As part of ‘The Debt Panel’, The National published an article about a Dubai administrator who earns AED 5,000 per month, and has accumulated debt amounting to 17 times her monthly salary.
I have three credit cards with a total outstanding balance of Dh34,000 and a personal loan on which I owe Dh53,000. My salary for my job in Dubai as an administrator is only Dh5,000. I moved to the UAE from the Philippines four years ago and got into this situation because of my own irresponsibility – I took too many cash advances on the credit cards and spent the money on this and that. I want to consolidate all of these debts and convert them into a single payment but I have approached so many banks to settle this and they say that with this much on my credit cards, they cannot offer me a loan. Please advise what my next step should be as I do not know what to do.
Here is what Ambareen Musa, one of the debt panelists and Founder & CEO of Souqalmal.com, had to say.
Credit cards are a very expensive way of borrowing money and they should not be used as a financing tool because of the high interest rates they charge in case the amount due is not paid in full within the interest-free period. What might be a good option is for you to approach the bank(s) with which you have your credit cards and check if you can restructure the outstanding balance into a loan. That would save you a hefty amount of money in interest payments, and your installments will be more affordable. Once you manage to repay the outstanding amount on your credit cards, it would be advisable to cancel all your credit cards and just keep one for emergencies.
For full article go to The National.
