I am not fond of changing my number. In fact, in my 10 years here in the UAE, I just changed mine three times - 3rd was yesterday. I changed first contact number here 6 years when I purchased a device with data which is payable for 2 years. I kept my number even I fully paid the device because all my contact info from banks, agencies, and even for my use are here. The problem with my sim card is they can not convert in to prepaid so I was stuck in paying 50 DHS monthly, (14 USD) which for me is already our 2-3 days budget for the food. So yesterday, I took my courage to say good bye to my old one. I started by informing the banks, for my salary, everything that I changed my number.
6 years is not a joke but I need to have a little scrifice because we need to tighten our budget now.