The Acid Test of Personal Finance

We expats come to Dubai to make money and enjoy a better standard of living, but somewhere along the line our financial goals get diluted or forgotten. This is because we get caught in the rat-race and the fast paced life in Dubai.

The prime example of this phenomenon is a case I recently read in the Gulf News about the homeless Polish woman entrepreneur who in spite of being a business woman, and living in the UAE for many many years, is penniless today.

So, the million dirham question is –

Note – This is a personal exercise. I am not interested in knowing your numbers. These are for you to know and act upon. Get a pen and piece of paper and do this exercise for yourself. You may also need a calculator handy.

Step 1

Write down your current monthly income on the first line.

Step 2

Write down your current monthly outgoings (not just expenses, but all outgoings) on the second line.

Step 3

Subtract your outgoings from your income and write your monthly disposable income on the third line.

Step 4

Write down the number of months you had the same disposable income on the fourth line.

Step 5

Multiply your monthly disposable income into the number of months and write this number on the fifth line.

Step 6

Divide the answer in Step 5 by your outgoings and write down the number in the sixth line. This is how long your money will last you in case of loss of income.

Now, here is the Acid Test,

• Is your bank balance equal to the answer in Step 5? (Remember your investments don’t count, as you need to have at least 6 months of survivability regardless of your investments.)
• If not, is your bank balance at least equal to 75% of this amount?
• What about 50%?
• Is the answer in step 6 greater than or equal to 6 months at least?

If you have answered ‘No’ to any of the questions above, YOU NEED HELP.

If you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below.