I've spent the last 15 months blindly running up a huge debt.
My family and I moved to Dubai in Sep '13 for a new job and a new start. Enticed by the tax-free salary, and great work package, I assumed we'd be able to live it up and still save some money each month. So every time my wife asked 'can we afford this?' I just blindly said yes.
Fast forward 15 months, and I'm currently approximately AED350,000 ($95,000) in debt. Well done me.
Some painfully antimustachian decisions got us into this mess. I took a loan to furnish the house and buy a car, and did all the spending on a credit card (with intentions to pay it off in full each month) to get us air miles to fly home.
I'll start with the car. A used Porsche Cayenne Turbo (hey, fuel's cheap, right?). After AED25000 in repairs in three months, I gave up and swapped it in part-exchange for a new Hyundai, with a warranty. I lost another 35000 on the part-ex deal.
As for the credit card, I remember the first month that I didn't pay it in full. The alarm bell in my head wasn't loud enough. It's now bouncing off it's AED50000 limit, and I've only just noticed the AED2000 in interest and 'credit shield' they're adding each month.
I've been
stupid and irresponsible. Things are going to change and we are getting out of this.
- We're doing one food shop per week, and eating exclusively home-cooked food
- I'm in the process 0% balance transfer on the credit card debt, and should have it paid off in 6 months
- There'll be no wasteful spending, and we'll find lots of activities around the house for the kids
Let me have it. I'm pretty thick-skinned, and full deserve a verbal and physical smack in the face.
I'll keep you posted on how we get on. This forum has been a goldmine already.
Jimbo