Dirty Dinar

Here’s a sad story from the Arab Times:

Kuwait : A Kuwaiti woman recently visited the Al-Rai daily to tell about her financial difficulties and offered to sell the retina and cornea of one of her eyes and a kidney to help her pay her debts, reports Al-Rai daily. The woman, who is a widow, is a former employee of the Ministry of Health and is a mother of three children. It has been reported the woman owes KD 19,000 to a bank and KD 5,000 to a company.

It’s incredible that the woman is in such a desperate state as to want to give up body parts. It’s the first time I’ve heard of something of its kind in Kuwait. One of my first thoughts was why the woman wasn’t employed at the Ministry of Health anymore. Is she retired? Couldn’t she find another job?

I hope she finds a way to become debt-free without having to resort to such extreme measures.

I finally got ahold of an Admissions Officer at the American University of the Middle East (AUM). The woman I spoke with was very friendly and as helpful as she could be under the circumstances. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the details about the University are still up in the air. That’s to be expected but I was still taken aback.

AUM admissions requirements for pursuing an MBA are:

1. A Bachelor’s degree
2. A TOEFL score of 550+
3. Taken the GMAT

I was told that they are not interested in a specific GMAT score. All they care about is that you’ve taken the GMAT. After you fulfill those three requirements, they will call you in for an interview.

Some issues that worried me are:

• AUM hasn’t determined the tuition rate yet - I guess they will wait to see how many people are interested in enrolling to decide on that figure. I expected
• The campus is in an area I’ve never heard of before - I think it’s called Alagaila but I’m not sure of the spelling. It’s located somewhere near Fintas.
• The University can’t seek accreditation until it has its first graduating class - Is it worth the trouble to attend an MBA program only to find out that it won’t be accredited?

A friend of mine emailed me this:

Effective from February 7th, 2008, the ticket price for attending a cinema show is increasing from KWD 2.500 to 3.000. In my opinion, a 0.500 increase isn’t too bad.

I was surprised to see that there were discounted prices for Monday shows. I wonder if people take advantage of this offer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the cinemas full on Mondays. It’s worth attending when it’s half the price of an average ticket!

VIP cost KWD 6.000 which is double the price of an average ticket. I haven’t been to the VIP cinema yet. Is it worth the extra price?

As some of you may have noticed my Emergency Fund amount has increased from KWD 668 to 968. I’ve put aside 300 from my January salary towards my savings, which has me 32.3% closer to my goal.

I was originally supposed to set aside 500 from my salary but I decided on a surprise splurge, my hair treatments. They’re going to cost me 200 so I deducted the amount from my Emergency Fund money. If I continue to save up 500 a month until May, I’ll reach my goal in time so I’m not too worried.

With the return of the money I had lent out, my Emergency Fund had more at the end of January than I expected. My goal was to have KWD 500 and I ended with KWD 968. It’s not a bad start to the year.

Everywhere I look lately I have been seeing the billboards for AUM, the American University of the Middle East. It’s a newly established private university in association with Purdue University. They’re accepting applicants to begin in October 2008.

I googled the university and found nothing about it. It’s a fresh university which means it’s not accredited. Is it worth the risk starting an MBA course at a university with no credibility? The only thing going for it is that it’s associated with Purdue University. According to their website the Krannert School of Management was the No. 1 MBA program in 2004 and 2005.

I had previously considered enrolling in Kuwait Maastricht Business School but several people advised me against it. I took their advice because they had first-hand knowledge. They were attending the program and told me some of its flaws. Among their complaints were the fact that the instructors were difficult to understand and didn’t teach well, the low caliber of the students, and quality of the program. They all advised me that if I wanted to pursue an MBA to go abroad.

There are a few reasons why I can’t go abroad to pursue higher education, among them are:

1. I can’t afford to pay for tuition and living expenses abroad. I’d need a scholarship to help me out and my GPA isn’t good enough to qualify for a scholarship.
2. I prefer doing a part-time MBA because I don’t want to quit my job and have to go through the job search all over again in a year or two. I’m happy where I am and don’t want to risk the alternative. Also included is the opportunity cost. An MBA in Kuwait doesn’t count for much. If you’re lucky your workplace will increase your salary by KWD 50. I haven’t heard of anyone with an MBA who has benefited greatly from having one.

