Latest news with #strategicplanning
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
4 credit card debt relief options high earners can pursue now
Think a high six-figure salary protects you from racking up credit card debt? You may want to think again. While it's easy to assume that earning more results in wealth accumulation, not debt accumulation, it turns out that credit card debt can be an issue for nearly every type of earner. Case in point? A recent BHG study shows that 62% of high earners — categorized in this case as those earning $300,000 per year or more — still struggle to keep their balances under control, defying the myth that a high income equals financial security. So, why do even top earners get stuck in the debt cycle? Well, there are numerous reasons for it, but in large part, the issue boils down to two words: lifestyle creep. For many high earners, as paychecks grow, so do the expenses, from bigger homes and luxury cars to private school tuition and lavish vacations. Add in other factors, like higher tax brackets and sticky inflation, and suddenly that hefty paycheck doesn't stretch nearly as far as you'd expect. And, without strategic planning, large financial obligations and easy access to credit can leave even high earners living paycheck to paycheck. That doesn't have to be the case, though. If you're earning a high salary, there are targeted debt relief strategies you can use to crush your credit card debt for good. Find out what credit card debt relief options are available to you today. The following credit card debt relief options may be worth considering if you're earning a high salary: Debt consolidation lets you roll multiple high-rate credit card balances into one fixed-rate loan, and pursuing this path now could help the right borrower save significant amounts on interest charges. After all, the average credit card rate is closing in on 22%, just under a record high, meaning that the compound interest charges can rack up quickly, but the average personal loan rate is closer to 12%. So, swapping out your high-rate card debt for a loan with a rate that's 10 points lower can be a good move. And, because the average high-income earner has both a hefty spending capacity and a credit score of 774, which is categorized as "very good," they can generally qualify for loans with top rates that are large enough to cover six-figure balances. That makes debt consolidation worth serious consideration if you're a high earner, as this move can translate into hundreds or thousands of dollars in saved interest per year. Learn how the right strategy could help you get out of debt for good. If you qualify for a 0% APR balance transfer offer, you can move your high-rate debt to a single card and focus on paying off what's owed without being charged interest for a period of 12 to 21 months or more. And, because high earners are often given access to higher credit limits due to their higher salaries, this route can be a great way to get rid of your debt without more interest charges accruing. Given today's high average credit card APR, taking advantage of the opportunity to wipe out interest may be particularly compelling. Doing so could save you thousands of dollars worth of interest charges, provided that you pay off what's owed during the promotional period. Just remember that once the promotion expires, the full rate kicks in, so paying off the balance during the initial period is key. Another way to get some relief from your credit card debt is to simply pick up the phone and ask your issuer for a lower APR. High earners with strong payment histories often have more leverage in these conversations than they realize. Card issuers want to retain reliable, profitable customers, after all, and if you're carrying a large balance, they may agree to reduce your rate to keep you from moving your debt to a competitor. While a lower rate won't erase your credit card debt, it can significantly reduce the cost of carrying it as you work toward paying it off faster. For example, if you're currently paying 22% interest on a $50,000 balance, negotiating even a modest reduction to 16% could save you hundreds of dollars each month on interest charges. High earners often juggle complex financial situations between bonuses, stock options, equity compensation and income taxes. But a good advisor can parse through that complexity to create a tailored debt-payoff plan. For example, redirecting a bonus or stock sale toward high-rate debt can deliver huge returns if done strategically. Working with a debt coach can help curb lifestyle creep by keeping you accountable and adjusting habits so rising income doesn't mean rising spending. This route may not result in the same types of savings as you'd get from other approaches, but it's an extra layer of protection for your finances, and right now, with economic pressure rising, that guidance can turn good intentions into real progress. Being a high earner doesn't make you immune to the challenges of credit card debt. Despite having more resources, more than half of high earners still struggle to keep up with their monthly payments according to a recent study, so if you're facing this type of issue, you aren't the only one — and more importantly, you have options to pursue. Whether through balance transfers, debt consolidation or direct negotiation, you may be able to reduce your interest costs while creating a sustainable path to debt freedom. Whatever option you pursue, though, it's equally important to address the underlying spending habits that created the debt to ensure these relief strategies lead to lasting relief rather than a temporary fix.
