Headline

5 Places To Avoid If You Don’t Want To Go Broke This Christmas

Published

10 months ago

December 24, 2024

Editor

The Christmas season in Nigeria is a period filled of celebrations with loved ones but there are some places to avoid in the course of such festivities.

While you want to adore your homes with twinkling lights and hang out with friends and family, there is always the fear of going broke after the festive season.

This desire to hang out with friends or family can end up making January look like the longest month.

To enjoy this holiday season and still live your normal life in January after the festivities there are some places and certain things you need to avoid.

Here are 5 places to avoid if you don’t want to go broke this Christmas:

Luxury Shopping Malls

During the holidays, shopping malls are one of the places during Christmas that can be a financial trap despite their convenience and abundance of options. With festive decorations, eye-catching displays, and sales campaigns that frequently result in impulsive purchases, these malls aim to attract customers. Even for comparable products, mall pricing is usually greater than those at local markets.

Consider shopping at local markets like Wuse Market in Abuja, Ariaria Market in Aba, or Balogun Market in Lagos rather than in upscale malls. There are reasonably priced options for food, clothing, and even holiday décor.

High-End Restaurants and Lounges

Celebrating the season by dining out is common, but expensive restaurants like The Dome in Enugu, Sky Bar Rooftop Lounge in Abuja, and Hard Rock Café in Lagos can make you go broke.

These businesses frequently launch exclusive holiday meals or activities with high prices. Organize a small family get-together where each person brings a dish. It not only saves money but also strengthens bonds among people. If you must eat out, pick less expensive eateries or street food vendors that nonetheless provide delectable meals.

Exclusive Holiday Resorts

Avoid vacation spots this festive season if you are not financially capable because these places often increase the cost of their accommodations, travel, and other activities. Even though a vacation at La Campagne Tropicana or Obudu Cattle Ranch looks alluring, visit nearby vacation sites close to you that are equally entertaining but more affordable. For example, think of going to nearby historical places, nature parks, or beaches.

Concerts and Events with VIP Tickets

In Nigeria, activities and concerts are linked with the holiday season. There are many interesting performances over the Christmas season you will love to see. If you must attend these converts, avoid choosing the VIP or VVIP tickets; instead, choose standard tickets over the more expensive ones. Or you how to local cultural festivals, carol, and free or inexpensive community events.

Luxury Boutiques and Designer Stores

Shopping for holidays can be expensive and keep you broke if you visit high-end stores, especially those located in wealthy neighborhoods like Lekki Phase 1 in Lagos or Wuse 2 in Abuja.

If you want to shop for good quality items at a low cost, visit thrift shops and open markets like Okrika, where secondhand clothing is available, or bend-down select markets in Katangwa or Super Market in Lagos. Online secondhand shops can also be convenient and cost-effective.

You can celebrate this Christmas and New Year without being broke afterward by staying away from this expensive location and activities or by coming up with other options.
VANGUARD

Headline

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

2 days ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

2 days ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

2 days ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP