National Bonds launches nationwide campaign to encourage personal saving

The UAE-wide campaign aims to encourage an open and honest dialogue about poor spending habits and the barriers to saving.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 6 November 2017:  National Bonds, a leading UAE investment company, has launched a nationwide campaign to encourage UAE residents to identify personal challenges to saving in a bid to instill a culture of saving across the emirates. 

National Bonds is calling on members of the public to open up about their financial excuses using the hashtag #SavingsExcuse. So, whether it is spending too much money on weekday takeaways or those must-have manicures; National Bonds wishes to alert the public to the common challenges to saving in the UAE.

“We have long supported the Government’s ambition to increase financial literacy and savings to achieve a healthy and secured financial future for individuals and their families,” said Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds. “Most people know they should be saving; the hard part is knowing where to start.” 

“The Savings Excuse campaign will help people identify what exactly it is that prevents them from putting money aside and help them realize, even the smallest change in spending habits can help achieve financial stability in the long term”, he added.

The United Arab Emirates has become a dream destination for many, but the transient nature of the emirates makes it easy for residents to forget about saving. Lured by the tax-free salaries, many expatriates move with every intention of putting money away each month, but as with all good intentions, this is often quickly replaced by the desire to enjoy everything the market has to offer. 

A recent survey by National Bonds highlights an overall lack of awareness when it comes to financial planning. The Financial Planning Survey found 69% of respondents in the UAE were unsure of the steps needed to achieve their financial goals. Interestingly, of those surveyed, 53% were most interested in receiving advice relating to retirement planning. This was the case across the 4 audience segments surveyed including Arab (53%), Asian (57%) and Western (64%) expats. UAE Nationals, however, were more concerned with advice pertaining to financial health (48%) followed closely by retirement planning (41%).

“It is not surprising to see retirement planning is a key concern for UAE residents. While people save for a multitude of reasons including weddings and travel, retirement planning is unavoidable. This is why this campaign is so important, it is absolutely vital people understand what it is that is preventing them from saving so they can overcome it. The next step is to create a savings goal and put a plan in place to achieve it,” Al Ali concluded.

It's not how much you make; it's all about how much you keep 
The #SavingsExcuse campaign launched across on November 1st 2017. Get involved and share your saving excuse across using the campaign hashtag for your chance to win AED 100,000.