Illustration by Gary Clement for The National
Today is the last day of UAE Saves Week, and boy has it been a fantastic few days. We trended on Twitter throughout the week, even occupying the No 1 spot for a stretch.
And what a relief it has been, because it shows me, beyond doubt, that we do care about our lives and are willing to change how we live if we can see how it can be a good thing for us. It also proves that we are willing to share personal information about money, finances and life, and seek support and encouragement, even if it’s virtual.
I keep being told that people will not do this. That it’s so very private and will always be under wraps. How wrong this turned out to be. Every day people have been posting pictures of their revelations, what they are doing to bring our daily themes to life, and how they are starting to control what they do with money, and therefore where they’re headed with their lives.
This renews my faith in mankind – that we will stop, gather information, and take things on board, given a chance. And that we will bother to change – if what we see and hear makes sense to us.
And what I mean by “given a chance” is : if we are empowered and enabled to do so.
It’s all about the “why should I care?” and “how do I do it?” being addressed. I find that, all too often, important and obvious money and life issues are put to us in such a scary, disabling way, that we switch off and ignore what we should and could be doing, because it’s overwhelming and perhaps disturbing – thinking through our mortality and possible terrible things that can happen to us and our loved ones.
So what we’ve done is this: keep it simple, positive, and “can do”. And in keeping with these basic principles, on our last day, we’re asking you to pick one of the themes that have gone out over the six previous days, and for you to stick with it for a year. Hence today’s title: Stick With It Saturday.
Taken in isolation, each day’s theme, which can be found on my website, could be seen as a trifle boring, but in fact they are key. We all eat, wear clothes, use water and electricity and move around the city. In other words, there is money in our lives, and so when people lament and say that they cannot afford to save, I challenge that. Change the way you do things and you can save some money. It might not be a lot, but it’s a start. And it’s not just about saving money, the more important thing is for us to change our behaviour with money and attitude towards spend, need and want.
It really boils down to what’s more important to you – and one thing that has struck me throughout this year’s campaign is that our ambassadors, chosen because they embody the ethos of the day’s theme, are mostly entrepreneurs. Successful people who scraped by at the start of their journey, because their dream and ambition was very important to them, and so they lived the cashy way – they made every penny count, they lived well within their means, and they didn’t go out socialising for the longest time. They had more important things to aim for in their lives and were willing to wait and have fun later. Their fun was being in control of life and their destiny. And you can do this too.
The original article was first published in The National
