With the holiday shopping season just starting and prices of many consumer goods continuing to rise, saving money can seem impossible. But those financial pressures also make doing so even more important.
“Saving is your margin,” says Eric Maldonado, a certified financial planner and owner of Aquila Wealth Advisers.
“When things happen – your car breaks down or there’s a layoff, or smaller stuff like gifts for the holidays – you have something to fall back on.”
Mr Maldonado notes that saving can also allow you to have money for fun things.
The personal savings rate for Americans has been dropping in the past few months, and as of July was 3.5 per cent, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Mr Maldonado recommends aiming for a savings rate closer to 20 per cent of your take-home income.
“You can live off of 80 per cent and put 20 per cent towards deferred gratification,” he suggests.
That guidance matches the popular 50:30:20 budget, which suggests putting 50 per cent of your take home income towards needs, 30 per cent towards wants, and 20 per cent towards savings and any debt payments.
“If you're just starting out, then it can be too daunting, but you can work towards it,” Mr Maldonado adds.
If you’re looking for ways to power up your savings, consider these strategies:
1. Pause before buying
“One of the biggest mistakes people make is buying things you don’t need,” says Vivian Tu, author of the forthcoming book Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life and a TikTok influencer who posts as @YourRichBFF.
To counter that tendency, she recommends “taking a beat” before making any purchase.
“Really ask yourself, ‘Why do I want that thing? What makes it special?’” she suggests.
Ms Tu says asking herself that question helped her to scale back on material purchases so she had more money for experiences, like holidays and brunches with friends.
2. Spread out the impact of big expenses
For big expenses that are on the horizon, Cary Carbonaro, a financial planner and senior vice president at financial advisory company ACM Wealth, recommends setting aside a small amount of money each month so the final cost doesn’t overwhelm your budget.
“If you know you’re going to spend $1,200 at Christmas, then put aside $100 a month for the whole year,” Ms Carbonaro suggests. “Everybody overspends in December unless you budgeted for it.”
3. Try kerbside pickup
When Ryan Greiser, a financial planner and founder of the financial company Opulus, and his wife noticed their credit card bill going up with inflation, they brainstormed ways to cut back.
One of their most successful ideas was relying on online grocery ordering with kerbside pickup.
“We noticed that if we did kerbside pickup, our bill was $50 to $100 less than if we went into the store because we only bought the things on our list. It reduced impulse buys and allowed us to easily compare prices and coupons that popped up on the screen,” Mr Greiser says.
Given their weekly shopping needs for a family with three young children, that shift allowed them to save $200 to $400 a month.
4. Rotate subscriptions
Mr Greiser and his family also started saving $10 to $30 a month by rotating their streaming subscriptions based on what shows they were currently watching.
“We keep one or two active subscriptions and cancel the rest or pause it when a show wraps up so we can rotate to the next one,” he says, adding that he sets a reminder on his calendar so he doesn’t forget to cancel.
Similarly, he pauses his fitness subscriptions when the weather is good enough to exercise outside.
“They are month to month, so easy to pause and restart,” he says.
5. Ask for discounts
Speaking up for yourself is another saving strategy. “You have power as a consumer,” Ms Tu says.
That means you can ask your bank to waive late fees or overcharge fees, or ask for a discount on shoes that have a scuff on them.
“Be polite, be kind, but you can be entitled and understand that your business has value,” she adds.
The answer might be “no”, but there’s no reason not to ask, and it might just save you some money.
We keep one or two active subscriptions and cancel the rest or pause it when a show wraps up so we can rotate to the next one
Ryan Greiser,
financial planner
6. Shop around for insurance
Find discounts on the bills you don’t look at very often, too. Instead of letting your home and auto insurance automatically renew, consider taking time to shop around through an online comparison tool.
When Mr Greiser did that, he ended up saving a total of $1,000 on his bundled car and home insurance plan.
7. Sign up for cashback apps
Popular cashback apps allow you to earn cash for online shopping after you set up an account.
“I highly recommend using cashback apps,” Ms Tu says. “I know it seems like kind of a pain to sign up, but you can save hundreds of dollars a year because it lets you get cash back on purchases you were already making.”
Sometimes making the extra effort pays off, right into your savings account.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
