Many of us envision the lives we want for ourselves but are sometimes limited in actualising these visions as a result of our finances. One of the core reasons I started this platform is to support people who find themselves in this position and show you it's possible. This week's conversation serves as apt reminder as I'm joined by my guest Bukiie Smart.
She is a multi-passionate young millennial best known for being a personal finance podcast host, speaker and author of the books 'The ABCs of Personal Finance' and ‘Investing for Beginners’. She is passionate about helping young people succeed in their financial lives and runs Save Spend Invest, a personal finance platform that aims to empower young millennials to save better, spend wiser and invest smarter through content, conferences and workshops. She loves travelling and is an avid reader. When not running SSI, Bukiie works as an advisor in a Big 4 company, and is currently building her latest business, ADAYA House.
This conversation is certainly one to not be missed.We covered a range of topics from money personalities, to intentionally curating the life you want for yourself. It served as an amazing example that through intentionality, you truly can do whatever you set your mind to. Happy reading!
Rhieme: Hi Bukiie thank you so much for joining us today, can you please tell us about yourself?
Bukiie: Thank you for having me I usually like starting with who I am as a human being before the work I do, or achievements, accomplishments, all those things. So I would say I'm someone who is passionate and I like different things. I have various interest from personal finance, sustainability, fashion, interior design, like there are so many things about me. I love to travel, cook, work out and host my friends.When I'm not doing all of that, I work in financial advisory, my day job. I also run on Save Spend and Invest which is a personal finance platform for millennials to really learn how to do better with their money in general but especially learning how to spend wiser. Last year in the middle of the pandemic, I started a fashion rental business called Adaya House. The point of that really is to start to imagine our future being more sustainable in terms of our fashion consumption and I am increasingly becoming passionate about that as well.
Rhieme: I love what you said about speaking about who you as the person first because we don't get that a lot. On the blog we’ve been talking about pursuing vision and our finances but I found that sometimes people are on the two extreme ends of it. One minute you pursue your goals and everything from a place of ease or you’re on the other end where you don’t care about your wellbeing. For you, what does a life of wholeness mean?
Bukiie: That's a really good question. Wholeness for me represents living fully. When I think about something being whole, I think of completion, I think of something that is full. Living a life of wholeness for me is living fully, all the different versions of myself. In my bio I talked about how I like to travel, host friends, workout and being able to express that in different forms in different ways. And making the most of all the things I have inside of me the gifts, the talents, the knowledge and being able to take advantage of everything, that's what wholeness means to me.
Rhieme: Definitely and I love how you've integrated everything. Everything has to do with you as a person. I find that most people almost separate their lives into chunks. So like, this is work me and then this is x. I mean, it's good to set boundaries and know when you want to take a break. But it’s also good for us to see ourselves as one and not two completely different people.
Bukiie: I think it can be hard especially in the world we live in today where you feel the need to show up as a different version of yourself, depending on who you speak to. That's something personally I've had to work through. Who I show up as at work should ideally be the same person you'd meet outside but there was a point where I felt like I was hiding certain parts of me.I had to work my way through you know who you see on my day job should be the same person everyday. You shouldn't be like oh, I didn't know she went to church or I didn't know she did this thing.
Rhieme: Definitely it's something I'm just getting used to as well because I feel like a lot of it has to do with fear of rejection. You think with me being who I am and being honest about my interests and everything, how would that person receive it? But now I'm getting to a place where I know I will attract the right people and if someone doesn't feel comfortable with you being you, that's on them, not you. But definitely it's not easy especially when society almost makes you box yourself. Thank you for sharing.
Rhieme: How have you been able to be strategic in your finances to facilitate the lifestyle you want for yourself?
Bukiie: I love this question because it really made me think, what really is my lifestyle? I think it's always one thing to see people on social media.The minute I decided to be really intentional about my Instagram and what I put out there, I realised very quickly how real I wanted it to be and how I didn't want to make everything seem so picture perfect, which is really what you see on social media. Which I get it, everybody wants to put their best foot forward, the highlight life is what we would ideally like to live. But for me, I think probably at some point at university I sort of made up my mind around the kind of person I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life. Not so much to work, but my lifestyle. I want to be able to travel often, take my friends out, pay for my parents flight tickets on a holiday. These were the things I started thinking about goals wise.
