Angelica de Guzman has a budget for her expenses and prioritises savings. Antonie Robertson / The National
Angelica de Guzman has a budget for her expenses and prioritises savings. Antonie Robertson / The National
Angelica de Guzman has a budget for her expenses and prioritises savings. Antonie Robertson / The National
Angelica de Guzman has a budget for her expenses and prioritises savings. Antonie Robertson / The National

My Dubai Salary: ‘I earn up to Dh20,000 a month in cyber security sales’


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

Angelica de Guzman works as a sales operations specialist in the cyber security industry in Dubai.

The Filipino lives with her husband, Alqab, a Pakistani entrepreneur, and 13-year-old son Gabriel in Al Mamzar, Sharjah. She arrived in the UAE in 2005.

After completing her bachelor's degree in business management and administration, Ms de Guzman, 40, secured her first job as a Google call centre agent in 2004, where she earned 10,000 Philippine pesos ($176) a month.

She also worked as a marketing manager with a bank in Manila before moving to the UAE, where she worked as a receptionist with a shipping line for four years. Her first salary in the UAE was Dh2,500.

After taking a 11-month break in 2010 during her pregnancy, Ms de Guzman also worked for a freight-forwarding company where she earned Dh6,000 a month.

She is currently in her seventh job in the UAE.

What is your current salary?

I currently earn between Dh15,000 to Dh20,000 a month. This includes an allowance for my son’s education, housing and transport.

Do you have investments and savings?

I set aside 45 per cent of my salary towards my savings and investments.

I have cash savings in the Philippines and invested in a family-owned financial services company.

I have also invested in mutual funds and remit a fixed amount of money every month to a government agency that provides social insurance, retirement and other benefits to overseas Filipino workers such as me.

Other investments include a plot in the city of Lipa in the Philippines and a one-bedroom house in Batangas City, which we use when we go on holiday back home.

I also have life and health insurance, which my parents initially took out in my name and I have taken over now.

I have some money invested in cryptocurrencies but am in it for the long term. My husband manages this on my behalf. I want safe investments and cannot handle big losses.

I do not have any dependents in my home country. My father was a dentist and my mother runs her own business.

Have you started saving for retirement?

Yes, I started saving for my retirement five years ago. I invest in the government’s social security programme back home. I also buy gold.

Do you have any debt?

I currently do not have any debt. But when I was new in the UAE, I accumulated debt worth Dh65,000 and was not able to pay it off. I used to have credit cards from three banks and a loan as well. But I had borrowed only Dh15,000.

Eventually, my parents had to pay it off. Even my husband helped me to pay off the loan.

The debt repayment took two and a half years, and I made a promise that I would never take out credit cards and loans.

In hindsight, I should have been more careful and known my rights. When people from the bank’s legal department call you, they try to threaten you.

But I took a two-year car loan later. That is the only risk I have taken.

This mistake taught me more about finances and how to budget. My husband used to do the budgeting but I said no and decided to handle my finances and learn where to invest.

Do you have an emergency fund?

I have an emergency fund that can sustain my living expenses for three months. I have also taken out unemployment insurance in the UAE.

Have you inherited a sum of money?

I have never inherited a sum of money. I do not want to demand anything from my parents because they have already helped me to pay off my credit card debt.

Growing up, were you taught how to handle your finances?

My mother has excellent financial acumen. She imparted lessons on prudent spending and wise investing to my brother and me.

Her meticulous approach to financial calculations has greatly influenced my own money management skills, particularly in budgeting.

Since I did a business administration course in college, I was taught how to properly manage a business. But I think schools must teach children as early as possible about managing finances.

Otherwise, when you start working in a different country, you will struggle to handle everything from your phone bills, house rent and living costs. Coming to the UAE was a big learning experience for me.

Do you try to impart the same values to your son?

My husband and I are very strict about finances with my son. We always teach him how to invest wisely and how to handle his money.

We make sure that he is aware about life’s realities. He is aware that parents will not always be there, so he needs to learn how to handle financial problems.

My husband is teaching him how to learn stock trading.

We have also noticed that if he buys toys, he takes them to school and sells them.

He has had a bank account with Liv, Emirates NBD’s digital bank, for two years. If he wants something, he saves to buy it. When he was 12, he saved to buy a PlayStation.

We give him Dh200 as pocket money each month and this goes to his bank account so we can monitor his spending. This is linked to my bank account.

Angelica de Guzman's short-term goal is to earn passive income from property in the Philippines. Antonie Robertson / The National
Angelica de Guzman's short-term goal is to earn passive income from property in the Philippines. Antonie Robertson / The National

What are your major monthly expenses?

My biggest monthly expenses are house expenses (rent, utilities, groceries), school fees and, of course, savings. I treat savings as an expense.

I allocate 35 per cent of my salary towards these expenses and 20 per cent for entertainment, travel and recreation with my family.

Balance in life is always important. Allocating some of your resources for entertainment and recreation allows you to enjoy life’s pleasures, create memorable experiences and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

How do you budget your salary with the rising cost of living?

I have made a budget planner and been practising this for the past 10 years.

I am a certified “budgetarian”. I create a budget for my expenses, prioritise savings, cut unnecessary costs and live within my means.

Do you have any hacks on how to deal with inflation?

Spend only on what you can afford. Give yourself 24 hours before making an impulse purchase.

One of my hacks is to go to Viva supermarket for my groceries because their dairy products are cheaper.

Also, I defer purchases, such as buying an avocado, when they are not essential items.

Stick to your budget because people tend to overspend on groceries. When you see sales and discounts, you hoard unnecessary items. Check what is in your cupboards to prevent buying extra items.

I think schools must teach children as early as possible about managing finances
Angelica de Guzman

Do you worry about money?

Every human being worries about money. Money is a basic need to survive.

I am worried that money will not be enough. You may have investments, but they may not be liquid. Suppose I fall sick, I cannot immediately sell land to pay the hospital bill.

So, my goal is to have financial freedom.

My short-term goal is to have passive income from real estate. But I prefer it to be in my home country.

However, I do not want to burden my parents, who are the only people I trust to manage property. So, I am still looking for other ways to have a passive income.

What is your idea of financial freedom?

Financial freedom is the idea of having enough money and resources to do what you want in life without constantly worrying about financial constraints.

It means I will have the ability to make choices that will align with my goals and desires, whether that is retiring early, pursuing my passions, travelling or simply having peace of mind about our finances.

Financial freedom is the state where money works for you, rather than you working for money, providing us with more control and flexibility in how we want to live our life.

At what age do you plan to retire?

I wanted to retire since I was 35. But 48 sounds more practical since I am waiting for my son to finish his graduation.

I will fund his higher education through my savings and mutual fund investments.

Do you currently earn any passive income?

Yes, I earn passive income through my investment in the family business in the Philippines.

Do you want to be featured in My Salary, a weekly column that explores how people around the world manage their earnings? Write to pf@thenationalnews.com to share your story

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

If you go

The Flights

Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.

The trip

Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit

As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

OUTSTANDING VARIETY/TALK SERIES

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria

OUTSTANDING REALITY/COMPETITION PROGRAM

The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice

LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE

Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

Little Fires Everywhere
Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox
Watchmen

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead to Me
The Good Place
Insecure
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt’s Creek
What We Do In The Shadows

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Killing Eve
The Mandalorian
Ozark
Stranger Things
Succession

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: October 31, 2023, 6:13 AM`