa.

Highlighted below are some of the best business-minded African TV Reality Shows to give you more insights on business ideas and help you launch your business idea as well:

1) The Apprentice Africa

The reality show features individuals from different walks of life, from engineers to CEOs, marketing consultants, social entrepreneurs and software developers. These individuals participate in the programme to further harness their entrepreneurial skills and in the end, get selected to work in a prominent organization.

The Apprentice Africa premiered in February 2008 and ended in June of the same year with about 18 contestants participating from six African countries which include Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon and Guinea Conakry.

2) The Next Titan

The Next Titan reality show is arguably one of the best entrepreneur tv reality shows with its Season 9 registration currently ongoing where the winner will go home with ₦20M and the runner-up going with go home with ₦5M.

This show scouts for ambitious business owners seeking to demonstrate their entrepreneurial insight with indomitable business ideas, and commercial awareness. It’s open to all Nigerians between the ages of 21 and 40.

The 2019 season of The Next Titan show had 16 finalists who lived together for 10 weeks, competed with one another over 10 tough business tasks, and underwent varied business challenges until a winner emerged. The judges of the show are said to be top Nigerian business leaders who also mentor the contestants.

3) Hangman

This reality show brings together aspiring entrepreneurs who have identified a gap in the market. The entrepreneurs pitch an innovation that fills that void and explains how the product will penetrate the market.

To win the approval of the Backers, the judges of the show (businesswoman, Phuti Mahanyele; celebrity economist, Iraj Abedian; self-made billionaire, Quinton van der Burgh; and the chairman of Shell South Africa Energy Limited, Bonang Mohale), contestants will have to complete several tasks. Their stay in the programme was asermined by their performance.

4) Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (AYE)

The reality show comprises a weekly agenda of ideas, startling facts, statistics, insight into the Nigerian economy, entertainment, and educational facts. It features the most fascinating and diverse business owners embellished with the excitement of the caught in the act (CIA) segment.

The AYE Reality TV show aims to identify and showcase innovative business ideas and solutions to the world.

5) Project FX Make-up show

Launched in 2016 with makeup artist contestants from five African countries, it provides an avenue for new and upcoming makeup artists to exhibit their innate creativity. The goal of the show is to prepare African makeup artists to possibly win the Oscars in 2021 and challenge the new contestants to bring out their best creative side each season. It also has the purpose of uniting Africa through make-up.

It’s evident that these reality shows promote and teach entrepreneurial lessons. Acting as a mirror, you get to watch business owners make mistakes, how they pitch business ideas to investors, the struggle to win the prize, the ins and outs of running a business.

These shows have proven to not only being entertaining but helping business minds shape the business ideas, presentation and negotiating skills and also served as a source of business ideas to viewers not only in Africa but around the globe.

There’s nothing new under the sun, as the saying goes. Sometimes all you need is to find someone else’s already existing idea, finetune it a little bit and you might be on your way to making it big. These shows up here, are a goldmine of business ideas.

The post Top 5 African Reality TV Shows For Entrepreneurs appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Admins, who renewed their FPL private leagues from last season will have their friends and participants automatically added to the league this season as they register. So far, over 600k managers have registered their teams ahead of the new season.

FPL private leagues are an exciting way for fans of the English Premier League to enjoy the new football season. It offers an opportunity for fans of the game to display their knowledge for bragging rights and also some exciting rewards. With these FPL tips, you might just do well in your private leagues!

Steps to renew your FPL private leagues

Only league admins can renew a private league. If you are a part of a private league last season and would like it renewed ahead of the new season, you have to reach out to the league admin – the manager that created the league. Once the league has been renewed, all managers from last season will be automatically added when they register their teams for this season. After login in to FPL as an admin;

• Click on “Pick Team” from the top menu.
• scroll down to the Leagues & Cups section and click on “Create & Join Leagues”.
• click on “Join a League & Cup”.
• click on “Join Public league”
• click “Join Classic League”
• here there will be an option to join a public league or to renew your existing league from last season.

Note that when you click to join a public league, you are automatically added to a random public league with 20 other players, you cannot leave the league and you can only join a maximum of 5 public leagues. Once you are in the leagues you will no longer be able to renew your old leagues as you won’t have access to the portal anymore.

