The thrill of taking myself, my dependent and my work abroad for the summer was somewhat dampened when I realised that I had to make provisions for various outgoings to be covered while I was away.
In my case this means a slew of post-dated cheques being deposited in various locations. All fine if the amount is a “known known” – such as a monthly life insurance payment for example, that can be left with a responsible person who would make sure it was deposited on time – like the outfit that sold me the policy. But what if it’s an “unknown known” – say a monthly credit card bill? Or if a cheque needs depositing with a bank and they won’t take it in because the date on it is too far in the future (a month or two).
Mine is not so much new economy as old tech – for all the talk of going digital and e-services, my reality is that I cannot pay my credit card bill online – the card issuer hasn’t sorted this out with my bank. This means that I pay my monthly bill via cheque at a machine closest to where I live. It invariably doesn’t work on key end-of-month days, which has occasionally meant a mad dash to my bank to withdraw cash. Credit card bills usually exceed my daily withdrawal limit, which is an utter pain and disrupts my plans for the day – not to mention the hell of dealing with the heat at this time of year. But back to getting my finances in order while I’m away.
Tying up loose pre-trip ends meant that I could have all outgoings covered with post-dated cheques with specific amounts on them bar two liabilities. These needed addressing.
Liability 1 is the credit card bill due while I’m away – for this I deposited a post-dated cheque in said machine – the amount on it is a guesstimate. An over-guesstimate I should say. Better safe than sorry.
Liability 2 is the monthly payment for one of my policies – this will be a couple of weeks late – because the bank they deal with won’t take in my postdated cheque. I informed them and all is fine. Phew.
Yes I could make some of these payments online, but if you read a recent post, you’d know that my bank’s online facility has been a challenge in the past and I don’t want to take the risk – or be put through the hassle while I’m away – of things going wrong. Add to this that the charges I’d incur would be significant.
Online banking has improved in the UAE, but fees vary such a lot – from zero if it’s within the same bank to about Dh100 for overseas transfers. So you can see how, if you have monthly payments for life insurance, savings, pension and any other policies, it can add up to a chunk of disappeared money.
Bills going unpaid can happen for many reasons, including: forgetting the due date, prioritising other payments and simply not having the money. In the UK, one in five people missed a payment in 2013. This amounted to 15 million missed payments – worth a total of £882 million (Dh5.04 billion) – over the course of the year. The consequences of missing payments can include credit scores being affected, fines accumulating, policies being cancelled and not being able to take out a loan in future or even having a legal case lodged against you. The bottom line is that our intentions, or our ability to pay, aren’t what count – what does count is paying bills on time.
Even if we have the money in the bank, we don’t all have support networks like a partner (usually a wife) or a PA to pick up the slack, when we can’t make payments. Say a work trip has been extended, or you want to escape the heat for a couple of months. And so perhaps “ease of payment” should be a top priority – not how many Skywards miles can be had – that way, trips abroad can be less stressful and a bigger thrill.
Nima Abu Wardeh is the founder of the personal finance website cashy.me. You can reach her at nima@cashy.me.
Follow us on Twitter @TheNationalPF
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
‘FSO Safer’ - a ticking bomb
The Safer has been moored off the Yemeni coast of Ras Issa since 1988.
The Houthis have been blockading UN efforts to inspect and maintain the vessel since 2015, when the war between the group and the Yemen government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition began.
Since then, a handful of people acting as a skeleton crew, have performed rudimentary maintenance work to keep the Safer intact.
The Safer is connected to a pipeline from the oil-rich city of Marib, and was once a hub for the storage and export of crude oil.
The Safer’s environmental and humanitarian impact may extend well beyond Yemen, experts believe, into the surrounding waters of Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Eritrea, impacting marine-life and vital infrastructure like desalination plans and fishing ports.
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Olive Gaea
Started: 2021
Co-founders: Vivek Tripathi, Jessica Scopacasa
Based: Dubai
Licensed by: Dubai World Trade Centre
Industry: Climate-Tech, Sustainability
Funding: $1.1 million
Investors: Cornerstone Venture Partners and angel investors
Number of employees: 8
MORE ON INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
