Time For A Lifestyle Experiment

It is said that doing stuff on the cheap in Dubai is almost impossible. I like a challenge so bring it on Dubai.

This month since the hubby and I got paid way late at work after getting back from the US, we did not get to do our monthly car rental that we usually do. If you are wondering why we would rather rent a car than own one, you should know that banking laws here are rather unlike what they are in the US. Here if you have outstanding loans for anything and you happen to loose your job they will jail you until all your debt is paid by either you or a rich relative (at least that is what we have been told by pretty much everyone we know). Seeing that we do not want to know what it is like to be a guest in an Emirati prison, and with times being as uncertain as they are, we opted for a transportation solution that would induce the least amount of stress. As you may have guessed by now we opted for the easy-way-out-of dodge-just-in-case-crap-happens solution which was to rent a car because you pay it at the beginning of the month and it is taken care of, and (if God forbid) we should loose our jobs or are not able to swing the car fee we get to return it at the end of the month without any further consequences.

In any case we have been without a car since the beginning of the month, but believe it or not it has actually been pretty bearable. We live relatively close to work, the munchkins daycare is on the way, and since the metro system is now running well and all the stations we would need have actually been opened we now have a pretty reliable way to an from work with a little assistance from the taxi service. I know this does not sound like it could be cheap but I did the math and we are actually saving a crapload of money doing things this way. Sure it is not as convenient as jumping in your car and doing things at will, but it has been easier than I thought. So this could be the start of a thing for us depending on how well we are able to bear the heat in the summer.

Inspired by this sudden happy accident I am going to try to see if it is possible to be frugal in the land of excessive spending. I am sure that this is going to make for some interesting stories in the future.