Saving money in the UAE: Short-term goals or long-term plans

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 retirement. 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 their hard-earned dirhams are safely stored for the future?

Host Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of The National, is joined by Gillian Duncan, a news reporter at The National, and Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com, an independent community for financial education in the UAE, who shares his tips on how to save more effectively. She is also joined later in the show by Laila Clarke, general manager of The Studio, a Dubai business providing photographic and videography services, who once saved Dh500 by cutting out coffee and takeaway lunches for a month.