It’s January, and if you’re reading this with a slight headache that has nothing to do with a hangover and everything to do with checking your bank balance, welcome. You are not alone. We were outside. We had our oblee. Detty December lived up to its name. And now? Now we’re doing the financial mathematics that doesn’t quite add up.
Let me be clear: I’m not here to shame anyone for enjoying themselves. Life is meant to be lived, and there’s something beautiful about how we celebrate, dance, connect, and create memories during those magical weeks when December turns into one long party. But I am here to have an honest conversation about what it actually costs, because nobody talks about the numbers until January slaps you in the face with them.
The Oblee Effect: When “Just One Night Out” Becomes a Lifestyle
Oblee isn’t just a one-time thing. It’s a vibe, an energy, a commitment to enjoyment that compounds over time. One night out leads to another. One concert turns into three. “Just drinks” becomes dinner, drinks, after-party, and breakfast at some ungodly hour because why not, we’re already outside.
During Detty December, this effect intensifies. Every weekend has multiple events. Every friend group has plans. Every day feels like an opportunity to create a memory worth posting. And before you know it, being outside isn’t occasional, it’s your default setting.
And that’s not including the “small small” expenses that don’t feel significant in the moment: the extra rounds of drinks you bought, the money you dashed to security guards and bouncers, the impulsive online shopping at 2 AM because the vibes were high, the food deliveries when you were too tired to cook after coming home at 5 AM.
Breaking Down the Real Costs of Being Outside
Let’s talk about what actually makes oblee expensive, because it’s not just the ticket price or the cover charge:
The Obvious Costs
Event Tickets & Cover Charges: During Detty December, everything has a ticket. Concerts, parties, beach raves, boat cruises, day parties, night parties, after-parties. Tickets range from ₦50,000 for “early bird” prices to ₦500,000+ for premium experiences. If you’re attending 2-3 events per week, you’re easily spending ₦100,000-₦300,000 on tickets alone, depending on your ticket tiers
Food and Drinks: Club prices are designed to make you cry in January. A bottle of water costs ₦1,000. A beer is ₦2,500. Cocktails start at ₦5,000. A bottle of mid-range alcohol is ₦50,000-₦100,000. And because you’re outside having a good time, you’re buying rounds for friends, getting “one more drink,” and definitely eating that overpriced small chops.
Transportation: Uber prices during Detty December deserve their own therapy session. Surge pricing turns a ₦10,000 trip into ₦40,000. You’re taking Ubers at peak hours, to peak locations, during peak season. And if you’re smart enough not to drink and drive, you’re paying for round-trip tickets or waiting until the surge dies down (which it never does on New Year’s Eve).
The Hidden Costs Nobody Warns You About
The Outfit Tax: You can’t wear the same outfit to every event because your detty December fit must slay. So each major event requires investment: new clothes, shoes, accessories, hair, nails, maybe lashes, definitely makeup. One “night out look” can easily cost ₦30,000-₦100,000+ depending on your standards.
The Recovery Tax: After three nights of being outside, your body needs recovery. Hangover food, vitamins, pain relievers, rehydration drinks, the pizza you ordered because cooking is impossible, the spa day you “need” to reset. Recovery isn’t free.
The FOMO Tax: This is the killer. You weren’t planning to go out, but then you see everyone’s Instagram stories, and suddenly you’re getting dressed because staying home feels like you’re missing out on life. FOMO charges premium rates.
The “Small Chops” That Aren’t Small: Before the main event, there’s pre-drinks. After the event, there’s an after-party. Between events, there’s brunch to debrief. Each of these “small” gatherings adds ₦25,000-₦50,000 to your spending, and they happen constantly during Detty December.
The Peer Pressure Premium: When your friends are ordering bottles and you only budgeted for beers, the pressure is real. When everyone’s contributing to the birthday girl’s gift, and you can’t be the one who gives ₦5,000 when everyone else gave ₦20,000. Social dynamics are expensive.
January: The Rude Awakening
And then January arrives like an uninvited guest with terrible news.
Rent is due. Subscriptions you forgot about auto-renew. Your car needs fuel. Your phone needs data. You need actual food, not just the small chops and party rice that sustained you through December. Your body needs new clothes for work, not another going-out outfit. Bills don’t care that you were outside living your best life.
