How to save money in Dubai is the question comes in every expat mind, People come to UAE for money no matter how much your salary is, the goal is to save money and use it for upcoming future plans but many cannot, not only people with lower salary but expats who are earning bigger salaries are the ones who struggle more.
We are going to cover 30 best and effective money saving options in Dubai.
Cheap Groceries:
1. The first point is to avoid high-end supermarkets and bakalas (groceries), visit Carrefour, Union Co-op, Lulu etc for your monthly groceries, do not buy things on daily basis as it cost more.
2. Avoid buying unnecessary things, making a list each month and strictly sticking to it will help you in avoiding needless stuff.
3. Have lunch or dinner before you go to supermarkets. When we're hungry, our eyes and stomach want to eat everything.
4. Enroll for loyalty cards. The discounts matter in the long run.
5. Buy sea foods from fish markets not from general stores.
6. Try not to buy processed foods; they are more expensive than fresh meat and other commodities.
Prepare Food at Home:
7. Do your morning breakfast, coffee or tea at home. It is also from one of the best money saving options in UAE.
8. Limit dining out. Sit someday and count how much you spend dining out compared to cooking meals at home?
9. If you have to stay at home on weekends, keep yourself busy and only eat on time, do not eat when you sit free or your fridge will quickly empty its stock.
10. Don't go for buffets if your appetite (hunger) is light.
11. During events and parties try to bake and eat at home, UAE has a popular culture of dining out during events and parties due to which expats spend more.
12. Bring packed lunch at work, believe me this is the best way to save money in Dubai.
Smart Shopping:
13. Try not to buy unnecessary stuff even it is on sale, if something originally costs 500 AED and you bought it for 300 AED, you did not save 200 but spent 300 unnecessarily.
14. Plan and schedule your shopping, shop ahead of the season. Generally, winter clothes cost less at few months before the temperature goes down.
Energy Conservation to save Electricity bills:
15. Change the default yellowish bulbs in your flat with power-saving and long lasting bulbs also known as energy savors.
16. Put the AC on timer when you're sleeping, or switch it to fan after some time.
17. Don't leave laptops on while sleeping, Put it on sleep mode.
18. Turn off the lights when not in use.
19. Buy appliances that can save energy and water consumption.
Health Tips for well being:
20. Maintain healthy lifestyle so you won't have to spend more on medical treatments, to do this you need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
21. To avoid stress do some exercise at home because good mental health follows a good physical health.
22. Embrace discipline life, set wakeup and bed time because chances of getting sick are relatively less in disciplined life.
23. Workout at home to save gym costs unless you need specific shaping and advanced weight-loss programs, search YouTube for home based exercises.
Travel Cheap:
24. Shop on monthly or weekly basis to save petrol usage or taxi fares; also do not buy luxury SUVs, unless you really need it. Get a vehicle that simply provides your basic transportation needs.
25. Avoid Salik gates and drive consciously to avoid traffic violation fines.
26. Buy RTA seasonal parking cards usable in select parking zones instead of paying on an hourly and daily basis. It also comes in money saving ideas for Dubai, especially if you are using the parking for the whole office hours. Visit RTA site for new parking fees
Bills and Bank Payments:
27. Automate and pay your bills online so you won't have to spend extra while going to payment centers. Also avoid cross-withdrawing from ATM of another bank to save 2 AED per transaction.
Another best way to save money in UAE as an expat is depositing the extra money into bank account, it is better to keep money in your personal account instead of keeping it in pocket, so if you do not have a bank account, get one and start saving.
Low cost Travel:
28. Avoid impulsive seat sale buying. You will end up spending more for that whole trip itinerary (hotels, food, and tour packages). Plan your travels so won't have the worries, also plan your holiday trips on low-peak season.
Home Furnishing and Appliances:
29. As all of us are expats here in UAE not permanent residents, it is good to buy used things, so consider buying used furniture and other basic home appliances from popular websites such as Dubizze, OLX and Biddi etc. UAE community is very transient and it's not hard to find used items that are still in good quality.
30. Sell things you do not use, also do not over-decorate your household unless you'll be staying here for ages.
Coins box:
Another effective way to save money is to keep our 'excess' twenty five fils, fifty fils or dirham coins in a coins box. I still remember in 2014 when I started saving extra coins, at the end of that year I was able to book my one sided ticket which worth 300+ dirham’s , so don’t take it funny, we can also use those coins to pay for parking, grocery carts, or for tipping the delivery guys.
ike our Page for more Useful PostsAt the end of this very useful guide about how to save money in UAE, I want everyone to refresh your way of thinking about how, what and why we buy things; the main reason for which people don’t save money is that they don’t know how to manage their finances in an effective way.
Posts
