Muhammad Kashif Iqbal worked for 12 years in Pakistan’s education sector. While he currently works in a different industry in the UAE, he tapped into this corpus of work experience and offers maths home tuitions as a side hustle.
The 46-year-old Pakistani, who moved to the UAE in 2018, now works as a senior warehouse manager at an equipment trading company in Abu Dhabi.
He lives in Musaffah in the UAE capital, while his wife and three kids are based in Pakistan. His wife runs a training institute that teaches students and imparts vocational skills to women.
Mr Iqbal completed his MBA with a specialisation in marketing and HR.
What was your first job and salary?
My first informal job was offering tuitions to students at home and I received 1,400 Pakistani rupees ($5) a month. That paid for my academic expenses. After I completed my bachelor’s degree in 1997, I got a full-time job as a sales representative for a monthly salary of 3,000 rupees. After working for seven years, I decided to pursue my MBA.
I was very passionate about becoming a teacher. After completing my master’s degree, I joined a college as a lecturer. From 2006 until 2018, I worked in the education sector in Pakistan, starting as a lecturer and going on to become a principal in a private college.
I also owned a business that dealt in project management for the education sector in Pakistan.
I later moved to the UAE where my first job was as a lecturer in a university’s business department where I earned a monthly salary of Dh4,000 ($1,089) in 2018. But after Covid-19, I was unable to get a job in an educational institution.
Tell us about your current role. What is your salary now?
I currently work as a senior warehouse manager at an equipment trading company in Abu Dhabi. I am paid about Dh10,000 a month.
I also teach maths to students in grades six to 11 across different curriculums and earn between Dh3,000 and Dh4,000 a month this way. I am also willing to offer complimentary classes for deserving students who cannot afford private tuition fees in the UAE.
What asset classes do you invest in?
I keep only limited cash with me and do not believe in saving in cash. I prefer to allocate my savings to real estate instead. I have invested in the real estate sector in Pakistan. I own a home and a few freehold land plots there.
I bought a land plot many years ago and built a family home in Gujranwala Cantt in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which is valued at 25 million rupees. I also own four land plots for long-term investment and pay them off in quarterly instalments.
I have tried to invest in cryptos and stocks, but didn’t find it feasible since I haven’t found the time to learn about these assets. I prefer to manage my investments myself and not outsource it to a third party. I avoid fixed deposits since they don’t offer a good return. I have invested in life insurance, too.
Growing up, were you taught how to handle your finances?
No, I wasn’t. I learnt how to manage finances when I started earning. I am now trying to teach my children how to manage money.
How do you budget your salary every month?
A part of my salary is allocated for my property investment. I send a fixed amount every month to my wife for grocery and household expenses, children’s education fees, transport costs and other miscellaneous things back home.
I live in accommodation provided by my company, so I don’t need to pay rent. I use my disposable income to travel at least once or twice a year to a new country.
I do not believe in living on credit and don’t have credit cards. I always believe in living on the income in your pocket and living within your means.
Have you started saving for retirement?
I plan to retire at the age of 60 and intend to travel across the world on a motor bike.
My real estate investments will fund my retirement life. I plan to build houses on the land plots, rent them out and I will live off that income.
My real estate investments will fund my retirement life
Muhammad Kashif Iqbal,
senior warehouse manager
Do you have an emergency fund?
Yes, I always keep savings that can sustain my family for a year in my emergency fund.
Do you worry about money?
No. I believe that if one keeps working in a responsible and intentional way, everything will turn out well. Worrying will not help solve problems, instead planning and having a financial strategy works well.
What are your best money saving hacks to offset inflation?
The best strategy to deal with inflation is to invest in real estate. I have been investing in property for the past 14 years.
What are your financial goals?
I want to earn enough money to fund my children’s school and college education and support them until they have good jobs. My personal goal is to earn enough to travel the world on a motor bike.
What is your idea of financial freedom?
It is a scenario where your passive investments and capital work for you, and not the other way around.
Do you want to be featured in My Salary, a weekly column that explores how people around the world manage their earnings? Write to pf@thenationalnews.com to share your story
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
The%20Letter%20Writer
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
