50 thrifty TIPS!

Short on cash? Here are 50 ways to save as the credit crunch creeps up on Dubai Discuss this article

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Things to do on a budget
27. Rent 20 DVDs from Spinneys and it costs Dhs200, or Dhs10 a pop. (Fitness First members meanwhile can rent free movies from their gym.) Ideal for your new stay-at-home lifestyle.
Approximate saving: If you watch 60 DVDs a year…Dhs600

28. If you’re a book buff, try visiting second-hand book stores Book World (04 396 9697), in Satwa and Bur Dubai, and House of Prose (04 344 9021), in Jumeirah and Ibn Battuta. Same book: a smidgen of the price. And if you don’t want to spend anything at all, check out www.bookcrossing.com to track where books have been left for free, or simply share libraries with chums. Then, lie on a beach and read it, totally gratis.
Approximate saving: If you buy 15 books a year…Dhs1,050

29. Stop paying membership to a gym you never go to. Instead, run around Safa or Zabeel Park or along Jumeirah Open Beach for free. Or, if you have Dhs3-Dhs5 to spare, go to a park with a frisbee, tennis ball or skipping rope and throw in a cheap and healthy picnic or barbecue, too.
Approximate saving: The average annual gym membership…Dhs5,000 per year

30. For Dhs100, you can play games for more than three hours at Mall of the Emirates’ Magic Planet. That's as much as a cover charge at some of the town's clubs – and they won’t even ask you how old you are on the way in (although they may wonder how young you are…).
Approximate saving: If you normally spend Dhs500 every weekend…Dhs26,000 per year

31. Host a marathon TV night. Download (legally, of course) a season of your favourite TV show (we're still stuck on Dexter), invite some friends over and spend the evening mesmerised.
Approximate saving: If you normally spend Dhs500 every weekend…Dhs26,000 per year

To make general savings click here
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To make beauty savings click here
To make kids stuff savings click here
To make travel savings click here
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