My husband and I have credit card debt worth Dh35,000 ($9,530) and Dh40,000, respectively. We have been trying to clear this debt for many years now, but with little success.
I earn a monthly salary of Dh10,000, while my husband earns Dh8,000 every month.
There were times when the credit card balance was manageable, but circumstances forced us to spend using our cards and we were caught in the spiral of debt again.
We feel frustrated as the lion's share of our salaries goes to servicing the credit card debt. This stops us from saving for our future or other meaningful goals.
Our friends have been advising us to use our emergency fund to pay off one credit card in full and convert debt on the other card into instalments.
But I am afraid that will leave us with no money in case something happens. With no cash reserves, we will fall back on using our credit card, driving us further into debt.
Is this a wise thing to do to improve our finances? SF, Sharjah
Debt panellist 1: Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
You are right to be wary of using your emergency fund to pay off the card debt.
It is not always easy to find the most appropriate balance of saving money or reducing expensive debt.
Emergency funds are important in case one or both of you lose your job, or a family member falls sick without insurance cover.
If you depleted your cash reserves and unexpectedly lost a source of income, you might struggle to make the payments on your remaining debt.
However, you have to do something as you are caught in this cycle of paying down debt only to find that card interest plus new spending on the card both build the balance back up again.
As you have discovered, you can be trapped in this cycle for years without much progress.
Talk to your bank — and other banks — about converting the full card debt from both cards into a consolidation loan.
This should reduce the monthly payment on the new loan, as well as the interest rate on your debt.
It will also leave your emergency fund intact. Given that you earn a combined salary of Dh18,000 and have not been missing payments, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t get a consolidation loan.
Once you have the loan, you can focus on getting your finances back on track.
Aim to keep your emergency fund at around six months worth of expenses, including the loan payment. That way, you can be confident of not missing payments or having to resort to card use if you do experience unexpected cash flow problems.
You will also need to find ways to reduce your spending until you are back on track and, even then, to make sure your spending is sustainable through good times and bad.
You should agree not to put anything on a credit card that you can’t pay off in full that month.
Personal loans are not ideal either but they are much better than borrowing on a credit card as the interest rates are lower.
Hopefully, you can transition gradually to a debt-free life and start to save and invest properly for your future.
Debt panellist 2: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Paying off credit card debt can be a challenging process, but it is an important step in improving your finances and reducing stress.
In your case, using your emergency fund to pay off one credit card in full and converting debt on the other card into instalments could be a good strategy if you still have enough money in your emergency fund to cover at least three to six months of living expenses after making the payment.
If you are worried about losing your emergency fund, you could consider keeping a portion of it untouched, while using the rest to pay down part of your debt.
This way, you will still have some financial cushion in case of an emergency, but also make progress in paying down your debt.
Watch: How to manage your finances
Another option to consider is negotiating with your bank to secure a consolidation loan.
This will lower the amount of interest you pay over time, possibly free up more money in your budget and also give you a date on which you will be debt-free.
It may be helpful to re-examine your monthly expenses to see if there are any areas where you can cut back or adjust your spending habits to allocate more funds towards paying down your debt.
It is also important, once paid off or reduced, to consider cancelling at least one of your credit cards or reducing the credit limit to half of your monthly salary to avoid falling back into the cycle of debt.
This will reduce the risk of accruing more debt in the future.
Furthermore, using your emergency fund for unexpected expenses rather than relying on credit cards can be more financially advantageous.
Credit card interest rates are very high. However, using your emergency fund carries no interest, is less stressful and will not harm your credit rating.
Debt panellist 3: Felicity Glover, personal finance editor at The National
Long-term credit card debt is an issue for many people.
I have said this many times before: paying a minimum amount on a credit card each month will not lower the debt. Instead, the combined high interest rate and compounding interest will increase it every month.
It is a stressful experience and you are left feeling as though you have no control over the spiralling debt despite your best efforts.
Yes, there are some benefits to having a credit card. But, basically, if you can't afford to pay the amount owed in full every month, you should not be using one as it can take years to pay off the high interest debt, as you have discovered.
Credit card interest rates are very high, and using your emergency fund carries no interest, is less stressful and will not harm your credit rating
Carol Glynn,
founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Clearing the debt on your credit cards should be your priority.
If you feel you cannot use your emergency fund, then perhaps you should ask the bank for a consolidation loan to pay them both off in full. This will offer a much lower interest rate and a more manageable monthly payment.
I would then suggest that you cancel the cards so you are not tempted to use them and build up the debt again.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to start saving for the future. Following a budget and setting savings goals can help you begin this journey.
Look at where you can cut back, such as takeaways, dining out and unused subscriptions. On top of this, you can use public transport instead of taxis. You would be surprised at how much money you fritter away each month.
While you may think that sticking to a budget is restrictive, making sacrifices, particularly at the start of your savings journey, can lead to long-term gains and get your money working for you, rather than you working for money to pay off high-interest debt.
Being debt-free means you have more money to save each month, while the feeling of financial empowerment is priceless when you achieve this.
The Debt Panel is a weekly column to help readers tackle their debts more effectively. If you have a question for the panel, write to pf@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
