Alice Haine, personal finance editor at The National talks to Mario Volpi, the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers, about everything you need to know about rents, mortgages and buying property during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus is taking its toll on every area of our lives and nobody knows when the mayhem will end. This is why it is so important to take good care of your finances as well as your health. Stock markets are crashing, employees are working from home, schools and entertainment venues have closed and incomes and jobs are in jeopardy. With so much uncertainty around us, it is time for all of us to assess how financially secure we really are. Can you afford to support your family if your income is ...
Protecting yourself, your family and your personal belongings with insurance should be part of a comprehensive financial plan. But many residents in the UAE don’t bother to take out protection with some paying the price for having no cover further down the line. While some insurance cover is mandatory in the Emirates, such as car and health insurance, other protection is optional such as travel, home contents and life insurance. So what insurance should we actually have in place? How much should...
Saving money is something many UAE residents struggle to achieve. According to a 2018 study from HSBC, more than three quarters of UAE residents are not saving anything for their retiremen t . Two in five agree it’s better to spend money on enjoying life now rather than stashing cash for their future, and more than half are typically saving for short-term goals rather than longer term plans. So why are residents finding it so hard to save? And what strategies should they put in place to ensure t...
Educating children about how to manage money is vital for their future. But with lessons in financial literacy sometimes on the more basic side, it falls to parents to pass on those early messages on effective financial behaviour. A 2019 study by Visa found that 43 per cent of those polled in the UAE between the ages of 16 to 24 are not ready to manage their own money, while more than half believe schools do not prepare them enough. Which is why parents play such an important role in shaping a c...
Running a car in the UAE can be an expensive process, once you factor in petrol, maintenance, repairs and insurance. But there are a number of ways to cut costs. One rule of thumb includes limiting payments on a car loan to 10 per cent of your monthly income to ensure your total costs for all car expenses stays below 20 per cent of your earnings. Another tip is to replace your car if repair costs are too high, while some question whether you need a car at all? Host Alice Haine, the personal fina...
Brexit. It’s a word we’ve all become familiar with since the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23 2016. The move saw the pound plunge in value and property prices cool as buyers struggled to digest how the UK’s exit from the EU would affect the market. However, following the Conservative win in the UK’s December election, central London property buyers no longer appear phased by “the Brexit dip”. Sales increased by 34 per cent in the last quarter of 2019 compared to the same period th...
Investing your money always come with risk. This month alone, we’ve seen how geopolitical shocks can spook the markets and sending the price of gold to a six-year high of almost $1,600 an ounce. Last year the US-China trade dispute also took its toll on the markets, along with the never-ending Brexit saga in the UK. Now, markets are trying to absorb what the coronavirus outbreak means. So how should investors position their portfolio in volatile times? Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of...
How the UAE’s end-of-service gratuity is evolving. If you are an expatriate employee in the UAE, you are entitled to a gratuity payment. But how much will you receive when you leave your current job? And, with the Dubai International Financial Centre now implementing its workplace savings plan, known as DEWs, is the UAE also considering a change to the gratuity system for the whole country? Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of The National, is joined by Rory Reynolds, The National’s news ...
While every employee would like a pay rise in 2020, making it actually happen is another story altogether. Numerous research studies say we are in line for a raise this year: employees in the UAE can expect an overall base salary increase of 4.5 per cent in 2020 across all industries, according to global consultancy Mercer. Meanwhile, The Cooper Fitch Salary Guide says while strategy roles are set for a 5 per cent pay rise on their basic salary plus allowances this year, other sectors are lookin...
Helping UAE residents resolve their chronic debt issues has been a mission of The National since it launched The Debt Panel in April 2016. Since then we have received hundreds if not thousands of letters with about 200 people receiving constructive advice from our panel of six personal finance experts. In November 2019 it was announced that a new personal insolvency law, which comes into effect in January 2020 would help people with debt. The new law will help borrowers struggling to make repaym...
A new year is always a good way to make a fresh start, whether it is losing weight, getting fit or finding a new job. But one area of our lives that always needs attention at the start of new year is our finances. However, resolutions can be notoriously difficult to keep, particularly money ones, which is why we are going to consider the money goals you can make that not only last the month of January but also the whole year. Host Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of The National and co-h...
A new podcast from The National which tackles all your personal finance concerns.