Why get an MBA then? When it comes to the future I always imagine the worst possible outcome. I don’t want to come to a point in time when I will get passed over a promotion or if I have to leave Kuwait and the only jobs I can get require an MBA. I would hate an opportunity to pass me by because I didn’t have the educational requirements. An MBA may not count for much in Kuwait now but it might open many more doors in the future.

I’ve called AUM for more information (2240169) and they haven’t gotten back to me yet so I’ll keep you updated. If anyone has any thoughts on the issue I’d love to hear them. I’d be interested to know if you have an MBA and if it’s done anything towards your career or career path.

I’ve been a bad girl. It’s only the beginning of the week and I spent over half of my weekly allowance on pure vanity. I spent KWD 57.500 today at the salon.

Last week, when I was at the salon getting my weekly blowdry, my hairdresser mentioned that they have a treatment for my long curly hair that will eliminate my bad hair days for the next six months. The treatment will take place over a period of four sessions. Each session is an hour long and will cost me 60 dinars. The final result will reduce the coarseness of my hair and eliminate frizz. It will also eliminate my need to get my weekly blowdry. It will save me time AND bad hair days!

I got there today I arrived fully prepared to spend the money. The process was a little boring. My hairdresser washed my hair clean, and then proceeded to distribute the product on my hair brushing it through. As I’ve mentioned, my hair is long and curly so it took a while to get it all covered. Then she had to use a hair straightener over my hair to lock the product in. When she finally straightened all my hair she took me back to get my hair washed and a masque put on my hair. This was the relaxing part. She spent ten minutes massaging my scalp and it was the loveliest feeling. After that she washed the masque out of my hair and blow-dried it.

When I got to the cashier I was ready to pay KWD 60 but they only charged me 50. I was charged KWD 10 less and I got a free blowdry! The cashier told me that I will continue getting a free blowdry for the next three sessions. My hairdresser recommended that I use a special shampoo to supplement my treatment and I bought it for KWD 7.500.  That’s what brought my total expenditure to KWD 57.500.

How much does taking care of my hair usually cost? My usual blowdry costs me KWD 6 and I always tip my hairdresser KWD 1. Over a period of six months I spend KWD 168 on blow drying my hair at a salon. The treatment I’m going to continue will cost me KWD 200. I don’t mind spending the extra money when it will dramatically reduce the time I go to the salon.

To all my girls out there, what have you spent in the name of beauty? I know that we sometimes get ridiculous when it comes to hair, make up and clothes.

I’ve always believed men had it better when it comes to saving money from haircuts to clothes. Guys, how much does it cost you to look that good? 

Today’s Kuwait Times featured the article below. I didn’t realize that the number of women in the private sector was so low. Is it possible that only 5% of Kuwaiti women work in the private sector? I’m proud to be one of them but that percentage seems really low! I can’t help but think this is inaccurate. I know plenty of women who own their own businesses and work in the private sector.

KUWAIT: Kuwait is in the forefront of Arab countries in view of women’s participation in labor force by 42 per cent in line with 2006 statistics, an Arab economist said here yesterday.

The percentage of Kuwaiti women’s involvement in labor force is continuously on the increase, having recorded roughly 37 percent and 42 percent in 2003 and 2006 respectively, Riyad bin Jalili, an economist at the Arab Planning Institute (API), told a symposium on women and development in the Arab world.

Most working women, who are university graduates, are concentrated in the public sector by around 95 percent, he said. In spite of the high percentage of Kuwaiti women’s participation in labor force, leading state posts are often inaccessible to them, having stood up at merely six percent in 2004, Jalili added.

Kuwaiti working women’s diversified presence in the labor market is still meager if compared to other Arab countries, he said, arguing that the upward trend of women’s education has a limited impact on their diversified involvement in the labor market. They account for 45 percent in administrative professions, 24 percent in teaching and just four percent in medicine and science.

However, divorced women were more active than married ones in terms of economic activities in 2006, he said. Joblessness among Kuwaiti females and males hit 5.2 percent and 2.7 percent respectively in 2006, he added. — KUNA

Published Date: January 23, 2008 in the Kuwait Times

February is going to test my budget because I have 5 birthdays that I will need to buy presents for. Three of the five are really close friends so I will have to put a little thought into what I get them and ways to cut down costs.

