Gulf News spoke to its readers to find out what their favourite saving tips are:
1. Set aside 10 per cent of your monthly income.
Camil Al Khoury from Greece, a self-employed 35-year-old Dubai resident told Gulf News: “I have a rule that 90 per cent of your salary is the same as 100 per cent of your salary. It’s best to just forget that 10 per cent of your salary exists. That way, by the end of the year, you’ll have approximately a salary’s worth of money saved without you even noticing.”
2. Be committed to saving.
Saleh Hamed, an Emirati IT professional from Abu Dhabi said: “The key to saving is being committed. The best thing you can do is set up with your bank an automatic transfer system so you can automatically transfer your savings to a separate saving account and never touch that money. In a while you’ll forget it and it’ll turn into something big without you even noticing. “
3. Budget your money.
Mohammad Khan, a 25-year-old account executive from Pakistan, said: “The best way to save is by allocating your resources to your needs. If you have a set amount of money set aside for food, travel and fun, then you won’t find yourself dipping into your savings.”
4. Make the most of exchange rates.
You could send your added income such as a bonus or a dividend somewhere difficult to access. Dorothy Naveena, an Indian based in Abu Dhabi, likes to send her savings back to her home country. “Whenever I get an added income I like to just send it back to my country for exchange so I can use it when I go to visit. If I keep it here I will spend it.”
5. The more your income you can bring in, the more you can save.
It’s important to always make sure you’re not focusing all your energy only on saving. Investing your money can help you increase your income. Zohaib Azhar, a 27-year-old human resource professional in Dubai said: “I like to focus more on expanding my income.”
- The writer is a trainee with Gulf News