At that point, it was around making the decision to be very intentional about money because money was going to be used as a tool to get into all these goals. From that really young age, I've just started being intentional so a lot of the things I do is never accidental. You know when people say can you believe the life you have now? And I would say yes, because I planned for it. I didn't stumble into the life that I now live, I’ve been working to put things in places and money especially has been a very big part of that. For me, it was about identifying the kind of person I wanted to be and the kind of lifestyle I wanted then using money as a tool. So that meant I had to sacrifice going out in uni. I had to sacrifice saying yes to a couple of things so that now I can say yes to those things.I had to do the work of being very disappointed by finances knowing that even when I felt bad I couldn't be like oh woe is me, I'm going to take money to make myself feel better by going shopping or treating myself to Uber Eats. I always had to remind myself, if you take this 100 pounds out, if you take this 50 pounds out, that is 30 pounds away from the future you want, that is 50 pounds a week from the lifestyle you want. It's a journey, sometimes you have challenges. There were days I definitely took back 50 pounds, 100 pounds and was like there's no point again, you know, life is for enjoyment. But I think one thing that my parents have always taught me is that life is in stages and in seasons.You have to be very aware of where you're at and where you're trying to go. I will tell my friends don't eat your seed, don't use your seed for tomorrow today. There's no point living the life you want to live in 10 years and you start living it in year one when you really can’t afford it and you really shouldn't be able to because that's not the stage or season of life you're at. That's sort of been my journey over the last couple of years. Like I said, it's not all been roses but now I'm seeing those efforts pay off if it was worth it.
Rhieme: Hmm you shared so much. I love what you said about intentionality. That’s one of the main things I picked up on because sometimes people think life will just happen especially with social media. I remember there was a time I sent you a DM like I don't even know how I ended up on your page, but I was like wow this is what I like.People being honest about their experiences and not a lot of people are like that, you open social media and see end results. I mean you don't have to tell people the process if you don't want to, but I think it's more of people knowing I didn't just get here by the way there were so many things I did along the way. I also like what you said on how you had to make a decision about the type of life you wanted for yourself and actually sit down and work towards it overtime.That's where people find it difficult, sometimes live in the moment enjoy your life but don't live in the moment to the point where you're sacrificing your future. It's just so important because there's almost this pressure to live a certain type of way or oh by this age, you should have this. I just wish more people knew that because some people think you wake up one day and everything is sorted. As you said, sacrifice is necessary and I think with anything worth pursuing, you will always have to drop something else for it.
Rhieme: What does financial security mean to you?
Bukiie: Financial security for me is not having to worry about money there are so many other things in life I want to do and accomplish. Money should never be an obstacle and when I was making those decisions about the life I want to live that was a key thing. I want to get to a point where I don't have to worry about money in terms of day to day but also the big picture. If I want to maybe start some business or open a charity or foundation I don't want to start running to look for the money to do those things that are really important to me and they're really important to fulfilling the reason why I'm here. Financial security is putting systems and processes in place to make sure money is never going to be one of those things that I will have to worry about.
Rhieme: Definitely, especially what you said about systems because the thing about money and building wealth, it’s over time and it doesn't just happen. You have to be intentional and say every month I’m going to put aside X amount because I’m trying to achieve X. When I started saving at first,I didn't have a main reason. For me I never wanted to be in a position where I didn’t have anything to my name, I wanted that some form of independence. But over time, I think just knowing why you want to have what you have and why you want to save as well definitely helps.
Rhieme: How have you been able to intentionally plan your life?