How much do you spend on a gift? I usually try to limit myself to KWD 50 because I learned in the past that it sometimes makes people uncomfortable when you buy them something expensive no matter how close they are. They sometimes feel they have to equal or exceed my present to them when my birthday comes around.

The best thing about gifts is that it’s the thought and meaning behind them that counts so I can find ways to cut down on my gift spending by being creative and coming up with unique presents. This can range from creating a scrap book to sending a birthday package full of memories you’ve shared.

How much do you usually spend on average on gifts?

I’m excited that people are beginning to leave comments on my blog! I found two fantastic aggregators. One is the Personal Finance Aggregator and the other is the Kuwait Blogs Aggregator. I have been trying to follow blogs in both aggregators and leaving comments whenever I can. Now people are beginning to share their advice with me and it’s a wonderful feeling!

Bader left me a comment on my Monitoring my Progress post saying,

Hope you reach your goals even sooner, I have a system I’ve been using for a while now, each salary I get, I divide it as follows, 40% of it goes to my savings, 30% is divided up into a daily allowance, and the other 30% is used for bills and anything I plan to buy like cloths, a cell phone i’ve wanted, etc. Now, lets say that my daily allowance is for example 20kd, its not everyday that someone would spend 20 kd, sometimes more and sometimes less, it realy depends on what day it is. If you spend less than your allowance on any given day, you add that to your next days allowance, so if you spent 10kd today, tomorrow you would have 30kd and so on,because on work days, you might not spend much but on your off days you may spend way over your daily allowance but you have the remaining allowance from days that you didnt finish your allowance. Sorry for writing so much, Im really bad at explaining things Also setting goals, like ur doing, is also necessary. Hope this helps. All in all, I wish you the very best.

I love reading on how people budget and try to pay off their debt or increase their savings. Thank you, Bader, for your input.

I decided to take Bader’s budget and apply it to my own total pay of KWD 1163. The current budget I have for myself is to limit myself by spending only 663 per month. I will try to deal with cash only by withdrawing 100 at the beginning of every week and leaving 163 in my account for emergencies or extra expenditures (birthdays, etc.). The remaining 500 from my salary will go towards my savings.

The table below demonstrates my money breakdown according to Bader’s 40-30-30 % rule and my own budget.

As you can see from the table, we nearly have the same percentages allocated to Savings, Daily Allowances and Miscellaneous expenses. The one that is drastically different is the miscellaneous category. Bader budgets 30% of his salary on bills and purchases. I choose to keep mine on emergency standby in case I have obligations during the week like birthdays or surprise expenses.

Now I’m curious about how others out there save their money. Do you deduct a specific amount or a percentage of your salary?

These days I have been reading Intlxpar’s blog, delving into the archives and perusing recent posts. She has a beautiful way with words and one post of hers, “Well of Good Will” discusses her personal philosophy when it comes to relationships. It resonated deep within me and caused me to reflect on my friendships, the long history of some and short span of others.

I originally wanted to share this post and a story of one of my friendships that has been on my mind lately but I believe that it is a story for another post and another time. Maybe when it is not so fresh I can write about it more objectively. For now, I’d like to share Intlxpatr’s words with you.

In a relationship, the longer you are in it, the more deposits you make into the well of good will. It is the little things you do in a relationship - how you hold the door when the other is carrying a package, how you bring a bowl of hot soup if they have a cold, how you pick up their meal when they are short of cash, how you listen when a friend has a problem, or remember to ask about their mother when she is having a bout of ill health. These tiny, consistent deposits into the well grow, they earn interest, they earn dividends, small as they are, they fill the well to the brim.

The well of good will never overflows, it just grows to hold the treasures of the relationship.

From time time time, circumstances will arise which require a withdrawal from the well of good will. We all have circumstances in which we become selfish, we strike, even at those who love us, because we are in pain. We all have times when we are tired and say something mean. We all have rough patches in our lives when we have nothing extra to add to the well of good will, and make sizeable withdrawals against the good will of those who love us.

How many people in your life do you make allowances for? Do you forgive some of your friends for shabby behavior towards you and yet begrudge others from doing the very same thing? There are some friends for whom I can never hold ill wishes, no matter what they do.

Like I said on Intlxpatr’s blog, in the grand scheme of things they are welcome to draw goodwill from the well for as long as they like, one thing that time can never take away is the history between us.