Imagine looking back in 2030 and realising your money has grown – not through a windfall, but through smart, consistent moves made today. Building your wealth over the next few years hinges on setting up a plan now to automate savings, spend wisely, invest steadily and diversify your income.
We asked personal finance experts to share some strategies on ways to boost one’s net worth by 2030.
Steve Cronin, a financial independence coach and founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
Nothing will make you rich by 2030, it’s less than five years away. However, if you want your money to work hard for you without blowing up, the stock market has over 100 years of data showing excellent long-term growth of 7 per cent to 10 per cent per year.
You don’t need to pick stocks; instead, you can track the shares of companies listed on stock exchanges worldwide very easily with an all-world exchange-traded fund such as the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWRA).
Five years is not quite a long enough time horizon to ensure good performance but, over the decades, this simple investment is likely to outperform nearly everything else.
Blair Hoover, founder, Choose Your Own Finance advisory
The best way to gain wealth is to invest a high percentage of your income in low-cost index funds over the long term. In order to do this, you will need to either increase your income, decrease your expenses, or both.
Once you have a significant savings rate (30 per cent to 70 per cent of your income), your time to financial independence will be between 10 to 28 years, depending on that savings rate.
If you want to build significant wealth by 2030, you will do best to invest now in yourself. Invest in your capacity to increase your income (through education or training), invest in your financial education, and invest time in tracking your cash flow so you have the ability to plan.
Ben Bolger, financial planner in Abu Dhabi
When it comes to investments that could make you rich by 2030, I think it’s worth stepping back and redefining what “rich” really means. For me, it’s not about chasing fast money or going all in on the next big thing. It’s about building financial independence – a life that gives you freedom, flexibility, more time with the people you love and alignment with your values.
Invest in yourself – whether that’s upskilling, getting a qualification that unlocks a better job, or even just reading a book/listening to a podcast that shifts your mindset. In a fast-moving place like the UAE, staying ahead through learning is important.Starting a side hustle – something you can test in the evenings that might eventually grow into your full-time thing. Your earning potential is always likely to be capped working for someone else.Spending time on your network – not in a transactional way but by building genuine relationships. The UAE is full of very successful and influential people and the right conversation at the right time can open doors money can’t buy.Owning income-generating assets – that could be real estate, ETFs, or dividend stocks. I’m not a fan of hit-and-hope strategies like putting everything into crypto or a single share. That’s not a plan, that’s a gamble.Make your whole family financially literate. Talking about money at home, modelling good habits, helping your kids understand how it all works. That stuff changes the future generations of your family and compounds over decades.Rupert Connor, partner at Abacus Financial Consultants
Invest spare cash: Finding the right balance is crucial. Hold too little cash and you cannot fund day-to-day life, and risk being unprepared for emergencies. Hold too much, and you will miss out on long-term investment growth and see your net worth destroyed by inflation. You need enough cash to cover your day-to-day spending, an emergency fund and any larger short-term expenses that you won’t be able to cover from your normal income.
If your emergency fund is in place and you do not have short-term goals, excess cash should be invested. Investments are a vehicle for building wealth over time, but only money you can leave untouched with some degree of certainty for five years or more should be invested.
Don’t attempt to time markets: One of the most common mistakes investors make is trying to time the market – buying low and selling high. It requires predicting market movements with precision, something that even the highest paid professional investors rarely manage. Unsuccessful market timing is a mistake that compounds into much bigger losses down the line. For example, missing only the 10 best days in the market over a 40-year period can halve the returns you achieve.
Do not panic-sell during market downturns: Markets tend to have temporary corrections every four to six years. Unfortunately, this is the price of admission for generating long-term returns. For example, in the last 20 years we have had the Great Financial Crisis (2008), Covid-19 (2020) and the war in Ukraine and rising inflation (2022). When markets experience these downturns, your instincts can often lead to panic-selling. But this behaviour is reactionary and locks in losses that prevent investors from benefiting from eventual (inevitable) recoveries.
Avoid a bad investment strategy: Overconfidence in one’s own ability – or someone else’s ability – to pick winning stocks can lead to concentrated portfolios, excessive risk, increased trading costs, and a detachment from the market. This behaviour increases risk and transaction costs, which can erode returns.
Diversification mitigates this risk. A well-diversified portfolio can absorb the impact of poor performance in any single investment, industry, or country, and provide more stable returns over time.
Avoid high costs: Many expat investors are unaware of the high costs they are exposed to. These costs are often hidden under layers of product and investment charges. It is not uncommon to see total costs of 4 per cent, 5 per cent or even 6 per cent per annum.
Considering markets typically return 6 per cent to 8 per cent on average, you can see how it becomes very difficult to grow your money if you are “leaking” similar amounts out the other end through costs.
Do not try to get rich quick: The temptation to get rich quick by investing in cryptocurrencies is strong, but approach this space with caution. Avoid emotional decisions and behavioural biases (like herding/following the crowd) and make sure you are making informed decisions.
While we would never advise it, some clients like to keep a “fun fund” separate to their life savings and the core of their portfolio. This is a small pot of money – typically 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the total portfolio – that can be used to make speculative bets on individual companies, commodities or start-ups.
If you decide to invest in cryptocurrencies, this should be done within your fun fund. If you are already invested heavily in cryptocurrencies (far beyond 5 per cent to 10 per cent of your portfolio), review your portfolio.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Power: 819hp
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India cancels school-leaving examinations
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
The specs
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsSpecs
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Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as ‘the grandmother of the settler movement’, she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24′, Schick 68′)
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9′, Piatek 82′ pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin