Category Archives: Good Financial Housekeeping
Income Protection article from which.co.uk
FollowThis article taken from www.which.co.uk gives a good description of how a person can protect his/her income in the event of not being able to work due to ill health. How many of us could survive until normal retirement age on our current savings or would our employers be willing to pay us generous sick pay until that age? Which.co.uk insists that a plan that provides a long-term income is much more important than a lump sum payable on getting a serious illness. Continue reading
ECB interest rate reduction expected today
ECB interest rate cut of at least 0.25% is expected to be announced at lunchtime today. Good news for mortgage holders, who will save Euro 104.17 per month on a Euro 500k mortgage.
Customers with tracker mortgages will automatically benefit but hopefully the other Irish lenders will pass on the reduction to their variable rate customers. Permanent TSB continues to charge very high rates in an attempt to subsidise their tracker mortgages, but it may be worth digging out any signed documentation and taking some advice. Continue reading
Property in Irish December 2011 Budget
Section 23 allowances bought by investors are not being abolished.
However high earners will have to pay a 5% surcharge on income relieved by property incentives. The government is now incentivising the purchase of investment property again, but it is likely that only the very wealthy will be able to do this, since mortgage credit for such projects is very scarce.
Tinkering with the property market has often had undesired results. Continue reading
Pensions from former employments
Many employees leave pension funds behind us and continue to defer any decision about them. Former employees often do not receive any ongoing fund information so doing nothing is not a good idea. You can regain control and have ongoing investment fund choices if you choose to transfer to a personal retirement bond, also known as a Buy-out bond. You will also benefit from ongoing investment advice which takes into account your own attitude to risk at any given time. Working with an experienced broker on a regular basis for the long term will be very beneficial. Continue reading
Life Assurance Market Research
We have life assurance company representatives knocking on doors in the evenings to generate sales leads by way of market research. In this competitive industry, a life assurance member of the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) can offer more choice. Having 5 life assurance company agencies is a minimum requirement and means that more independent advice can be offered. Continue reading
ECB reduction is good news for mortgage holders
Well done Super Mario for yesterday’s ECB interest rate cut. That’s a saving of €2,500 per annum for those unlucky enough to have €1 million on interest only. Another cut by December could be on the (Christmas) cards! Good Financial … Continue reading
Cutting telephone and broadband costs
I help clients cut costs all the time but I was reluctant to risk any disruption by changing my own telephone and broadband service providers. I took the plunge with UPC, have faster broadband and a “free” TV service and still have saved money! Continue reading
Bruised, battered and bewildered by the banks
The Irish Government has finally come to the realisation that mortgage debt is a massive problem and intends making the issue “a priority”. Tens of thousands of people are already stressed out about it, not just the people struggling with mortgage arrears. Take away the stress by engaging a mortgage professional to represent you instead of trying to do it yourself. For those who can’t pay a fee, contact MABS, which provides an excellent service at no charge.
Individual stories from people trying to negotiate directly with their mortgage lenders provide anecdotal evidence that the banks are not being too helpful.
If you do have a problem with debt, make contact with your lender as soon as you can. Continue reading
ECB Hikes
ECB interest rate expected to rise again but tomorrow, but perhaps this round of hikes will end sooner than planned. The Chinese economy is now starting to suffer, so expect the price of oil, inflation and global demand to reduce. No more need for ECB rate hikes! Continue reading
Credit Card Debt
Have a look at your credit card balance over the last year. If it always close to your credit limit, then you effectively have a permanent loan at a double digit interest rate which you can never clear. If your … Continue reading