Bush whacked

The US presidential debate was why I woke up at the unearthly hour of 4am early Wednesday morning. The financial crisis that has rocked the United States and the UK and which has forced a country like Iceland to go into financial meltdown was on my mind and I expected both Barack Obama and John McCain to go head to head on the economy.

Unfortunately that was not to be. Instead, while flicking channels I came upon a shocking documentary on how young men and women in the US are committing suicide because of their overwhelming debt.

The pain of the parents narrating their sad stories sent a shiver down my spine and led me to think of the hundreds of thousands of young expatriates in Dubai who live beyond their means and, worse, do not have parents or older relatives to catch them if they should fall.

A random survey in the office later in the day told me that eight out of 10 of my colleagues are in debt. The others when asked why they were debt-free simply said, "I don’t spend what I don’t have."

While I don’t believe I fully understand the world’s financial crisis nor have the solution to it, I firmly swear by the maxim: "Fiscal responsibility begins with me."

Banks and financial institutions have made credit so easy in the past few years that easy money has got people with no money experience into debt hell.

If you are a spendthrift, already in debt or need to learn how to manage your finances go to www.ehow.com – which will provide you both reading material and videos on how to budget and other common sense tips you need when you are in danger of being senseless with your money.

If you think you need to get that loan right now check out the Emirates NBD personal loan education initiative. According to their release, qualified staff will raise your awareness of borrowing within your budget.

Help is available at any of their branches or by simply calling 04-316 0202.

Meanwhile, when temptation calls on your mobile phone with yet another offer of a low interest credit card, a special offer loan, special insurance on your payments and the other myriad offers that soon part a fool and his money, remember that your name is not George W. Bush.