Having a higher income by working abroad doesn't necessarily mean that you are having the greatest time of your life with a surplus amount of cash on hand. With a wrong mindset, you might think that it would have been better for you to work in your home country. Its a much lesser amount of salary but you will be with your family and you will not be tempted to rack up a high amount of debt.
I am saying this because I had experienced having a good amount of salary but at the end of those years of hard work, I don't have any proof to show it.
But by God's grace, me and my husband had realized that it's not the material things in life that matters, it is the relationship with God and people around you.
So I will be listing some of the things that we do in order to save money and finish off our TOWER OF DEBT.
-We pack our own lunch
Bringing your own food to work doesn't only make your food choices healthier, it also saves you a lot of money. Since there are 4 of us living together, we prepare the meal the night before and all of us will be packing the same food in the morning.
-We check for sale and compare prices
Whenever a sale comes up in our nearest grocery stores, we make sure to check it out and then compare the price to the other store on sale in order to get a good deal. I always check this site: Shopping Informer. You will get updated with the latest discount offers all over UAE.
-We buy in bulk and once a week
When we get a very good deal, we always buy in bulk as it saves us more in the long run. Nowadays, we always stock up on rice and water which we use everyday.
Recently, we would buy groceries to be consumed for the week as it saves us time, money and energy to go to the supermarket.
-I use Carrefour MyClub Reward Card
Using a rewards card might be bothersome at times but it will help you to convert the points that you had collected into grocery items.
-I do my husband's haircut
It doesn't seem extreme for both of us as I have already experienced cutting my brother's hair before just for fun. But now that we are here in dubai, a mere haircut costs around 20-50aed in Tecom area where we live. So, this few dirhams can instead be put in our savings or for other priorities in our budget.
-We use pail and water dipper for taking a bath
This is a very common household item for Filipinos even abroad. But when we transferred to our new flat recently, we didn't bother buying another one for our separate bathroom so we ended up having a higher DEWA bill. So cutting up on shower cost and going back to pail and dipper was a brilliant idea from my husband. -We celebrate by eating at home
Who wants to eat out when you have the best cook in the house? My sister in law cooks a lot of great food (that's why I always need to check my diet. 😁). She also bakes and personalizes cakes for her friends. Please check out her Facebook page:
-I walk, He cycles
We decided to be physically active by me walking to my workplace for about 7-10 minutes and he would cycle for the same amount of time going to work. There are times when his cycle's tire would break and he would walk approximately 20-30 minutes in order to reach home.
-My husband is a handyman
Instead of buying some furniture or paying for services, my husband knows how to make and fix things in the house. He was able to build this loft bed for the family.
We don't keep up with the Joneses so we aren't pressured to do what the world does or to have what most of the people buy.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs:31:27