She earns ₦350,000 monthly. He earns ₦120,000.
They want to save for rent together, but who contributes what?
In Nigerian relationships, love may be equal, but income rarely is. And that difference often stays unspoken until it becomes a problem.
Many couples don’t fight about money because one person earns more. They struggle because they don’t know how to plan fairly when incomes are unequal, and they’re afraid to say the wrong thing.
Why Unequal Income Creates Tension
Different salaries don’t automatically cause conflict. What causes tension is the silence around them.
When couples pretend income differences don’t exist:
- One partner feels pressure always to contribute more
- The other feels guilty for contributing less
- Financial decisions become emotional instead of practical
- Shared goals get delayed indefinitely
In Nigeria, this tension compounds fast. In Lagos, rent alone can take 40–60% of one person’s income. Add fuel costs, family expectations, and the reality that many young professionals are also supporting parents or siblings, and suddenly, “splitting things equally” isn’t just uncomfortable. It’s unrealistic.
Money stops being about partnership and starts feeling like a sacrifice.
Fair Doesn’t Mean Equal
This is the reframe most couples need to hear:
Fair contributions are not always equal contributions.
Planning works better when couples focus on:
- Direction, not comparison
- Progress, not percentages
- Transparency, not sameness
A relationship doesn’t succeed because both people earn the same. It succeeds because both people are moving toward the same goals in a way that feels fair to them.
A Practical Way to Plan With Different Salaries
This is where structure matters.
Without structure, income differences turn into assumptions:
- “You should handle this”
- “I’ll wait until I earn more”
- “Let’s not plan yet”
With the right structure, couples can plan together without forcing equality.
That’s the thinking behind Duo.
With Duo:
- Both partners see the same shared goal (rent, emergency fund, relocation)
- Each person contributes what they can afford
- No one can access the other person’s money
- Progress is visible to both people
- There’s no joint account and no pressure to match contributions
The goal is alignment, not arithmetic.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Tola earns ₦400,000 monthly and wants to save aggressively.
Her partner, Dayo, earns ₦150,000 and supports family members.
Instead of avoiding the conversation, they set up a Duo goal: “Our Emergency Fund.”
- Tola contributes ₦40,000 monthly (10% of her income)
- Dayo contributes ₦15,000 monthly (10% of his income)
Different amounts. Same commitment.
Six months later, they’ve saved ₦330,000, without a single argument about who’s doing more.
Take the Next Step Together
Different salaries don’t weaken relationships. Avoiding the reality of them does.
In a country where income paths are rarely linear, couples who plan well don’t wait for equality. They build systems that respect both realities.
Ready to plan fairly, not equally?
Create your first Duo goal and start building together, on terms that work for both of you.
#LoveIsDuo
