Laura Buckwell is a TV news anchor at City7TV and an event MC. The 36-year-old, from the UK, moved to Dubai to become a business reporter after working in broadcasting for more than a decade in London, Sydney and Tokyo. Ms Buckwell is married to a Dutch entrepreneur and has a two-year-old son.
How did your upbringing shape your attitude towards money?
I grew up as a Royal Dutch Shell oil company expatriate kid, living in Malaysia, Nigeria and Holland until I was sent to boarding school at 11. Growing up, we had a very comfortable lifestyle. Life was full of activities and social gatherings with other expat families, and money was never talked about or brought up as an issue. As a family we always discussed what we would do when we grew up, so the focus was on career and experiences rather than cash. This has definitely instilled a culture of discretion in me when it comes to money. Living as a university student after boarding school was most certainly an eye-opener though, as it was the first time I properly earned extra spending money on a weekly basis. It was only through first-hand work experiences that I managed to get a proper grip on the value of money.
How much did you get paid for your first job?
I got my first job when I was a student as a waitress at a high-end pizza restaurant and was paid £4.50 (Dh23) an hour.
Are you spender or saver?
I’m a little of both, but more of a spender. Dubai is full of enticing activities such as food and retail that it can be hard to hold back. I wouldn’t say that I was extravagant, but I tend to spend on lots of small things that add up.
Most cherished purchase?
My most cherished purchase has got to be The Luxury World Key, which gives exclusive access to 12 five-star hotels and their facilities in Dubai, including the kids’ clubs. We decided to splash out, as the card means we can enjoy many days out as a family, including sports and discounts on food and beverages. The Key also offers a 24-hour concierge service from booking holidays and party planning, to finding the nearest entertainment for kids. We paid Dh20,000 for a couple plus kids for a year.
Have you ever had a month where you feared you could you not pay the bills?
It was my first year as a new tenant in London, fresh out of university and the first time paying rent. I shared a house with two friends in Clapham and there were many times that I feared I couldn’t pay the bills but I somehow managed. It was a good learning curve. My job at the time was as a runner on big-budget TV entertainment shows at Endemol and the BBC, which came with a basic salary.
What has been your best investment
Our family car, which is a Hummer. It’s like being inside a tank and nothing beats the feeling of being safe on the roads here in Dubai, especially with kids.
What do you most regret spending money on?
I’m ashamed to say that I was a smoker for years. I gave up three years ago when I became pregnant with my son. So the biggest regret has to be all the money I’ve spent on cigarettes. I started smoking at the age of 18, and that’s 15 years of smoking half a packet (on average) a day. In the UK at the time they were the equivalent of about Dh35 a pack. You do the maths.
Do you have a plan for the future?
My husband is an entrepreneur and his line of work doesn’t come with any monthly guarantees. One month can be a huge income injection while the next three could be very basic, so as a family we need to plan quite carefully. My husband is very clever when it comes to investments though, and we have property in Holland to fall back on. My husband also has amazing ideas on what will make money in the long term, whereas I’m the one that thinks more about saving in the short term.
If you won Dh1m, what would you do with it?
My son’s education, stocks and shares, property and travel.
lgraves@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @TheNationalPF
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
