Pocketful of Dirhams

The Covid-19 pandemic has weighed heavily on millions of workers around the world, with many either losing their jobs, being furloughed or having their salaries cut. While a number of UAE employers reduced their staffing budgets last year to remain operational, the latest salary report by global recruitment consultancy Hays paints a more positive picture for 2021. The report found that hiring acti...

Teaching your teenager how to manage their money may not be as straightforward as you think. Personal finance only forms a tiny part of the curriculum at school, with teenagers often relying on their parents to learn vital lessons about managing money. But with teens sometimes resistant to anything their parents have to say, they may choose to ask others for advice or do things their own way. Pare...

Vouchers, coupons and discount codes – there are many ways to cut the cost of dining out, spa treatments and entertainment in the UAE. While coupon websites such as Groupon or Cobone offer daily deals, apps such as The Entertainer present buy-one-get-one free offers as well as percentage discounts. Other options include VoucherSkout, Repeat and Helwa, a free app that finds the best coupon codes an...

NFTs – or non-fungible assets – have been making waves in the investing world after digital artist Beeple sold his Everydays: The First 5,000 Days artwork for an eye watering $69.3 million at a recent Christie’s auction. There’s no arguing that alternative investments, such as collectables like cars, antiques, autographs and long-lost letters penned by the rich and famous, have been around for a l...

While last year’s coronavirus lockdown in the UAE led to drop in demand for real estate across the country, there are signs the market is recovering particularly in popular areas and for higher-end homes. Some residents are hunting for properties with gardens or more space as the work-from-home trend continues, while demand for short-term rentals is also on the up. But the idea of investing in rea...

While great strides towards gender equality have been made over the years, crucial issues remain. In the world of personal finance, concerns include "the gender wage gap" and that many women looking to invest are underserved by the male-dominated financial services sector. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take women 200 years to achieve pay equality, while a global study by BCG last...

New research by YouGov has found that more than half of UAE residents have cut non-essential spending over the past six months, while 77 per cent will continue doing so in the future. That’s no surprise considering the global economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused widespread pay cuts and job losses as businesses closed and millions of people started working from home. But, as econo...

Relocating to another country is always a challenge when you factor in finding a new place to live and work, securing school places and shifting your finances along with the contents of your home. Some might think moving to their own country would be easier, but former Dubai resident Simon Cahill, a chartered financial planner and partner at London-based Octopus Wealth, says this can be just as ch...

One of the biggest personal finance concerns many people have faced over the years is dishonest advisers selling complex, high-commission financial products to unsuspecting investors that can lock them in for years. Amber Waheed is one of them. The Dubai-based business strategist and author of the recently released The Great Fraud Fightback lost $80,000 after being duped by her adviser into signin...

One of our biggest financial milestones in life is buying a home. From saving up for a deposit to applying for a mortgage and having it approved is a dream come true for millions around the world. Buying property is also one of the best investments we can make – even if it doesn't appreciate in value, it still means that we are paying ourselves rather than a landlord. But one of the biggest concer...

There’s a lot of content that goes viral on popular short-form video app TikTok these days. Think pranks, dance challenges, lifestyle tips and even the trolling of former US president Donald Trump thanks to a merry band of K-Pop fans and Tiktok teens. But there’s one surprising sector that Gen Zs and millennials are also embracing: personal finance advice. Dubbed FinTok, youth are flocking to TikT...

While the Covid-19 crisis has decimated the finances of some people, it has been kinder to others. Some have lost jobs or had their incomes slashed, while others have managed to retain the same wage level and actually build up a healthy savings pot because restrictions have prevented them from spending.  So, how should the young handle their new Covid cash piles? With vaccinations set to ease rest...

Investing your money is a tricky business, particularly when the financial markets are trying to factor in a global pandemic. Wild swings in equity prices can cause emotional reactions, with some investors buying or selling without thinking about the long-term implications.  While an army of DIY investors in the UAE now adopt a long-term approach by investing in exchange-traded funds, others prefe...

The UK left the European Union on January 1, more than four years after the country voted to leave the economic bloc in a 2016 referendum. Britain’s exit from the EU comes at a very challenging time for the country’s economy. Not only are businesses adapting to a raft of new rules from the trade deal, they are also enduring a third national lockdown in England as the surge in Covid-19 cases intens...

After soaring 300 per cent last year, Bitcoin’s value is still on the rise , as investors pile funds into the leading cryptocurrency. The prices of many other digital coins have also increased sharply, as cryptocurrencies experience a mini boom. While some analysts are making wild predictions about Bitcoin’s price rising as high as $400,000 from its position of about $31,000 at the time of recordi...

The coronavirus pandemic came as a surprise to us all, making 2020 one of the most challenging years of our lives. From a financial point of view, it has hurt some but benefited others. For those who lost their jobs or had their incomes reduced, it has made the last 10 months a struggle. For others who managed to retain their salary, movement restrictions offered a chance to build up their savings...

For many, 2020 will be a year they would rather forget. Whether the pandemic affected their health, their families or their finances, its effects will be evident for some time to come. Investors across the globe also suffered a rollercoaster ride in 2020, with markets experiencing some wild swings over the course of the year. And while some people managed to save money during the Covid-19 outbreak...

Like many parts of the world, the UK property market has experienced a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs as it absorbs the effects of Covid-19. While there was a total halt in transactions at the height of the pandemic when the country first went into lockdown, the second half of the year saw mortgage applications and transactions surge on the back of UK finance minister Rishi Sunak’s stamp dut...

Over the past few weeks, the UAE has seen a number of legal and immigration changes that will have a big effect on life in the Emirates. Among them is a very significant expansion to the UAE’s golden visa scheme, which offers a 10-year residency visa to expatriate workers in certain professions. So how does the visa work? How do you find out if you are eligible to apply and why is this important f...

The UAE government has embarked on one of the biggest overhauls of the legal system in years. Among the changes are amendments to family and personal law with new regulations covering divorce, couples living together and other areas affecting people’s daily lives. From a personal finance perspective, however, one of the most interesting changes centres on wills and inheritance. So how significant...

With life expectancy rates rising rapidly across the globe thanks to advances in healthcare and better living standards, many of us will get the chance to celebrate our 100th birthday.   But the financial implications of hitting such a milestone mean that the concept of traditional retirement is fast disappearing. After all, can we really afford to fund our golden years for up to 40 years when you...

As the world waits for the outcome of the US presidential election, investors have every right to feel nervous. Last week saw global markets spiral downwards on the back of uncertainty about the election result and heightened restrictions across Europe due to a rise in the number of coronavirus cases. Some analysts say that political risk is now a major issue for investors because markets respond...

For Generation Z - those born between 1996 and 2015 - brushing up on personal finance know-how is something many carry out through financial apps or by watching videos on YouTube. With boosting financial literacy levels a key aim for governments across the globe, and the world still gripped by the devastating financial effects of Covid-19, there has never been a better time to equip the young with...

The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 40 million people worldwide and damaged economies, industries and employment levels. But women are being disproportionately hurt by the economic fallout of the crisis. With sectors that typically employ women, such as retail and hospitality, badly affected by Covid-19, women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s, according to...

There are numerous asset classes you can invest your money into – from stocks and bonds to exchange traded funds, mutual funds, gold, art, cryptocurrencies and more. But one of the favourites, particularly in the UAE, is property – mainly because it is a tangible asset. Investing in real estate is sometimes considered a more solid and secure investment, partly because you can actually touch your a...