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Your money map and 12-month money plan

The capstone project for Personal Finance for Nigerians — a free Finance course. Pass it and you earn a certificate anyone can verify.

Start the course free Download the project workbook

The project unlocks once you complete the lessons. The workbook is free to download now so you can see exactly what is expected.

What you will submit

A pasted written money plan (roughly 700-1,200 words plus your figures and simple tables) containing: the 30-day money map with category totals, your true numbers and gap, the baseline budget with every naira assigned, the emergency-fund plan and savings-vehicle comparison, one lump-sum goal worked backwards with a gap plan, and the debt audit with payoff order and family-pressure paragraph.

What to do, step by step

  1. Build a 30-day money map for your own household or a realistic Nigerian household you know well. Track (or reconstruct from bank alerts, transfer history and receipts) every inflow and outflow with date, purpose and amount, then sort the spending into fixed, flexible and invisible with a total for each. You may change names and round figures for privacy, but keep the amounts realistic and internally consistent, and state clearly whether your numbers were tracked live or reconstructed.
  2. State your true numbers: net income for each of the last three to six months, the lowest month (your baseline) and the average, your total 30-day spending, and the gap between income and spending. Then name your three biggest leaks in naira — the specific categories or habits, not 'wasting money' — and what each one costs per month.
  3. Write a full baseline-month budget in which every naira of the baseline income is assigned a job, including a savings line, a lump-sum-goal line, a family or giving line and a small enjoyment line. If your income is irregular, also state the percentage split you will apply to every inflow the moment it lands, and show that split worked out on both a lean month and a good month.
  4. Plan your emergency fund and your savings homes: your current balance (zero is fine), your first target and the exact daily or weekly amount that reaches it, three written rules for what counts as an emergency, and where the money will sit. Then compare at least three places you could keep money — for example ajo/esusu, a cooperative, a bank savings account, a money-market fund or an FGN Savings Bond — on access, who carries the risk, and what inflation does to it, and say which of your money belongs in which one and why.
  5. Take one lump-sum goal (rent renewal, school fees, restocking, an exam or travel fee) and work it backwards: the total amount including agency, legal and caution fees where relevant, the exact date, the monthly and weekly figures required, and where the fund will live. If there is a gap between what is needed and what you can save, state the gap in naira and the specific gap-closing action you are taking, with a date.
  6. Do a debt audit and a pressure plan. List every debt with lender type, amount received, total repayable, fees or rollover terms and due dates; classify each as productive or destructive with one sentence of reasoning; and state your payoff order and why you chose it. If any loan-app debt exists in the household, write the exact steps you would take, including how you would check whether the lender is FCCPC-approved and where you would report harassment or misuse of your contacts. Finish with one short paragraph on how you will handle family or community money pressure this year, including the amount or percentage you are budgeting for it.

Files to work with

Project workbook (fill in, then submit)The whole brief, an evidence checklist, the grading rubric as a self-check and the link-sharing steps in one file. Opens in Word, Google Docs or WPS.Word · 7 KB

How it is graded

CriterionWeight
A complete, honest 30-day money map: realistic inflows and outflows recorded with dates and purposes, sorted into fixed, flexible and invisible with correct totals, including the small and easily-forgotten spends30%
Correct true numbers and a workable baseline budget: baseline and average income identified, total spend and gap calculated, three specific leaks quantified in naira, and every naira of the baseline assigned a job including savings, goal, giving and enjoyment lines (plus a percentage split shown on a lean and a good month where income is irregular)25%
A concrete emergency-fund plan (starting amount, target, daily/weekly figure, written rules, chosen home) and a savings-vehicle comparison that weighs access, who carries the risk and inflation honestly, with each pot of money matched to a suitable home and reasons given20%
A lump-sum goal worked backwards correctly: full amount including fees, exact date, accurate monthly and weekly figures, a named home for the fund, and an explicit gap figure with a specific dated action to close it15%
A clear debt audit (lender, amount, total repayable, terms, dates) with sound productive/destructive classification and a justified payoff order, correct checking and reporting routes for any loan-app debt, and a realistic budgeted plan for family or community money pressure10%

You need 65% overall to pass. A failed submission comes back with feedback and can be revised and resubmitted.

Before you submit: make your link public

If your work lives in Google Drive or Google Docs, open Share → General access and change “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link” (Viewer). Then paste the link into a private browser window: if it opens without sign-in, you are ready. A private link cannot be graded — it is the single most common reason a good project fails.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to finish Personal Finance for Nigerians before submitting the project?

Yes. The submission screen opens once every lesson in Personal Finance for Nigerians is marked complete. The lessons are where the methods, the Nigerian context and the worked examples the project depends on are taught.

How is the project graded?

An examiner scores each rubric criterion from 0 to 100 and weights them as shown on this page; you need 65% overall to pass. Most submissions are graded within minutes and you get written feedback on what was strong and what to improve.

Can I resubmit if I fail?

Yes. A failed project comes back with feedback; revise the weak parts and resubmit. A passed project is final — the certificate is issued and cannot be re-rolled.

What do I actually submit?

A write-up of what you did (under 5,000 characters). You can mention a public link to supporting files in the write-up. The free project workbook on this page walks you through all 6 steps.

Is the certificate real?

Yes. Passing this project issues a certificate with a unique verification code. Anyone — an employer, a client, a school — can open the verification page and see that the certificate is genuine and which project earned it.

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Personal Finance for Nigerians is free and self-paced. Finish the lessons, complete this project, and the certificate is yours to share.

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