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
UAE: MoF launches 2027–2029 budget cycle
The Ministry of Finance has launched the federal general budget cycle for the 2027–2029 period, marking a new step in the continuous development of the government's financial system. The move aims to enhance fiscal sustainability and aligns with the wise leadership's vision for a more flexible and innovative future. This new cycle reflects the evolution of the general budget from a yearly planning tool into a strategic instrument that empowers federal entities to achieve their objectives efficiently and effectively. The launch coincided with the unveiling of the federal government's new strategic planning cycle, 'Towards Achieving We the UAE 2031', by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The announcement reflects the government's commitment to integrating efforts and enhancing coordination to achieve the nation's future goals. H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, stressed that the 2027–2029 federal budget cycle will play a key role in the development of the UAE's public financial system and is part of a government approach driven by proactivity, flexibility, and policy integration. He noted that the Ministry of Finance is committed to redefining the role of the budget from a traditional resource allocation framework to a strategic enabler for mega national objectives. These include strengthening global competitiveness, accelerating digital transformation, and reinforcing the UAE's position as a leading international financial hub. 'Achieving the ambitions of the UAE Centennial 2071 requires a financial system that is agile and future-focused, a system that can respond to global shifts and direct government spending toward high-impact opportunities,' H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed said. 'To that end, the MoF is investing in smart tools and advanced analytical models that ensure financial efficiency, optimise impact, and enable data-driven decision-making aligned with the nation's developmental, economic, and social goals. Our vision is to transform the federal budget into a future-ready instrument that drives sustainable growth and elevates the quality of government services to new heights,' he added. Ambitious national priorities The newly launched budget cycle follows four consecutive strategic cycles during which the total federal budget reached approximately AED900 billion, aligned with ambitious national priorities. Over this period, the Ministry laid strong foundations for sound financial governance by enhancing legislative and regulatory frameworks, expanding international partnerships, and developing advanced digital financial systems. It also maintained stable public debt levels, which stood at just AED62.1 billion as of June 2025, and increased federal government assets to around AED464.4 billion by the end of 2024, underscoring the UAE's solid financial position. The new budget cycle focuses on sectors that directly impact the lives of citizens and residents, including education, healthcare, social welfare, and core government services. It reflects a renewed vision to empower federal entities to deliver high-quality, efficient, and flexible services. Investing in these vital areas is key to stimulating sustainable national development and achieving the long-term objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071. The new cycle also aligns with evolving societal aspirations by allocating resources for maximum developmental, social, and economic impact, supported by digital tools and artificial intelligence to improve planning accuracy, execution speed, and service quality. Improving institutional efficiency Meanwhile, Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, emphasised that the 2027–2029 budget cycle builds on a solid foundation of fiscal accomplishments and reflects a forward-looking vision focused on empowering government entities and aligning strategy with performance indicators. He noted that the cycle integrates artificial intelligence as a key enabler of sustainable development and aims to transform the federal budget from a traditional financial tool into a flexible, strategic instrument that enhances operational efficiency, improves government performance, and supports the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071. Al Hussaini added, 'The Ministry's transformation over recent years extends beyond legislative and digital reforms to include a complete redesign of the budgeting experience. The number of budget preparation steps was reduced from 50 to just 10, and procurement cycles were shortened from 60 days to under six minutes, a leap forward in institutional efficiency and performance acceleration. Today, the Ministry of Finance is no longer merely a supervisory authority but a key enabler, driving the readiness of federal entities and empowering them to fulfil their mandates effectively and innovatively within an integrated digital framework that prioritises customer satisfaction and service quality.' The new federal budget cycle for 2027–2029 represents a significant leap towards smart financial management, underpinned by modern tools and proactive methodologies. Built on the pillars of performance-based planning and results-driven execution, this model harnesses artificial intelligence to strengthen decision-making and maximise the accuracy of resource allocation. Today, financial planning goes beyond numerical forecasting; it is a smart system capable of generating predictive scenarios. From accelerating service delivery to streamlining operations and providing entities with access to unified, high-accuracy data, the system represents a major step forward, significantly improving the speed and quality of financial decision-making. Through this approach, the federal budget is redefined as a strategic enabler, driving operational efficiency, reinforcing financial sustainability, and solidifying the UAE's global standing as a model for advanced public financial management.