The post How to Renew Your FPL Private Leagues From Last Season appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

FPL adds an extra exciting way to keep up with the football season as ordinary fans will be allowed to predict the top performers of each game week. This can be particularly exciting, especially when competing against friends in those mini-leagues.

You might be finding it difficult to rank in the top 100 out of the over 9 million managers worldwide, but here are some FPL tips to at least give you some upper hand as you compete against friends in your private leagues.

1. Start strong

As the saying goes, if you’re starting behind, it will be very difficult for you to get ahead of the line. Well, the same is true for fantasy football. Managers must aim to get maximum points from the early games of the season. This can be achieved by analyzing the first five fixtures to determine which strikers have the most favorable schedules and which defenders are most likely to keep a clean sheet. Managers should target the most likely heavy-hitters – Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Man City’s Haaland seem very promising to start the season strong.

2. Always get rid of underperforming players

The second most important FPL tip anyone can be given is to always get rid of out-of-form players sooner rather than later. if I have a motto after playing FPL for 5 years now, it will be, “it’s not personal, just business.” We all have favorite players that we want in our teams, but if you want to win your mini-leagues, you have to get rid of those players the moment they go out of form. Leaving them in your team is usually double jeopardy – they are taking up space and not giving your points, while your competitors are raking in points from their alternatives. A player is usually out of FPL form when they don’t return points in more than two consecutive game weeks. Of course, how much money you have in the bank, cost of transfer, and short-term schedule should always influence your in or out transfers.

3. Start with 15 first-team players

One of the biggest FPL mistakes most managers make is to include in their teams some cheap non-first-team players to save money. This might seem logical in the short-term – you have a 100 million, to get those premium players, you might need to include one or two cut-price players in your team. Besides, you only start 11 players out of your 15-man squad.

In the long run, this strategy usually backfires in my experience. See, you get only 1 free transfer every week. When players begin to have injuries or miss games due to manager rotation, you will have no options on your bench to rotate them with. Plus it also makes it difficult to transfer players without spending points. It limits your flexibility with transfers as you won’t be able to hold out of-form players on the bench to see if they will improve in subsequent weeks.

4. Always follow the news

The difference between successful managers and the struggling ones in most mini-leagues is usually last-minute information. Knowing which player is injured, which players will be rested, etc can help you adjust your team before the match week deadline to avoid having non-starters in your starting 11.

5. Pay attention to your captain

Captain selection will perhaps be your most interesting decision as an FPL manager each week. Captains get double the points for their game-week performance and your choice will be greatly correlated with how many points you finish with that week.

Generally speaking, a midfielder will make a better choice of FPL captain compared to defenders or strikers. Midfielders get 5 points for each goal they score compared to strikers that get 4, defenders get 6 points though. But how many defenders are more likely to score a goal or assist one ahead of their midfield teammates? Midfielders like Mo Salah and Kevin DeBruyne can be reliable captain options when they are in form.

With these fantasy football FPL tips, you might not finish in the global top 100, but you can at least finish top of your private leagues for the bragging rights among friends.

The post Fantasy Premier League FPL Tips for 2022/2023 Season appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

King of Thieves (Agesinkole) is a Nigerian Nollywood movie which tells the epic tale of Agesinkole – a notorious criminal who unleashed a reign of terror on the fictional town of Ajeromi.

The main language of the movie is Yoruba, tho it also features some English narration and commentary by ace Nollywood actor, Segun Arinze.

Co-directed by Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo Salami, the movie stars Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi, Femi Adebayo, Odunlade Adekola, Ibrahim Chatta, Adedimeji Lateef, Aisha Lawal, and a cameo appearance by comedians Mr Macaroni, and Broda Shaggi.

Plot

The movie starts with the coronation of Odunlade Adekola as the new king of Ajeromi kingdom, then almost immediately Agesinkole’s reign of terror starts when he waylaid and attacked two guests returning from the coronation. The new king was obviously disturbed by this, and in a few scenes later he was preparing to take on Agesinkole in a one on one supernatural fight. The king was just having a dream, a nightmare infact. And this is where the story begins it’s twists and turns.

Agesinkole continued to reign terror on the kingdom, and in a desperate attempt to find a solution, the town’s elders first attempted to send hunters to end his reign, then they sent Sango, and a priest, and witches and wizards, and then finally, a hunter who has been fortified by being buried alive for seven days. They all failed and Agesinkole defeated them all.