The panic sets in when you realise:
- Your savings account looks suspicious
- Your credit card statement reads like a horror novel
- You have 25 more days until your next salary
- You already borrowed from next month’s budget to fund last month’s oblee
- That “investment opportunity” you were going to start in January will have to wait
- The gym membership you planned to get? Not happening
- The course you wanted to take? Maybe next month
- Your emergency fund? What emergency fund?
The Psychological Cost
But here’s what nobody talks about: the emotional hangover that comes with January financial stress.
There’s guilt for enjoying yourself “too much.” Shame when you have to decline invitations because you’re genuinely broke. Anxiety about money that you didn’t have in December because you were too busy having fun to worry about February rent. The comparison game when you see people who somehow partied as hard as you did but seem financially fine (they’re probably not, they’re just better at hiding it).
You start questioning your choices. Was that ₦220,000 New Year’s Eve experience worth it? Would you rather have that money now, in January, when you actually need it? Could you have had the same amount of fun with half the spending?
The answer is complicated because the memories are real, the connections you made matter, and the joy you felt was genuine. But so is the stress you’re feeling now.
What We’re Not Saying (But Should Be)
Having oblee and being outside isn’t irresponsible. It’s not frivolous. It’s not a waste. Connection, celebration, and joy are necessities, not luxuries. The problem isn’t that we enjoyed December; it’s that many of us enjoyed it without a realistic plan for January.
We need to normalise:
- Setting entertainment budgets and actually sticking to them
- Saying “I can’t afford that” without shame
- Choosing which events matter most instead of trying to attend everything
- Having fun without the pressure to document every moment
- Understanding that rest is also self-care
- Pre-planning for January before December arrives
- Being honest about our financial limits
Moving Forward: Life After Oblee
If you’re in January struggling financially, here’s your action plan:
Immediate Damage Control:
- Calculate exactly how much you spent (painful, but necessary)
- List your essential expenses for January
- Find the gap between what you have and what you need
- Make a bare-bones budget until your next income
- Communicate with people you owe (vulnerability beats avoidance)
Recovery Mode:
- No non-essential spending this month (yes, that includes “just brunch”)
- Meal prep to avoid expensive food deliveries
- Find free entertainment (Netflix at home, free events, nature walks)
- Sell items you bought but don’t need
- Pick up a side hustle if possible
Long-term Solutions:
- Create an “oblee fund” for next December, start saving now
- Set monthly entertainment budgets (and automate savings first)
- Learn to enjoy events without spending maximum (water is free, leaving early saves money)
- Build an emergency fund so one month of fun doesn’t destroy you
- Practice saying no to events that don’t align with your budget or values
The Real Conversation
Here’s what I think everyone should keep in mind as the race for the next Detty December begins (I know it sounds too early, but we both know how the year creeps up fast): You can have oblee without financial destruction. You can be outside without being broke. You can enjoy the season without sacrificing your entire first quarter.
It requires planning. It requires boundaries. It requires self-awareness to know that you can’t do everything, attend every event, or keep up with everyone’s pace. And it requires the courage to prioritize your financial health alongside your social life.
The goal is to have fun in a way that doesn’t make you miserable when January arrives. Because what’s the point of creating memories in December if you spend January-March stressed about money?
Final Thoughts
If you spent too much in December, you’re not alone, and you’re not a failure. You’re human. You wanted to celebrate, connect, and enjoy life after a long year. That desire is valid.
But so is your January stress. And the way to honour both is to learn from this experience. Next December is coming. The choice isn’t between being outside or being boring; it’s between being outside with a plan or being outside with eventual regret.
We can have our oblee and our financial peace. We just have to be more intentional about how we approach both.
To everyone surviving January after Detty December: we’ll get through this. Next time, we’ll do it differently. But for now, let’s be gentle with ourselves, hustle through this month, and remember that financial recovery is possible.
After all, if we survived Detty December, we can survive anything.
What was your Detty December spending like? Are you feeling the January squeeze? Share your story in the comments, no judgment, just solidarity.
If you made it to the end of this post, leave me a comment or like this post. Also, do check out my previous post on ‘My Body Knows Before My Mind Does:’ here and check out the latest episode from my podcast here.
