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Tag Archives: Expat financial advice Dubai
What if it does happen to you?
Imagine receiving news that can totally change your life in an instant.
No one knows what is around the corner. No one knows what will go wrong in their life, when illness will hit, when a breadwinner will die.
You can’t know what will go wrong but you can plan for it. You can be prepared for when life takes a wrong turn.
In the past three months alone, I have some across two cases where a parent has become very, very seriously ill. Both in their 40s. Too ill to work, probably not for many years, if they even survive. They have young children.
Now both families are in trouble as they have expenses and no, or significantly reduced, income. The last thing they need is money problems on top of everything else.
You do not want to be in this situation. And you don’t need to be if you take steps now.
Beware banking fraud. How to beat the scammers.
The sad reality is that there are large number of scammers who are working hard to hack your accounts, obtain your information, and take your money. Far too many are successful but you can take some smart, and logical, steps to reduce your risk of falling prey to a scammer.
Fraudsters are organised and clever and will often choose their targets using information that you have posted or shared online. Some can even see spending habits so will target based on that. They can go to extraordinary lengths to try and convince you they are genuine so we all need to stay one step ahead.
These days, our lives are online and, in our smartphones, so we need to take steps to protect ourselves.
We need to take steps so we don’t become a victim.
In this article I want to give you some useful tips to keep your banking secure and on to avoid the most common financial scams.
Currency transfers – how to get the best rates with full security
Most expats have a need to move money between currencies and it makes sense to find a way to do this securely, easily and where you can save money.
You can do this easily, from your desk or sofa. Importantly, this is fully secure, properly regulated and in view of recent issues with some UAE companies, I only work with a currency broker with a good track record.
The online services offered by retail banks are rarely competitive and even if they do not charge a fee they make their profit on the poor rates of exchange offered.
There is a better way. Everyone wants to make savings so this is how you can make easy savings and get value for your hard-earned money.
A short story about protecting your family…
Your family is important. Your children are important. When you have dependents and loved ones, you want to make sure that they will be financially okay, no matter what happens.
Have a watch of this short clip to understand why you need to have life insurance.
Investments in 2023. Where are we now?
When it comes to investment we are still living in interesting times. With so many unexpected global events in recent years and those that are ongoing, investing has not been a great deal of fun of late, and I fully appreciate the frustration of clients, of all investors.
This article is designed to provide some context and comfort. So read on…
UK Budget & Spending Review October 2021 – a summary for expats
As has been the case for the past couple of years, many of the Budget measure have been leaked or drip-fed to the press so we were not expecting much in the way of surprises and there is nothing that dramatic.
This article is a brief overview of some of the main points with particular reference to any changes that have relevance to those living outside of the UK and especially in the GCC. The UK press will cover many points in detail but many of the points will not be directly relevant to expats so this article focuses on the points that will be most relevant to us.
Need to know: How to plan for the worst when living in the UAE
This article is designed to give you an overview of the sensible and practical steps that you should take to protect yourself and your family while resident in the UAE. I have written about each of these topics before, on this website, in the press, talked about it on radio and in presentations but it is so important that everyone understands what they should do to plan – just in case – and this article brings these topics together.
Sometimes in life the worse does happen, people die, and it is essential to be prepared, even more so when living in the UAE.
In 18 years in the UAE I have been involved in a number of cases where a client has died and it is a particularly stressful experience due to local complications. Planning ahead and doing all you can so that you or your family are not left without access to money matters a great deal. This is not about being maudlin, but about looking after your family.
Why investing can be more than just money
For a significant number of investors, investing in shares and funds can feel like a dance with the devil as they have to compromise personal values to achieve a return. With the growing awareness of the environmental impact of modern life, interest in ethical and environmental funds is increasing, and you can get a good return on your investment without troubling your conscience.
There has been a substantial increase in interest in this area, and accompanying press coverage, in the past year but there has also been a lot of ‘jumping on a band wagon’ and there is more to this kind of investing than picking a fund with a name that seems to fit.
In this article I aim to give you an overview of what these funds are, why cryptocurrencies do not fit in this sector, and how you can invest and feel good about it.
Family matters: some things never change
Winston Churchill is a towering figure in British political history but was also an orator and writer. What I want to focus on is a quote that is relevant to most of our lives, even now, over 100 years after he said them: