Representational image.

There’s a saying that it’s better to give than to receive and I think this applies to everything in life. It applies to your time, your kindness and your money. Yes it’s good to give money to those who need it. Consider it as charity and expect nothing in return. Of course there is such a thing as going overboard with giving but that’s where a limit has been set.

We are told to be generous but don’t be so foolish with your money as to become destitute yourself. Famous billionaires have their own take on money and what they deemed as their foolish behaviour.

One said that he was too generous and kind with his money. In other words, if ever a friend needed to be bailed out of a tricky situation, such as not being able to pay a bank or rent instalment, he was there to the rescue. But the problem he found was that people knew he was very generous and kept going back to him. Moreover, it wasn’t just one friend but all his buddies who knew how easily he helped people out financially and that he wasn’t so quick to call in the favour. 

When I was at school, my best friend was equally generous, even though she and her mother were struggling day to day. Girls she barely spoke to would come up to her to ask to borrow 50p, a lot in those days, and instantly, without a second thought, she’d rummage around her bag and fish it out. They never paid her back and I would always broach her for it because I knew what these girls were like. They’d be mean and nasty most of the time and then cajole her into ‘borrowing’ money. That was foolish.

Other money related disasters people make are investing in property in the wrong location. Now this could also be in the wrong country, a country that’s politically and economically unstable. A country where, once the funds go in, you may not be able to withdraw them.

People often convert large sums of money in other currencies hoping that the exchange rate moves in their favour and they make that extra bit of cash. It doesn’t always work because, in some cases, that currency never ever gives you a favourable rate of exchange even after 15 years have lapsed.

Some people buy property too early or late. Both can be financially harmful. Buy too early and you find that the prices have fallen further so you, essentially, ended up paying more. Sell too early and you lose the chance to make a huge profit because, just your bad luck that the market started going through the roof a year or two after you sold it. Of course it also works the other way. Sometimes you should have bought something when the price was right because now its value has doubled.

Some people lose the chance to start a business at the right time. Many years ago, back in the mid-90s, a friend of mine had the idea that we should start a coffee shop in the UAE. Back then there weren’t that many around. In fact, I can only recall one very famous brand and even that was in only a handful of locations, unlike today. I obviously didn’t go ahead with it, mainly because I didn’t understand the market. But imagine if I had? I think I might have become a famous coffee house owner by now. But that being said, I didn’t understand the business market in the UAE and have to admit that I still don’t.

One mistake a lot of people might make and that’s actually going into a venture or investment when they don’t know anything about the product or the market. Sure, you can find thousands of people who claim to understand it and are willing to explain it to you but finding a trustworthy source to be honest with you is not always possible. And that brings me to the final mistake people make and that is trusting scammers to help them make money. New YouTubers come across them all the time and I am no exception.