We were pleased to feature on the RTE 1 O’Clock news to talk about interest rates and the near term outlook as well as the effects that any change might have on Irish households. Rates remained unchanged at the most recent ECB meeting but that is widely expected to be a short term decision with a rate hike in July expected.
CREDIT cards can be a godsend and a curse. I have a friend who doesn’t have one, so I used to wonder how he booked flights or bought anything online. Recently I discovered his secret — he just lets his wife put it all on her credit card, clever man.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Credit Cards, News of the World, Savings
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Tagged borrowing credit, cca 1995, ccma, code of conduct on mortgage arrears, consumer credit act, credit cards, fix my credit, how to fix credit, manage credit
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We were pleased to cover the topic of Debt Forgiveness with Angela Keegan, MD of MyHome.ie on ‘The Morning Show, with Sybil & Martin’ on TV3.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Debt, Mortgages
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Tagged angela keegan, debt forgiveness, debt management, debt restructure, debt write off, karl deeter, martin king, sybil mulcahy, the morning show
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The headline this week is from the famous quote that ‘the only sure things in life are death and taxes’. We have looked at death in the past from the perspective of Life Assurance, this week it’s about taxes – and more importantly, what to do if you can’t pay them or if you are not sure about your taxes. The good news is that the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland are a fairly effective bunch and the people there are well briefed and effective (this is no surprise as their duty is to make sure everybody pays up!). Revenue are well aware of the state of the economy, and that business
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Deposit Interest Retention Tax, Income Tax, News of the World, Taxation
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Tagged 2003 taxes consolidation act, deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, paye tax returns, revenue commissioners, tax deadline, tax questions, tax returns, taxation, taxation issues
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Ask anybody ‘what would you do with some extra money?’ and you’ll get a lot of different answers, but this week it is your turn to decide. Because over the last three weeks we have shown you how to take a snapshot of your financial situation then how to use that as a blueprint in finding ways to save money. Without too much effort an average savings of €2,000 is possible simply by re-jigging some of your spending patterns, so where to from there? In finance there is a hierarchy that advisors tend to adhere to and in rank and order it is as follows: Protection, Investment, Savings, Retirement planning and Mortgages.
Also filed in Accountancy, Accountant, Advisors.ie In the Press, Gold and Silver, Investment, life assurance, Mortgages, News of the World, Pensions, Precious Metals, Savings
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Tagged building a financial portfolio, financial advice, personal finance, portfolio
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You’ve a 25-year tracker mortgage of €250,000. If switching from your tracker rate of 2.25 per cent to the standard variable mortgage of 4.19 per cent, you would need a €47,000 payoff to break even, according to Karl Deeter, head of customer advice with advisors.ie. You would have to use this €47,000 to reduce the amount you are borrowing — so instead of borrowing €250,000, you borrow €203,000.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Economics, Mortgages, Savings
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Tagged accountants, advisors, financial advice, financial advisors dublin, karl deeter, louise mcbride, trackers
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In last weeks instalment we started by asking you to set up two things, firstly was to fill in a ‘standard financial statement’, this is now the foundation of your budget, the second was to start a ‘spending diary’. These two items will form the twin pillars of changing your wealth.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Investment, News of the World, Precious Metals, Savings
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Tagged best savings choices in ireland, financial planning, how to make a financial plan, how to start savings, investing, standard financial statement
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When a bank holds a loan worth €200,000 it is an asset valued at that figure. Even if the security for the loan is a property that has fallen in value to €100,000.
So it is no surprise that banks will do whatever it takes in order to avoid turning their asset into a 50 per cent loss. In fact, even if the loan getting into trouble it doesn’t get written down to €100,000 -that only happens after the asset value has been realised. This is in part why we have three repossessions per 100,000 mortgages, while Britain has 65 times more, at about 200 per 100,000. At the same time, there has been huge political pressure via politicians and the Central Bank (formerly the Financial Regulator), via the thrice reworked Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears to ensure that we don’t allow people to get their homes repossessed as long as they engage’ with the lender.
Also filed in Accountancy, Accountant, Advisors.ie In the Press, Banking, Debt, Economics, Mortgages
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Tagged debt forgiveness, distressed debt, distressed mortgage, distressed seller, imb, mortgages, problem loans, provision for bad debt, writedowns
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THE saying “Give a man fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life” is a useful way to look at personal finances. After all, there are plenty of people who can tell you what to do, or give you advice to get you through the next day/week/month, but it isn’t nearly as powerful as being able to take control of your own cash.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Debt, News of the World
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Tagged budgeting, financial statement, household budget, how to set up a budget, irish money saving, irish money tips, money saving tips, personal finance, saving money
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Can I release equity in my home under age 55? Question: Can you tell me if it’s possible to release equity in my home prior to reaching the age of 55? I own my home outright and have no family to pass it on to when I die. I bought my house last October but it needs a great deal of upgrading which I have very little prospect of being able to afford any time soon.
Also filed in Accountancy, Advisors.ie In the Press, Debt, Mortgages
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Tagged age mortgage, how old can you mortgage, irish times, karl deeter, ltv, mortgage advice, mortgage questions, mortgage rates, remortgage
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