In the end, Agesinkole was revealed not as a human, but the spirit of an ancient prince who was manipulated and killed by corrupt chiefs and is now back to seek retribution on the kingdom alongside his best friend who was also wrongfully convicted and killed in their first lives.

The movie ends after Agesinkole revealed that he was not a human but the spirit of a wrongfully executed man who died as a result of the treachery of the town’s ancestors. He went away after giving the town’s people new rules to follow and warned them against treachery.

What can be improved?

In all the movie is a good watch. Definitely of high quality by Nollywood standards. But since the story is all fiction, the set designers could have done better by presenting the kingdom as a bit more prosperous.

The king’s palace was a mud house, the streets are not paved, the setting is just an impoverished present day Nigerian village. Movies can be used to change the mindset that the average Nigerian kingdom has always been impoverished and will always remain impoverished.

How to watch ‘King of Thieves (Agesinkole)’ at the cinema

The movie was first released to cinema chains across Nigeria on April 8th. Movie ticket price at Viva cinema is N2000 per adult during the week and may go up to N2500 at the weekend and N1000 for popcorn with another N250 for drinks. You’ll need N3250 per adult to watch this movie at Viva cinema chain across the country, the price shouldn’t be far off at other cinema chains too. If you’ll like something extra you can watch it at the VIP section of Genesis cinemas starting at N7000 per adult. At Silverbird Cinemas, the price is N3000 with popcorn and drink inclusive.

In conclusion, King of Thieves (Agesinkole) is a good watch and it gets 7/10 compared to other Nollywood movies. The movie did well in showcasing the rich culture of the Yoruba people.
FYI: Agesinkole translates to “He who enters a house riding a horse”.

The post King of Thieves, AGESINKOLE: Nollywood movie review and film summary appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Online dating is the new way to meet people. Back in the day, a man has to ride on horseback for hours just to go see his woman. In most cases, the man goes through all these trouble without even the possiblity of touching his woman’s hands or even knowing what she looks like before hand.

Thank goodness for technology, all that has changed, now you get to choose the physical qualities you want, ethnicity, religion and even social orientation before approaching to say hello.

It might seem dating these days is much easier than it was years ago, still you’ll need the right app/site to meet the right people. And as you can imagine for all the positives these modern dating methods bring, they come with an equal amount of nagatives too.

Before you decide to meet a partner online, you have to weigh the negatives as well, from hookers to fuckboys to less than honorable married folks who won’t think twice before breaking you. If you still want to explore, here are the top dating applications in Nigeria

Tinder

this app is by far the most popular dating app not just in Nigeria, but all over the world. The way it works is simple, the app suggests profiles of people near you based on information from your phone’s gps. The profiles are pretty basic, just a few photos and one or two lines of description. You swipe right if you like what you see and would like to match with them or swipe left if you don’t find their profile interesting.

You will also be suggested to the other person and if you both swipe right, then it’s a match where both of you can send private messages to each other and potentially arrange a meet.

Tinder also has some paid features, like the premium package that allows you to swipe unlimited and shows your profile to a lot more people. The premium package also allows you to see people who swiped right on your profile and decide if you want to swipe right on their profile and match.

There are plenty of Nigerians on tinder which makes the app a good place to meet people from diverse background. This also makes the app a breeding ground for hookers and fuckboys. You have to lookout for redflags and be responsible for your own security on this app.

Bumble

Bumble is another popular dating app in Nigeria just like tinder. Tho not as popular as tinder, Bumble also works in a similar way. You swipe right on your potential matches and wait for them to swipe too. The premium package on Bumble also gives you access to a lot more people and allows you to check out people who liked your profile to decide if you’ll like to match with them.

One unique feature of Bumble whoever is that only the woman can confirm a match and start a conversation. If you both swiped right the woman has to make the first move by sending the first message which can be tricky here in Nigeria where women don’t culturally make the first move on men.

Another disadvantage of Bumble is that the gps locator on the app is not efficient at all. Unless you’re living in a major Nigerian city like Abuja and Lagos, most of your suggestions might be at far away places.

For instance, when I tried using the app most of the suggestions I get are for people 100-300 kilometers away in Osun, Ogun, Ondo while am in Ilorin. Long distance relationships are not really my thing so I didn’t match with a lot of people.

