Idris Ayinde, ACA, CFA

Big 4- “4 Star General” - My 10 Lessons from working at all the Big 4 firms. The Big 4 is popularly referred to, the four largest professional services networks in the world, ie., Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

This is personal. Depends on what you like in terms of activities, dining, accomodation types, flight cost, number of days, time of the year and the country etc. If I put a number here, lots of comments will start popping up. My advice is always for one to plan based on what they can reasonably afford and curate the trip around it. These days, I just enter my budget, number of days, location and few other parameters into an AI tool and it can come up with a good itinerary including accommodation and dining options which I then refine. Some people also go for packaged holidays that includes flights and hotel etc. I have seen someone go on vacation and still carried plantain to fry at their Air B n B. I wouldn’t do that. I mostly book 4/5 star hotels depending on country. It will have most of the things I wouldn’t want to worry about like good breakfast, gym, pool and some even a Spa. I like food a lot, so I try local cuisine for dinner. Mostly snacks for lunch as it’s often during activities. I do some relaxing activities and a few tours. Depending on the country and time, I rent cars on some trip as well. Again, this may sound a lot. For some people, they just want to visit a country and tick it off their list. I often curate my trips as a time to de-stress off work and I do plan them ahead of time so works out cheaper.

@hedrees_ayinde How much should you budget for a trip just curious.

First holiday of the year. 🇱🇺 Took some time off to go and touch grass in Luxembourg. Orange man has showed my portfolio “shege” in the last couple of weeks 😃

@abalu_uthman @echoeofself Send funds Alhaji Bullion Money 😅

@hedrees_ayinde @echoeofself Please take me along next time

@Iwelabi1 Trump 😂😂😂

@hedrees_ayinde When you say orange man, do you mean the one behind you? 😀

Interestingly all public transports ( Bus, Train and Tram) in Lux are free!

@SirJarus @ayinkeoba 😂😂😂

@ayinkeoba If otutu catch person for UK on my way to mosque in London, I should not wear jacket on top of my jalabia?

In Nigeria In the UK 😎

@data_barbs They need to increase ISA and pension limits 😃

I need it to stay like this until after 5th April 😭.

@BukkyOA @slimthey_ray Looks closely like ADD symptoms.

My attention span is less than a minute. I also have about 25 screens open in my brain at any particular time. I can hardly sit still to do one thing for long, and I am bored out of my mind so quickly. That's why I fail any typical exams I sit for. I also struggle with details, high-level, or you lose me. Because I have 25 screens open in my brain, I am always halfway through many different things at once, hardly finishing any of them. I also have random, half-baked ideas that are mostly meaningless. I will start explaining an idea to you and in the process, I will realise it was all foolery, so, I will tell you to ignore me. I go into a room to pick up something, and I forget exactly what I wanted to pick up and I won’t remember until I leave the room and go back to where I was before. My phone is in my back pocket, but I have been looking for it for the last 30 minutes. I go into the kitchen to make coffee, but I end up doing the dishes, rearranging the living room sofa, boiling rice, and listening to a podcast all at the same time. I get back upstairs and realise I forgot to make the coffee. If I can't simplify a task, I would do everything else but that one important task. I will have my headset on with a podcast playing, and the TV will be on playing music at the same time. I lie down to rest, but I will also bring my laptop in case something urgent comes up on a Saturday at 8pm. I cry for no apparent reason: ‘Why is my life like this?’

@iSlimfit Una sha don start London slander 😂😂😂

Salary hits your account at midnight and by 8am the next day, DD has taken out rent/mortgage, council tax, energy, water, broadband, insurance, subscriptions etc. Often times, what’s left is not a salary. It’s a survival allowance with a brief stopover in your overdraft. 😭😭😭

@iSlimfit 😂😂😂

If you can reply this tweet, it means your account is based in Europe.

@abalu_uthman Alhaji Olowo Bullion 😊

Someone reached this goal today and in a record time. Within 1 year. Even, I’m motivated. Let’s keep it going guys.

@iSlimfit Agree.

@hedrees_ayinde You only get it back if you open a SIPP. It’s still free money tbh.

A SIPP is a no brainer, the government will literally give you free money when you pay into it! Thank me later.

@BukkyOA The physical book may still be useful so you can check if anyone that needs it here and able to arrange pick up.

The service team have been chasing me to come and unload my locker at the office. So I decided to do it today 😂 Guess what I found? My gbogbo ti gbogbo from 2024 when I wrote CFA L3. Trashing everything other than my pencil pack & bottle.

@iSlimfit @Trading212 Right on time for the end of tax year for those that will want to utilise the remaining allowance in the tax year.

@hedrees_ayinde @Trading212 Be like them dey track my tweets and stealing my idea. Make them come give their Head of Products position 😂😂😂

To think I said this just last year. @Trading212 run me my cheque please!!!

@abalu_uthman Speak of the devil. They still sent this to me this morning after I spoke with their customer service representatives on phone this morning and they mentioned it will be treated. The form they shared I have signed multiple times and shared with them.

@hedrees_ayinde lol

Someone I know will spit at Stanbic Ibtc @hedrees_ayinde 😂 😂

In the midst of my Swimathon and recovery, I managed to squeeze in two productive sessions with mentees at the Mentorship Corner (MC7.0 cohorts). Saturday: Leading a Finance Team Sunday: Communication and Negotiation Skills. If any Manager have their team members in MC7.0 and they have come to you to re-negotiate working terms and salary, it’s not their fault. They are practicing what was taught in the session 😅.

Starting my 2026 collections.😍 #Idrisspringflowers #cherryblossom