Bukiie: Being very self aware is super important to me I spend a lot of time by myself partly because I've lived alone for a number of years and also because I’m the only girl with two boys.I guess growing up I've always been quite independent as well but spending a lot of time with myself has helped me realise the kind of person I want to be and what I want to do and intentionality has been a big part of that. So I asked myself a lot of self- reflective questions. I think I probably started with that at university when it was it was e a money day. So I remember I think I had just read Rich Dad Poor Dad and I was like, I need to get my finances in order. I need to buy a property by 25 all these things. I was like okay, if I save 5000 pounds, I'll take myself out on a date. I didn't really know what that meant.I literally went to Nando's by myself and they asked me at the door able for two? And I said no table for one and people are like so what do you do by yourself? I tend to read, write or I'm just quiet in my own thoughts. So that day at Nando's I asked myself now that you saved your first 1000 and I wanted to save 50,000 to buy property, what next? But also celebrating myself like I did that and I know that it wasn't easy.I mean looking back at it now it wasn't really hard to do but at the time it seemed painful. My friends would go out and invite me and I'd have to say no. Or I would go out with them and just sort of twiddle my thumbs and say I ate something back home so you know, I don't have to buy food. Spending time with older people as well, that gives me a lot of perspective, in terms of what they've done, what they've done right, what they've done wrong and sort of helping me to save myself from the mistakes that they've made.
But I think by far the biggest thing would be probably my parents, I credit them so much with the person I am because they were a fantastic example of what it means to be intentional about the life you want to have. They were a great example of what it means to sacrifice now so you can enjoy later.Growing up my dad would always say we're not rich, we're comfortable. What some people may think only rich children have, you know, new pair of shoes every school year you see because I had to sacrifice travelling so that we could have the money to get that. Very often, they would remind us of the discipline and hard work that it takes to actually get to the point where you can even say you're comfortable. So my parents probably had the biggest impact on me being intentional. I mean, they never really checked in on me to ask are you saving ? When I moved to the UK from Nigeria, I think I was 16 or 17 they had hoped at that point the things have shown us were going to really sustain us.
Rhieme: Thank you so much for sharing. I mean I love what you said about how go out by yourself and self-awareness because I think it is so key. Especially when you're trying to be intentional you need to spend time by yourself, outside of people, people's expectations or people's opinions. I will definitely say I'm quite similar to you in the sense that I personally flourish best when I'm alone. I enjoy people's company but I feel like with lock- down I became such a home-buddy.I've had like five journals this year, I'm always journaling, always writing. I was thinking of that phrase the seeds that you sow today for the fruits that you want tomorrow as you were speaking. I just really love that you were able to set those boundaries with your friends and be honest because too many people put themselves under unnecessary pressure because they want to please people or they want to keep up with a certain lifestyle or look a certain type of way.Whereas it's if you want to afford something why not be able to actually afford it? Rather than trying to make it look like you can when you can’t. I'm in a space where I’m aware of what I want for myself and just planning and being intentional. Intentional about my time, the people I spend time with it’s all so key.
What you said about your parents as well it just shows you the power of the right people. As you said, older peopl I speak to more older people now and wow it makes all the difference. From your mindset, to perspective, I think what you even spend your time doing as well, because these people have walked this path before they know what it's like.
Bukiie: I’ll also say one thing that has helped me as well as apart from the planning and the intention, at some point, you have to actually take action. So I remember I was like I want to save X amount but I wasn't actually saving that much and I was like what is this? So you realise it's one thing to actually make a decision, it's another thing to act on the decision. I had to rework a lot of things in my budgets I had to rework the numbers. It comes back to systems and processes. I went to automate my savings so I didn’t even have to see it. At some point, you move from just planning and wanting to do this and that to actually doing it. The life you actually want, you have to go and get it.
Rhieme: Yeah, thank you for adding that. Of course, planning is important, because it just makes the launching process very easy. But at the same time, we always plan then when it's time to take action you're like, I'm not sure about this anymore but yes as you said, if you don’t take action the plan is a waste. You actually have to take actionable steps towards whatever it is you want to do.
Rhieme: How have you been able to navigate life with wholeness in mind?
