Your boss calls you for a meeting. Good news! You’re getting a 30% salary increase. You’re dancing, calling your friends, updating your Instagram bio to “blessed.”

But wait. Inflation since you started that job has been 150%. Congratulations, you just got poorer with a smile on your face.

This calculator is your BS detector for salary increases. It tells you if you’re actually earning more or if your “raise” is just helping you stay broke at a higher number.

How to use it:

Step 1: Enter your old monthly salary. The one from back when you started the job or got your last increase.

Step 2: Select what year that was. 2019? 2020? 2015 if you’re a senior person?

Step 3: Enter your current monthly salary now.

Step 4: Click “Check My Real Growth”

Reading the results:

The calculator shows you two numbers:

• Salary Increase (the percentage your salary went up on paper)
• Real Growth (what actually happened after inflation ate its share)

If you see a green “You Beat Inflation!” message, congrats. You’re one of the lucky few.

If you see red “Inflation Won” message, welcome to the club. Your salary went up but your money went down. The calculator will even tell you exactly how much you’d need to earn just to break even with your old buying power.

Is Your Raise Actually a Raise:

Below the verdict, you’ll see:

• Cumulative inflation since your old salary
• Exchange rate then vs now
• This gives you the full economic story

Example that will pain you:

You earned ₦150,000 in 2015. Now you earn ₦300,000 in 2025. That’s a 100% increase! Time to pop champagne, right?

Wrong. The calculator shows you need ₦709,000 just to have the same buying power you had in 2015. You’re actually 56.8% poorer than you were 10 years ago. Your raise was a lie.

What to do with this info:

Next time you’re negotiating salary, don’t just ask for “more.” Ask for inflation plus actual growth. Show your employer this calculator. If they gave you 10% this year but inflation was 25%, tell them you took a 15% pay cut. Let them do the math.

Also, this is why side hustles aren’t optional anymore. Your main job might be slowly making you poor even with annual raises.