Sitting, I have become a fan of yours.
I have been thinking about the gold thing. I have only small savings, the first time I have such thing as savings, actually. They are too small to buy a property in my homeland, I don't want to invest in any financial product because, like you, I don't trust the system at all. Problem is that since I started thinking about gold it has risen like a 40%... And now it seems like it is too late...
What options do I have? Where can I place my savings? I feel unease when my only link with my savings is a website.
I also thought about buying property here (that is, taking the risk of a mortgage). I was looking at that option, not to speculate but to live in the place, and hope that in 10 years I will be pocketing my housing allowance and living in my own place. In the timeline, there would be a few years of great exposure, but less every year, Right? And in about 15 years I would have saved money even if the house sinks in the desert, because I would have payed the same amount if I had just rented all those years. If the house, however, remains there, I can use it or sell it and that would be my saving, for my retirement, or university of my children or whatever.
But I can't leave in DXB anymore. I am moving to AUH. I don't know if property in AUH is a good idea. I mean, would the house be sellable or rentable after 15 years?