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I moved to Dubai,4 years ago, and all this time i have been working,
i never had credit cards or loans,but even that has not helped cos i don't have savings,you get money on one hand at the end of the month and it disappears in the other hand...money comes and money goes back...anyone in the same boat as me?

sabina1962 wrote:I moved to Dubai,4 years ago, and all this time i have been working,
i never had credit cards or loans,but even that has not helped cos i don't have savings,you get money on one hand at the end of the month and it disappears in the other hand...money comes and money goes back...anyone in the same boat as me?

Yep. I'm useless with money. I can spend it quicker than I can make it. I doubt I will ever change now.

I can't pull my socks up if I don't have any

sabina1962 wrote:money comes and money goes back...anyone in the same boat as me?

It's time you started saving

sabina1962 ,

You might be surprised how many people are in the same boat as you. The good life of Dubai can be really distracting.

Friends! you need to have an expense sheet and limits of your expenses, If you can't fight yourself , you can't fight anyone. Control your urges only then you can save anything. Take examples from tiny little aunts.

For conversation sake,my nanny gets almost half of my salary because in Dubai househelps are queens, and my transport a quarter of my salary also,and food...so what am i left with maybe 500 aed, my family back home also needs some, did i tell you about other bills, have one tv,one fridge,one car,no credit cards,no partying,no socializing,no loans...i live in a place where i don't use A/C too much because its cooler...just my salary and still its a struggle

I was shocked when discussing the money a lady who does a bit of housework for me, makes.

I pay her directly but she works for a company as a maid. She works all day, may be 7 or 8 hours, 5 days a week and earns aed2100 a month. She must pay her rent, living expenses and public transport from this. She also has 3 children back in the Philipines to support.

I felt so sorry for her.

I went to Dubai with a plan.
I had a very good contract and was able to save more than 50% of my salary every month, tax free. I had free furnished luxury accommodation, an yearly furniture allowance, airfare every year to my destination of choice, free medical, free schooling for the children. I also worked my butt off, but enjoyed myself thoroughly. It wasn't very rare for me to go to work at 7:30am on a Wednesday, say, and emerge at dawn from the building on a Friday!
And 60 days' paid holiday!
By the end of 10 years, I had saved and invested my money; now I was getting as much from my investments as I was from my job in Dubai! And growing. Its about 10 years since I left Dubai, and looking back on the past it looks pretty rosy
I am not (really) trying to show off, just to make a point. If you leave your own country to work and live in another, particularly somewhere like Dubai, you better have a darn good plan!
I am sure even the Phillipino lady that BM talks about must have a plan.
Its a different story that most people are not good at planning, and just follow the herd; they have seen someone in their community go to Dubai and seen their financial success; they feel they should go to Dubai too and they will be the same. Then they end up in low paying jobs, and walk around in a daze, not knowing what hit them.
I know 2 people personally who went to Dubai to set up a "business". In 6 months they had both blown away millions of dollars, and nothing to show for it. They left Dubai quietly, in contrast to the fanfare with which they had arrived. Dubai is good at giving many people a reality check.

It has done wonders for others. I am one of the grateful ones.
I love Dubai and wish it well

BMreformed ,



BM, In accordance with local rates she is well paid.

Hello there ,



Yes it is very hard to save here but you know most things can be made simple:



Saving =Income - expenses



Why not look at it this way



Wealth = ( Income - expenses ) + Investments

Or

Wealth = Savings + Investments



So why not think of investing!!!

How you may ask there are lots of examples when we mention that word investment our minds pop into Emaar, gold and a golden chariot with millions on it racing through time.



No you do not need to be a millionare.



You can put money in nationbonds , save and earn a chance to win something.

You can never underestimate what a few 100s or 1000s set aside can do when you need them. I had that experience where for the fun of it I made my nationalbonds account my extra 100s piggy bank, one day I really was in crucial need of money and it really helped me.



Loans are not made for the working class , it just helps you get stuck more, its made for people looking for leverage, have a great idea want to make a business take a loan take a chance, you live in a city after all built on dreams and chances.

I took a loan for education and loans are hectic , credit cards are just another story basicly the most simplest story is stay away from credit cards.

You can look for other small things to invest in spend $100 dollars on the forex market... every 2 months with a discounted broker, if you are good enough you can make that into 400 or 500 but you need to know when to stop, you also need to not gamble with your money. u can ask me about one

Banks offer savings, they offer also funds with good returns look into those.
You may have a hobby that is your key you maybe a skilled carpenter... I met this guy in Germany his hobby is military items, he started collecting them repairing them selling them modifying them, it became a business now this is all he does, try to find somehting you love workign with.

You can have an eye for undervalued things or a broker or an event manager or anything.



It is sad how most of us are put down and no longer are we true to our nature but binded down by a paycheck and duties in life we can all change that.

megaleacher ,



I agree with @megaleacher and I would like to suggest the same thing to do. @sabina1962, you should manage your income and expenditure sheet and point out the useless expenses.

First, you will be worse off with credit cards and loans. I know somebody who is paying her debt because she started to blow away money due to credit card. If you borrow money, you have to pay it back, and most people forget that.

As for saving and sending back home that depends, there are some professions that pay well i know many people in marketing, sales, and finance are doing very well. Some do blow away money but they can save if they want to. On the other hand, there are jobs that won't pay that well and these people will find it very difficult to save. You can categorize and see where you are spending more and where you can reduce.

Regarding to Jonkers comment, starting up a business is not easy in Dubai, just the rental and licencing fees on average would amount to AED 200K per year. But if business does pick up sales and builds customer base then it is very rewarding since there are no direct taxes here. So in short starting up can be tricky and people can get carried away with marketing expenses because is not always easy turn marketing expenses into solid revenue streams.

--- Fri Nov 15, 2013 1:13 am ---

Jonkers if you don't mind telling, which type of investments you invested into?