Bukiie: I think again it probably comes down to one of my values being intentionality. For me intentionality speaks to having deliberate decisions. So when I think about the life that I have now and wanting to be real on social media for example, my 25th birthday. People will see and be like that looked like so much fun you had the time of your life and I did. What they don't know is I’ve been saving for that trip for the last year so it could happen. Especially given the pandemic, then I bought a property earlier this year as well.I had been doing the work before and was making those deliberate decisions to keep on saving and there are so many things I always think you can do so much with money and I'm just here saving. But again, once I saw the results I was in awe of what you can actually do by making those deliberate decisions. So having a life that is designed to be whole it's just really being authentic and being your truest, highest version of yourself and making a commitment to a plan. We spoke about that at the beginning in terms of who you see here when you meet me, you shouldn't be surprised. There are very few things that will surprise people about me because I always say, I live my life as an open book and I think it was even Ibukun Awosika I heard this from recently, she said one of the reasons she shares so much about her life is because when she dies like who's going to benefit from all the knowledge and all the things that is inside of her ? No one and I've been doing that as well without even realising it. I've been committed to living my life as an open book for other people to see and glean and gain teachings from but also making sure that my real life feels better than it probably looks. I think for some people on social media, your life on social media really looks better than it is. For me my real life should and probably will continue to remain better than it looks on social media. If you come into my real life you should be shocked because of how great it still is and even when I'm experiencing challenges when you come to my real life, you can see that very tangibly okay you're going through a tough time as well. So I think it's just about showing up as your true self. Be true to who you are regardless of what you're going through or whatever season you're in.Try and find that version of yourself that you love. I think someone was saying recently a lot of people are saying self- love, which is all great but it's like do you like yourself ? So again when people ask me what do you when you travel by yourself or solo dates? I'm like, I really like myself, I really enjoy my own company, I'm able to ask myself hard questions. Or if someone offended me and I'm like how did that make you feel? Or is there a big project I want to do or a new business idea? I have to sit and say is this your goal or is this society's goal? Is it in alignment with what you actually like to do with your skills, your interest? Or are you taking it on because you saw it online and it seemed cool, and you thought I can do that? All those sorts of things will come out only when you know your whole self and you continue to get to know yourself, it’s an ongoing journey. You never quite stop learning about yourself.
Rhieme: Thank you so much I really love what you said about social media and real life because I feel like there's so much power in sharing in the midst of the struggle because it just shows you’re human you're not always going to be 100%. I think that's part of wholeness being able to accept yourself even when you're not in the best place or everything isn't going well and still being to tell people this is me, this is who I am, this is how I'm feeling right now. I think some people see wholeness as life being perfect and life not having any bumps just focusing on the good side. I mean life is good but still knowing when you're going through hard times or struggles that's part of it. As you said, just trying to pick out what you can irrespective of what you face. I think more people need to do that and normalise it. I love what you said about how your life in real life should actually feel better than what you put online. It’s so key because I always say with social media as well, I try and use it very strategically and also not creating a façade. So as much as sometimes I put stuff there to remind myself of good times and memories at the same time, I always tell people when I can you may see this right now but so much has happened behind the scenes and I just wish like more people embraced that as well.
The more real we are with ourselves and our experiences the more authentic we are because no two people will ever have the same experience. Also what you said about solo dates and how you spend time with yourself and how everything comes from that place of solitude and being able to think properly. That's one thing I plan on doing this year in uni, just taking myself out sometimes to think and reflect by myself. It’s just so key because I think most people want clarity and sometimes we think it's just going to come or we depend on people too much to navigate everything. As you said with your goals and what you want for yourself, why do you want what you want? Do you want what you want because you’ve seen it play out in someone else's life? Or you know there is more? I I'm always thinking, always writing, but the more I do that, I’ve just realised that someone's life, the way their life is set up may actually not work for you at all, as a person. As you said, you don't know what the person has been through, too. I don't believe anyone just gets there, if not them, maybe their parents or family members have gone through certain things to give them what they have. One thing I respect about you is your openness and you are one of the people that made me realise it's okay to be deep.I just remember when I was thinking of how I wanted to show up online, it was only up until this year, actually, that I would say I became very free with myself. In the past I was very restricted but I love sharing experiences, sharing my thoughts and everything. I didn't really see a lot of people my age, in particular doing that but then I came across your page and there are a few other people that come to mind. It just reminds me you can express yourself as you want to, without feeling you're doing too much and I guess it ties in with what we’re saying in terms of wholeness, and embracing all parts of yourself. One thing I tell myself is, even if I don't see anyone living the way I want to live or having similar interests, I can still choose to express myself in that way. When I think about my faith and God and how everyone has been created in such a different way yet these days we limit our expression. So anytime I feel a nudge to do something and I can't see other people doing it, I'm like more of a reason why I will.
