You might earn a decent salary, but still have no money left in your bank account at the end of the month. This is the sad truth for thousands of expatriates who come to the UAE with dreams of making big money, only to end up living hand to mouth after years of living the high life.
Some might scorn their profligacy, others might sympathise. As everyone knows, the cost of living is spiralling and incomes are pretty much stagnant. Is it any wonder that so many people, expat and otherwise, say that they just can’t afford to save? Not if you go by the example of Indian expatriates. As The National reported yesterday, the majority of them – 70 per cent, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit – habitually save. Perhaps the reason is largely cultural, as Promoth Manghat of the UAE exchange, pointed out in the story. But surely thrift is not an exclusively Indian virtue? As they say, treasure is only found in the home of the wise for the fool will have spent it all.