Badoo

Badoo has been around in Nigeria for a very long time. The first time I tried using the app was back in 2012 while I was still in the university. And that is the problem with Badoo, because it has been around for so long most of the people on there are mostly old.

Badoo mostly functions like tinder and Bumble in that you swipe right on profiles you like and left on the ones you don’t. But unlike tinder and Bumble, Badoo has a feature that allows you see all the people near you on one screen. You can navigate to any picture that sparks your interest and view their profile, go back and forth to compare profile. This is a premium feature on both tinder and Bumble.

The premium package on Badoo also allows you to see people who liked your profile and decide if you like to match with them.

Badoo also has a fairly good gps locator that will enable you see people near you, but the app contains intrusive ads which does not make for a good user experience compared to others.

Telegram

Technically, Telegram is not a dating app but you can very much use this app to meet people and ask them out on a date.

Telegram works mostly like Whatsapp, but has a feature that allows you to locate people and groups near you. You can use this feature to send people near you a direct message or better still there are public groups for like minded individuals you can join. The app also gives you the ability to see the group participants and you can send anyone a direct message from there.

Telegram is not exactly a dating site but you can get lots of potential dates from it. But just like any app with people’s pictures and profiles you can make it work for you, you just have to come correct, choose your targets wisely and make your case calmly.

In conclusion, this is 2020, technology has made meeting people a whole lot easier and smoother even if you’re an introvert or a guy that lacks the confidence to talk to women. Talking to women is not easy, there’s the very real risk of rejection which can sting a little bit less if it happens online, all you have to do is swipe right and say hello to get started.

By far tinder has to be the best dating app in Nigeria. The geolocator allows you to meet more people near you and the app has over 1 billion users with plenty of Nigerians on it. It makes for a very deap sea to catch your own fish.

The post Top 4 best dating apps/sites in Nigeria appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

The popular TV game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is back with a rebirth show since it was abruptly ended in 2014.

Up until then, the show was a massive hit on Nigerian TV for years broadcasting every Friday night at 8pm before it added a second Sunday show to become a biweekly TV game show.

The show’s host, Frank Edoho made the rebirth announcement on Twitter in a tweet that has since gone viral among many Nigerians who have been patiently waiting for the show.

WWTBAM in it’s old format features 15 questions arranged in order of increased difficulty, participants win increasing amounts from #5,000 to #10 million with guaranteed levels at questions 5 and 10. Should a participant get a question wrong, they loose all their winnings and go back to the previous guaranteed level. Participants also get 3 ‘lifelines’ to help them along the way.

How to register for WWTBAM and participate

This edition is sponsored by Payattitude. Dial *569# or *7006*20# to get started.

The jackpot for this edition is a #20 million weekly grand price.

The exact format and broadcast date is yet to be announced but players can begin to participate in the home play by dialing *569# on all networks.

The post How to play Who Wants to be a Millionaire Rebirth appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Have you ever been In a cinema and you’re wondering how on God’s green earth the movie you’re watching even made it past screening? Well, ‘Over Her Dead Body’ will leave you with a similar feeling.

This cringe-inducing movie is simply of low quality even by Nollywood standards.

The plot of the movie is literally what you most have seen before if you’ve ever seen any Nollywood movie ever – a wicked mother-in-law brings a new bride for her only son, whose wife has been unable to give birth. She tries to frustrate the somewhat innocent wife while her son keeps saying he doesn’t want a new bride and that he loves his wife. Typical Nollywood.

‘Over Her Dead Body’ was supposed to be a comedy drama, but hardly is there any humor observed throughout the movie.

The acting was also below enthusiastic in a movie boasting of stars including Ayo Mogaji, Gregory ojefua, Nse Ikpe Etim, Shola Onomor, Taiwo Solanke, Uche Mac-Auley and directed by Sola Osofisan.

In all, this movie is a 2/10 and even that is generous. Nollywood should have grown past making such poor quality movies, and even when they do, they at least shouldn’t be putting it in cinemas.

How to watch ‘Over Her Dead Body’

The movie will be showing in cinema chains across Nigeria. Movie ticket price at Viva cinema is N2000 per adult and N1000 for popcorn with another N250 for drinks. You’ll need N3250 per adult to watch this movie at Viva cinema chain across the country, the price shouldn’t be far off at other cinema chains too. If you’ll like something extra you can watch it at the VIP section of Genesis cinemas starting at N7000 per adult. At Silverbird Cinemas, the price is N3000 with popcorn and drink inclusive.