Entrepreneur
6 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How to Cut Costs in the Right Places and Do More With Less
In this time of stress for many small businesses, thoughtful cost-cutting can make your company leaner, more agile and scalable without sacrificing long-term growth. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. If you're a small business owner right now, you're probably feeling the tension in the market. There is immense pressure to grow, serve your clients, pay your team and still keep a healthy margin against the background of a turbulent economy. At the same time, you know you can't just slash costs blindly, as cutting the wrong things can put you in an even more difficult position. Done well, strategic cost-cutting can actually make your business leaner, more agile and more scalable — and it can give you increased peace of mind. Instead of running your business from a place of fear, reframe this time as a way to lean out your business and build a stronger foundation. You may be surprised at how you'll run just as effectively with less. Related: 5 Ways to Cut Costs in Your Business Understanding your costs comes first Studies show that a large portion of small business owners are not aware of their key expenses. Before cutting anything, it is critical to zoom out and get a handle on where your money is actually going. Labor is commonly the largest expense for small businesses. If you don't already have clear ROI data on your team's time, now is the time to set it up. These ROI calculations can vary drastically depending on the role, so if you have KPIs set up, take this time to review those. If you don't, I'd recommend working with a strategic finance specialist to set those up. Regardless, looking at your revenue per FTE (full-time employee) is a good place to start. That KPI should be close to $500,000 per full-time employee. If you are coming in under that, start looking at where on your team you can redirect their time to be revenue-generating or reduce labor time and cost. Other expenses that tend to be fairly easy to reduce include outside contractor expenses, unused subscriptions and travel expenses. It's a wise practice to review these expenses, one by one, every single month. This kind of detailed financial review can be intimidating and stressful, but it is absolutely critical to surviving a slowdown as a small business. By establishing this practice now, you're also creating a strong habit of being financially smart inside your business. Related: Don't Let These 8 Common Expenses Stunt Your Growth and Drain Your Profits Considering what and when to delegate A common myth is that delegation always saves you time, but that doesn't always play out. It can become costly if done wrong, and any delegation you're currently doing is worth a second look. There are a few things to consider when evaluating what you're already delegating or if you're considering newly delegating work. First, delegation works best if you've already systematized what's being handed off. If you systematize first, you are delegating something that will minimize the cost of delegated labor, so you're maximizing your ROI. This can look like automation inside of your CRM or creating SOPs for your main practices. Speaking of ROI, consider the ROI of anything you're paying to delegate. As an example, if you're outsourcing cold-calling your leads, consider the cost of each call based on the hourly rate you're paying and the number of appointments generated. This gives you an estimate of the cost per appointment, which helps you understand the ROI of that investment. If you can invest the money elsewhere in your business with a better return, this is the time to shift that investment. Related: 8 Unconventional Ways to Cut Costs in Your Business Don't cut where it counts Most businesses will go wrong by cutting investments that actually support long-term growth, like marketing, client delivery support or team culture, when they start feeling the financial pinch. It's critical to examine the ROI of each cost instead of panic-cost cutting. If your assistant is saving you 10 hours a week and you're using that time to close deals, that has its own return. If your operations manager is helping you retain key clients, that's a return. Make your best estimate of what that return is to help guide you in making that comparison. For your assistant, count the value of the deals they helped you close. For your manager, consider how many key clients they've helped re-sign. One effective way to avoid this is to reinvest more into client delivery for your existing clients rather than growth. By ensuring your client delivery is top-notch, you can shore up growth by creating fans who will then refer to you while better retaining your existing clients. This can give you a multi-faceted return on the same investment. Despite the slowdown that many small businesses are feeling in real-time, the goal at this moment in time isn't just to survive. Rather, it's to build a business that's effective and lean. Then, when the economy inevitably picks back up, you've built an efficient business to build on, and you've flexed the muscles of regularly monitoring your finances and making data-driven decisions about them. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
Arabian Business
07-07-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
UAE launches new AI-driven strategic planning cycle for 2031 Vision
The UAE government has launched a strategic planning cycle for the Federal Government targeting 2031, with artificial intelligence positioned as a priority in government planning, process simplification, resource optimisation, and financial efficiency. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the initiative, stating that proactiveness, future readiness, and strategic planning form the pillars of the UAE government's governance model. 'We have launched the new strategic planning cycle for the Federal Government for 2031. This plan prioritises artificial intelligence in government planning, process simplification, resource optimisation, and enhanced financial efficiency,' Sheikh Mohammed said, according to a statement by the Dubai Media Office. Mohammed bin Rashid launches new strategic planning cycle aimed at achieving 'We the UAE 2031 Vision' — Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 6, 2025 Sheikh Mohammed announces three-year federal government planning cycle replacing five-year model 'While in the past government success was measured by regulatory strength and comprehensive procedures, today it hinges on regulatory agility, streamlined processes, and intelligent resource management, a significantly more complex undertaking. Tools and priorities change, but the unwavering commitment to serve the people of the UAE remains constant,' he added. The strategic planning cycle, titled 'Towards Achieving We the UAE 2031 Vision', has been shortened from five years to three years to align with global changes and ensure flexibility for regular plan updates. Sheikh Mohammed directed teams across ministries and federal government entities to develop government strategies incorporating artificial intelligence and future technology solutions to accelerate the achievement of goals outlined under the 'We the UAE 2031' Vision. