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Carrying Credit Card Debt in the UAE? Here’s Why It’s So Dangerous — and How to Escape
Credit card debt in the UAE comes with shockingly high interest rates—up to 59% annually due to monthly compounding. Learn why it’s a financial emergency, how to calculate the real cost, and what steps you can take today to pay it off.
Blair Hoover
Jul 15 min read


Saving for Your Child's Education
If you're like me, you grew up without a lot of financial help, and you want your kids to have an easier time than you did. If that's you, I have a few points I would like you to consider before I dive into the mechanics of how to save for your kids' future.
Blair Hoover
Jun 28 min read


Why Buy Bonds?
Why buy bonds? Because they just might get you out of a pinch, just don't count on them for growth. Their role is downside protection.
Blair Hoover
Feb 203 min read


Capital Gains Harvesting: American Expat Investors Can Save Thousands in Tax Obligations.
Learn how you can save money on future US taxes by harvesting some of your capital gains now as an expat.

Jeff Devens
Dec 16, 20243 min read


Leaving the US to Live Abroad: Financial Considerations.
Americans thinking about moving overseas, this post is for you. Find out what you don't know about the financial side of expat life.
Blair Hoover
Nov 12, 20246 min read


Writing a Will in the UAE: What If You Don't Have a Will?
Writing a will is daunting. The hardest part is the thinking and planning, and you can do that right now. There are certain things in UAE yo
Blair Hoover
Apr 22, 20249 min read


The Impact of Community on your Finances
Tuan and I recently facilitated a SimplyFI community meet-up here in Abu Dhabi. Getting together with other people in various stages of...
Blair Hoover
Oct 13, 20238 min read


Asset Allocation and Understanding Risk
Asset allocation refers to the percentage of your total investments that are in each asset category. Typically investors are referring...
Blair Hoover
Oct 6, 20239 min read


How to Win the Lotto
Jerry and Marge Shelbee are a retired couple from Michigan, US, who won the state lotto. Although this is hard to do, it’s not uncommon...

Tuan Phan
Sep 23, 20233 min read


Life after FIRE: Pandemic Edition
Ever wondered what would have happened if the life you dreamed of as a twenty-something actually became a reality? Thanks to the...

John Henzell
Sep 16, 20235 min read


Buy the Whole Haystack: Why Index Investing Beats Stock Picking
The importance of diversification in the stock market. Looking for the needle in the haystack Many people wrongly believe that the stock...

Tuan Phan
Sep 9, 20235 min read


How Much Money Do You Need?
How do you know how much money you need to invest in order to be financially independent? The total amount you need to have invested in...
Blair Hoover
Aug 26, 20234 min read


Blackrock's New UCITES iBond ETFs
What does this mean for investors? I just found out that Blackrock launched a new suite of iBonds ETFs on August 9th that are UCITS and...

Tuan Phan
Aug 18, 20235 min read


Financial Advisors and Active Fund Managers
Active vs Passive The “Active vs Passive” debate was settled long ago - passive is better in the long run mathematically and empirically,...

Tuan Phan
Aug 12, 20234 min read


Living the YOLO Life
Finding balance between YOLO and Delayed Gratification

Tuan Phan
Jul 1, 20235 min read


BNPL is an Evil Business Model
I hate the “Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)” business model – it’s evil!! When I first heard of the Buy Now Pay Later model that many fintech...

Tuan Phan
Jun 10, 20236 min read


Understanding Investing
“It takes above average intelligence to understand index investing” -Tuan Phan Index Investing is Simple Being a passive investor is...

Tuan Phan
May 13, 20234 min read


Buying Vs Renting: Beyond the Numbers
If you want to see what the numbers say, check out my previous post: Buying Vs Renting: The Numbers. Types of Data Having taught the...
Blair Hoover
May 6, 20233 min read


Buying Vs Renting: The Numbers
"I don't want to be throwing away all that money on rent." Land ownership has been the most common way of building wealth throughout...
Blair Hoover
Apr 29, 20237 min read


Investing is a Solved Game
Chess is one of the oldest and most popular board games in the world, with a rich history that spans more than a thousand years. Today,...

Tuan Phan
Apr 22, 20233 min read
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