Monthly Archives: November 2012

The French Correction

France got a credit rating downgrade this week, they are no longer a AAA nation, coming down one notch to Aa1. This is a true demonstration of French ‘égalité’, they won’t leave the rest of us to simply get downgraded without joining in! Sadly, it wasn’t motivated or created by ideals, it was due to a lowered economic outlook. The USA got a downgrade last year, they probably will again when they face the next big headline which is called the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ (we’ll cover that another week) and no doubt Germany may get one within the next 12 months.

Hailo cabs, a good idea on several fronts (including financially!)

I have said for some time that as physical money reduces in popularity that ATM/credit-cards won’t be the beneficiary, smart phones will. I was reminded of this when I got a taxi this week and spoke to the elderly driver about Hailo.

A better way for dealing with unemployment

I have mentioned in the past that it’s a real pity to have so much un-utilized talent as a result of unemployment, and for that reason it is worth asking whether or not the dole is the right solution for people when they lose a job

Irish Property Owners Association call for full mortgage interest relief

The Irish Property Owners Association have called for loan interest to be given a 100% write off as a business expense for landlords the same as it is done for commercial property owners or for any other business that has a loan – currently landlords can only offset 75%.

Inequality reigns, but does it matter?

This week I had the pleasure of attending a fascinating talk hosted by the think-tank PublicPolicy.ie, the topic was on income inequality in Ireland from 2006-2010 and the researchers were from University College Cork. The research is the first of it’s kind in Ireland and is using a new dataset which was made available by the Revenue Commissioners, it splits a sample of 1,400,000 workers into five categories or ‘quintiles’ based on their earned income. The findings then look at how much inequality there is in earnings by analysing this information.

TV3 personal finance, mortgage solutions- what works?

We were happy to be back in TV3 with Sybil and Marting talking about mortgage solutions and which ones work for borrowers in trouble.

Secret savings in life insurance

Lots of time is spent in finance columns where the writer is really trying to demonstrate how smart they are rather than showing you a way to save money. I don’t try to prove I’m smart because the truth is I’m a regular person like anybody else, but what I am good at is practical advice that works. Which is why this week I’m going to share one of finances best kept secrets, it’s how to get tax relief on your life insurance! You can call any life insurance company and probably never be offered what I am going to show you today, but trust me, it is both true and accurate.

Beat the Banks

I do my best to help you with your money concerns, and that is why this week I want to teach you how to ‘beat the bank’, it’s time to turn their tricks back against them Firstly, look at the way the banks hit you for your cash. They’ll charge you 4-5% on a mortgage, […]