The post Over Her Dead Body: Nollywood movie review and film summary appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Nancy Isime played the lead role in Inkblot Production’s latest movie, ‘Superstar’ which premiered in cinemas across Nigeria yesterday December 29.

Nancy’s acting was good as she starred in the drama directed by ‘Elevator Baby’ director, Akhigbe Ilozobhie (Akay Mason) and also stars Timini Egbuson, Ufuoma McDermott, Eku Edewor among others.

The story revolves around Nancy’s character, Queen – who’s parents wanted her to study law at the University but had passion for acting and decided to study theater arts instead, she moved to Lagos after school and lived the life of a struggling artist until she eventually made it big in Nollywood.

‘Superstar’ features the usual cliche associated with Nollywood stories. For example, in one scene Queen lost lost her job, got sexually assaulted by a movie producer and found her boyfriend cheating with her best friend, and in the next scene she won twenty million naira and has become a superstar. Real life doesn’t work that way, there is no such thing as divine justice in the real world!

And then there is the cliche with the Nigerian police, a video of Queen where she accidentally hit and killed a man four years earlier was leaked on the internet by her bitter ex boyfriend and then she was picked up 15 minutes after the leak and taken to prison. The Nigerian police is not as professional as we would like them to be, but in a make believe movie you don’t have to show men in oversized black uniforms arresting someone without proper investigation or even solid proof besides a video on the internet.

‘Superstar’ can also be a feminist’s nightmare. In one scene Queen’s scumbag boyfriend seized her phone to stop her from chatting with other people online while at the same time he was chatting with other girls, it’s like the most antifeminist scene ever. Queen did eventually gave him a good beating when he crossed the line and got physical with her, thumbs up..

In all the movie is a decent production by Nollywood standard. A few laughs here and there and you will leave the cinema rooting for Queen as she goes through her troubled superstardom.

How to watch ‘Superstar’

‘Superstar’ will be showing in cinema throughout this Christmas season across Nigeria. Movie ticket price at Viva cinema is N2000 per adult and N1000 for popcorn with another N250 for drinks. You’ll need N3250 per adult to watch this movie at Viva cinema chain across the country, the price shouldn’t be far off at other cinema chains too. If you’ll like something extra you can watch it at the VIP section of Genesis cinemas starting at N7000 per adult.

The post Superstar: Nollywood movie review and film summary appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

Comic actor AYO MAKUN popularly known as ‘AY’ delivered rib cracking goodness in ‘Christmas in Miami’ – the fourth installment of the AKPOS film series. Previous adventures of Akpos include 30 DAYS IN ATLANTA, A TRIP TO JAMAICA and TEN DAYS IN SUNCITY, all of which were big screen successes in their own rights.

This time in ‘Christmas in Miami’, Akpos jets off with his dad (played by Richard Mofe Damijo) and elder brother (played by Osita Iheme) to the exotic city of Miami, Florida to represent Nigeria in an international TV game show celebrating the spirit of Christmas.

They are joined by other families from the UK, Brazil, India, China, and American. As imagined, the movie was a cultural melting pot with actors showcasing acts from their countries. The stand out scene has to be when RMD did a rendition of the famous 90s song from the Indian movie ‘Dus Nambari’.

Of course, no Nigerian comedy film will be complete without talking a few swings at the country’s politicians. ‘Christmas in Miami’ took a few subtle jabs at president Buhari and his incompetent administration, you have to pay attention or you won’t notice!

The movie which is intended to be a holiday movie for this Christmas season is entirely shot in the US city of Miami. AYO Makun, Osita Iheme and Richard Mofe Damijo are the only three Nigerians in the movie, they are the lead actors and spoke mostly in Nigerian pidgin English with translation. The entire movie is subtitled.

In all, the quality of production for this movie is above average for a Nollywood movie, expect a good laugh and expect to leave the cinema with a renewed sense of nationalism.

How to watch ‘Christmas in Miami’ and ticket price

‘Christmas in Miami’ will be showing in cinema throughout this Christmas season across Nigeria. Movie ticket price at Viva cinema is N2000 per adult and N1000 for popcorn with another N250 for drinks. You’ll need N3250 per adult to watch this movie at Viva cinema chain across the country, the price shouldn’t be far off at other cinema chains too.

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