Bukiie: And I think a lot of people will benefit from that, because I think probably more often than not, there are situations and times when people want to do something and they don't see anybody doing it.That then makes them paralysed in terms of not taking action, what would my friends say? Or just how would people look at me because I'm the only person who does this? But you also have to be fine with that and knowing your journey and your path is very unique and different. I always say God has called you to be very different so why are you always trying to fit in? Don't wait to necessarily see other people doing what you want, you can always curate the life that you want for exactly how you want it because no one else has your skills, your talents, your gifts all the things that make up for you. So of course, there's not going to be any single particular person who is living exactly how you want to.
Rhieme:Definitely, thank you so much. In one of your podcast episodes, you spoke about financial mistakes that should not be in your 20s.What advice will you give someone who's just embarking on the journey of spending money intentionally?
Bukiie: Okay, I really like this question because I feel like when I realised about money personalities, it gave me some sense of freedom.You need to know the kind of person you are and where you spend money.What you enjoy spending money on your money personality,would boil down to your values and the things that are important to you. For example, I like to spend money on experiences and people so you would see that my birthday I had saved to be able to provide all that I did for my friends and that's me. The kind of things that happen in my real life, that's what my money often reflects. If I’m ever really saving money or sacrificing for something it would usually be for experiences with myself or with people so either travelling by myself and travelling with friends. My fiancé doesn't really care for that. He loves to probably spend money on convenience things that bring him comfort.For example, we might be walking 10 minutes to somewhere if it is a hot summer day, he would rather take a cab I would never spend money on that because it’s a 10,15 minute walk here. He’s the kind of person that’ll probably want to upgrade when travelling just because all the chairs are nice and business class but that's where he wants to spend his money and because of those decisions and knowing our money personality types, we don't spend money on things we don't value. What I care about is designing experiences for my life with my friends and so I would put more of an emphasis towards that. Once I've taken into account how much I want to save, what I have to spend should go towards the things that are really important so when I look at my bank statements.
Rhieme: Yeah, I've never actually thought about money personalities. I think I'm hearing this first from you actually. It’s just so important to define what matters to you and spending accordingly because sometimes we may get so caught up with trying to do everything. If you were going to do something that's because it's what you care about. I personally need to sit down and think about what exactly I value.I guess not forcing yourself to take on the interest of someone else or what they would prefer.
Rhieme: Do you have any last words, any advice? Anything that's been on your mind at all?
Bukiie: I'm sort of going through a career transition of what's next? I have so many passions and different interests but now I'm realising passion in itself can be overrated because you can chase passion but that might just be something you're interested in right now and that might not be what you want to do for work. A big part of wholeness also includes your life's work and what you on a day to day basis. So I'm trying to figure that out in terms of are we really chasing passion? Or are we really trying to find work that brings us joy and work that we actually find meaning in and also creates an impact? It's very interesting, trying to design what that space to looks like. I don't think there's anyone now that I can see who has designed their life the way I want to design mine and so it’s scary. That brings a lot of questions as well like how's that going to work? How is your salary going to work? Or are you going to be self employed? All these different things are coming up that I just don't have the answers to, but I'm very much enjoying trying to navigate that space and hopefully figure it out at some point.
How did you find this conversation? What are your key takeaways? Share below in the comments! Before you go make sure you check out Save Spend & Invest platform, listen to the podcast it's up on blog! Click here to access it.Last but not the least, check out ADAYA House! See you in the next conversation.