Ambareen Musa Founder and CEO of Souqalmal.com, in light of the recent US hike in bank interest rates, offers her expert insight on the effect a further hike can have on debt repayments and the borrowing rates.
Further US rate hikes will strengthen the dollar and with it the dirham, helping those who transfer money to home countries. “The downside is that it will push up local borrowing costs so UAE residents will have to pay more for personal loans, auto loans, mortgages and credit cards.”
Your best option, she says, is to pay off debts, starting now, to ready yourself for a higher interest rate world.
Ms. Musa says borrowing rates are almost always higher than savings rates, so early debt repayments make your money work harder. “When you have paid down your debts you can then switch to a high-interest account, using a comparison site to find the best deals.”…
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