Pay yourself first - The first step to spending less is quite simple - Save First. Make sure you set aside a 10 - 15 % the moment you get your pay check, even before you pay your utilities bills or making any discretionary purchases. Regular, consistent savings contributions go a long way toward building a more secure future. Get into the habit of saving first and then spending.
Figure out what's "nice to have" & "need to have" - Dubai is the shopping capital of the world! It offers you so much that it has created a problem of choice for people, especially if you are on a budget. The best way to go about with this problem is to identify if a particular item that you may want to buy falls in which one of the 2 categories. Is it a need to have or a nice to have? Control your spending on the nice to have categories by planning and scheduling your purchases. Take advantage of the fantastic sales that happen to plan your purchases. It's never a good idea to be an impulsive shopper.
Start cooking - If you are a single individual working in Dubai, you would know that eating out can be notoriously expensive and has no place in the fridge for those on a budget. Get creative, have some fun with your lunches, it's a great idea to pack a lunch and breakfast or get together with other colleagues and share each other's dishes. The minimum you would land up spending on ready meals on a working day would be AED 20. This sums up to a total of AED 3600 per annum. Start cooking, it's cheaper and healthier. Enjoy cooking at home - pack a and
Go Green - Your utility expenses are a direct result of the resources you utilize. Make sure that you don't waste water and save electricity at the same time. Simple little things like turning off your tap while brushing your teeth or putting the main switch off after using your appliances can almost reduce your utility bills by 5 - 10 %.
What do you have to offer - Saving money by reducing your expenses is one thing, but making extra money on the side by using your skills or setting up a side business can make life a lot easier. Try and figure out how you can make some extra cash, it could be anything from dog walking and babysitting to knitting or starting a shop on souq.com. These small little ventures tend to fetch a lot of money and many a times land up turning into your main business someday.
Clean up your closet! Sell what you don't use - We have tons of things which we never land up using. Explore your cupboard, drawers and closets for things that have been accumulated over the years. Sell stuff that you don't need on websites like souq.com, dubizzle.com or sell it in a flea market. This will not only fetch you more money but will create a lot more space in your home and make it less cluttered.
Minimize high interest debts - Consolidate all your high interest debts from credit cards into low interest loans, mortgages or line of credit. For example if you have pending balances on 2 credit
cards, first try and clear the balance of the card with a higher pending balance. If required do a balance transfer or get a low interest loan to clear these debts.
Be Prepared - Being prepared for unforeseen circumstances is crucial in order to avoid spending unnecessary money. Create a high interest saving account and establish an emergency fund out of it. This money will help you when you need it for unexpected expenses. This will ensure you don't land up touching your long term savings or take a loan at a high interest rate from a bank.
Shop online - Shopping online comes with one massive advantage, you can compare prices of different vendors for a particular product. For necessary purchases like Grocery shopping, insurance, air tickets and other such purchases, there are a number of comparison websites available which will help you spot the best deal.
Keep the change and feed the box - On an average, people tend to accumulate around AED 3 a day as change in form of coins by the end of the day. Make sure you store these coins in a money box. With time these coins will turn into a much larger amount. Just storing your change and using it at the end of the month could pay off for almost 30 % of one of your utility bills.
Only shop once a month - quite often when we get into a mall/shop to buy one thing we end up buying several other items that we dint plan to but felt the need for. Cut down the number of trips and you could save yourself from some of these impulsive purchases. If you are in a mall and you feel there is something that you haven't planned to purchase that you suddenly want to buy, wait for 48 hrs. After that time has passed, if you still feel that you need it, go on and buy it.
Discount and sales - Plan your purchases during discount and sales, especially during festivals like Ramadan and DSF so that you get maximum value out of the money that you spend. But don't fall into the sales trap.... I sometimes smile at the ads I see around with headline such as Save XXX buy Spending XXX - how can you save by spending?
Mr. Ashok Sardana, Managing Director, Continental Group.
About the Continental Group
Continental Group is a leading insurance intermediary and financial services solutions provider, licensed by the Central Bank of UAE and the UAE Ministry of Economy to represent reputed multinational and local insurance and financial institutions. They specialize in providing personalized solutions through qualified and experienced team of consultants. The Continental Group consists of the following companies Continental Insurance Brokers LLC, UAE, Continental Financial Services, UAE, Financial Xpress Group Inc., UAE, Insure and Secure Insurance Brokerage, Kuwait and Continental Suraksha Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd, India.
© Press Release 2014
