Money and me: Be sensible, but don’t save it all

Business development manager Katie Overy has vowed never to work on a commission-only basis again as doing so made paying the bills a struggle.

Katie Overy started her career in real estate before joining the PR company Dabo & Co. Pawan Singh / The National

Katie Overy, a former real-estate agent, is the business development manager at the Dubai-based PR and events agency Dabo & Co. The Briton, 32, has lived in Dubai for the past six years.
 
Describe your financial journey so far
I've been brought up to understand the value of money. I paid towards housekeeping to my parents since my first full-time pay packet, which was a good life lesson. When I was 13 I went through the telephone directory to find a job at one of the local tea rooms. I got a job and started earning £1.25 (Dh7.67) per hour, then got a pay rise to £1.50. After a couple of months at college I decided I wanted to get into real estate, so at 16 I did and continued for 10 years in the UK and then two years in Dubai. My first weekly paycheck was £83 and with that I spent £30 on a pair of earrings. I ended up in Dubai in 2008, and after realising real estate was not my calling here I started at Dabo & Co last year.
Are you spender or a saver?
I am mainly a saver. I am very frugal with my money, but also don't mind shelling out every now and then. I don't mind spending money on the right stuff, and I'm a keen Primark [a low-cost fashion brand] shopper. There are people who spend Dh5,000 on a handbag. That is ridiculous. I will spend money on key bits – if there's something I really like, I will get it – but not a pair of shoes or handbag. I'm not that kind of a person. I also spend a lot of money on my nephews.
What is your philosophy towards money?
You can't take it with you, but also try to think about the future. I find it bizarre that people save money for their inheritance, but equally I can't go and splash on everything, as you think "what if"? You can't take it with you, but you have to be sensible about it.
Have you made any financial mistakes along the way?
I don't think so. When I bought my flat I paid, £77,000 for it in England. The people who had bought it a year before me paid £46,000. It is probably only worth about £90,000 now, but that is 13 years later. I loved living there. I haven't lost any money, but haven't made any money. It is just annoying that I bought at the wrong time, bearing in mind I was in the industry.
If you won Dh1m, what would you do with it?
I'd go to Disney World, then pay off the mortgage on my flat and invest again back home – in property again.
What has been your biggest financial lesson?
Not to buy a brand-new car three months before being made redundant and losing a lot of money on it when it had to be sold. My biggest financial lesson though is to never work commission-only again. That was horrific – horrendous. You would earn Dh20,000 one month and then would not be able to make your phone allowance the next because you didn't close any deals. When I lived with my brother, I would hide money around my bedroom so that I would always have some money. When I moved out and into my own place, I found Dh8,000 in cash hidden in different places throughout my bedroom.
What do you enjoy spending money on?
I eat out a lot and go to the cinema. I like to go on holidays – not once-in-a-lifetime types, but I have to take advantage of living here. I go to Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah four or five times a year. I also spend on my two nephews, who are both here.
[e-mail]
Follow us on Twitter @TheNationalPF