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; and Huda Al Hashimi, Head of Strategy and Government Innovation for the UAE Government. The planning cycle involves 38 federal entities and brings together public officials, including directors of strategy, future planning, and finance. The approach adopts proactive strategic planning as a component, built on principles including integrating strategic planning with artificial intelligence, simplifying procedures and optimising resource utilisation, activating national initiatives through federal entities' plans, and adopting planning to achieve financial efficiency. The Prime Minister's Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs organised a workshop attended by directors of strategy from ministries and federal government entities. The workshop introduced features of the cycle and discussed the strategic importance of the planning model as a step toward building a planning cycle that reinforces the UAE's position as a model for the government of the future. The workshop reviewed the concept of strategic intelligence underpinning the cycle and its importance as a component of the government planning system. This framework enables decision-making through the adoption of analytics, data, and future forecasting tools, allowing decision-makers to understand change and develop plans with performance indicators linked to future challenges and opportunities. The updated planning cycle model calls for simplifying procedures and reducing requirements, enabling entities to focus on implementing projects rather than operational tasks. Participants explored features of the cycle, including innovation, integration among entities, and future readiness, by promoting thinking and cooperation between strategy and finance directors to ensure policy and project alignment with national vision objectives. The workshop reviewed efforts of federal entities to translate the objectives of the We the UAE 2031 Vision into national initiatives and strategies that contribute to building a future. It highlighted strategies launched in recent months, including the National Cybersecurity Strategy and the National Investment Strategy. Huda Al Hashimi, Head of Strategy and Government Innovation for the UAE Government, outlined efforts by federal entities to translate the goals of the We the UAE 2031 Vision into national initiatives and strategies. She recalled national strategies introduced during the previous planning cycle that had boosted future planning, bringing national benefits. Participants discussed the importance of adoption of models based on planning and data analysis to enable entities to anticipate changes and respond to challenges with speed and efficiency.
Gulf Business
07-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
UAE embeds AI at the heart of new federal government strategy cycle
Image: Dubai Media Office His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of a new strategic planning cycle for the UAE Federal Government, with artificial intelligence (AI) at its core. As reported by the Dubai Media Office, the initiative places AI front and center in transforming government planning, streamlining processes, optimising resources, and enhancing financial efficiency, aligning with the broader objectives of the His Highness affirmed, 'We have launched the new strategic planning cycle for the Federal Government for 2031. This plan prioritises artificial intelligence in government planning, process simplification, resource optimisation, and enhanced financial efficiency.' Related news: 'While in the past government success was measured by regulatory strength and comprehensive procedures, today it hinges on regulatory agility, streamlined processes, and intelligent resource management, a significantly more complex undertaking. Tools and priorities change, but the unwavering commitment to serve the people of the UAE remains constant,' he added. Smarter, shorter, and AI-powered Marking a significant shift in how government strategies are conceived and executed, the planning cycle has been shortened from five years to three. The goal is to keep pace with rapid technological change and global shifts, ensuring greater flexibility and responsiveness. Key federal bodies, including 38 entities, will align their strategies using proactive, AI-driven methodologies. The initiative mandates integration of strategic intelligence, smart forecasting, and big data analysis, allowing decision-makers to anticipate future challenges and act preemptively. During a strategic workshop led by the Prime Minister's Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, directors of strategy and finance from various federal entities explored how AI and advanced analytics can drive better decision-making. The updated cycle emphasises automation, predictive modelling, and integrated performance indicators tailored to real-world, real-time scenarios. Strategic collaboration for smarter governance The workshop reinforced the importance of collective intelligence and inter-agency coordination, fostering innovation and alignment with the national agenda. Participants examined how AI and digital tools can enhance performance, reduce red tape, and shift focus toward strategic projects rather than day-to-day administrative functions. Her Excellency Huda Al Hashimi, Head of Strategy and Government Innovation for the UAE Government, stressed the importance of these technological shifts. She outlined the critical role federal entities play in transforming the 2031 Vision into impactful national initiatives. 'The previous cycle saw the launch of major strategies like the National Cybersecurity Strategy and the National Investment Strategy,' she noted. As part of the government's digital transformation journey, the new model reflects the UAE's aspiration to serve as a global benchmark for governance powered by AI, agility, and innovation.
