Our past record in protecting the vulnerable in this country has been pretty abysmal at times, and that goes for vulnerable elderly people who may have been seeking financial and investment help. Too many older people, with cash in their bank and building society accounts were particularly easy prey during the boom...
Property
We’re saving more and spending more
We’re saving more and spending more
Europe is full of savers. So is Ireland. According to Eurostat the gross household savings rate in the 19 state eurozone to the end of 2014 averaged 12.71% and 10.56% in all 28-member countries. Here, at the end of 2014, it was 12.69%. Even though the rate has come down slightly in recent years, savings are still...
A gift tax exemption of little worth
A gift tax exemption of little worth
Inheritance and gift tax is an issue that can generates a certain amount of heated debate. One side – a minority, I would suggest – insist that unearned income deserves to be heavily taxed; the other side, meanwhile argues that that everyone should have the right to pass on their property and assets to anyone...
Are you counting on your home to be your pension?
Are you counting on your home to be your pension?
Alarm bells always go off in my head when I hear from readers who suggest that their family home, ‘is going to be my pension’ some day. This is a pretty common illusion, and not just here in Ireland. A recent survey in the UK, where the private pension take-up (of about 50%) and the high dependency on the state...
Parents and the wrong priorities
Parents and the wrong priorities
A headline that caught my attention a few weeks back was a press release from Laya Life (this is the life assurance arm of Laya Healthcare) which stated: “Parents expect their children to be financially independent from the age of 24.” This is the age when my own child will finish his college course (he...
The Lost Tracker Mortgages; Is yours still one of them?
The Lost Tracker Mortgages; Is yours still one of them?
Did you buy a mortgage in the last decade? Was it a cheap tracker loan? Did you at any time switch to a fixed rate, and when it ended, did lose your tracker? Today, nearly nine years after the great Irish property bubble first met its pin stories are still emerging of people who at that time, worried about how the...
Greek tragedy is a lesson for us all
Greek tragedy is a lesson for us all
The Greek debt drama is a salutary lesson for us all: that if you’re not a member of a social, corporate or sovereign elite whose transgressions/debts are forgiven because you’re ‘too big to fail’, then not paying back your loans as they fall due is eventually going to lead to bankruptcy. By the time you read this,...
A postbag of pension and property queries
A postbag of pension and property queries
A New Year, and a new postbag of your letters and comments – keep them coming… Ms McC writes: We are paying a total of €823.96 monthly and a 4.5% interest rate to Permanent TSB. There is six and half years remaining on the term and a balance of about €51,000. We are also paying nearly €79 a month for mortgage...
Stockbroker Charges Are One Risk You Can Control
Stockbroker Charges Are One Risk You Can Control
When it comes to investment performance, only a few people seem to have informed, realistic expectations. Many have none at all and certainly even the better informed don’t usually have a clue of the total costs of buying individual shares, either by signing up with a stockbroker, making single buy or sell orders or...
Never Too Late to Make a Will
Never Too Late to Make a Will
Some couples choose not to marry. They may have had previous unhappy marriages or long term relationships. Their parents may have had an unhappy marriage that broke up (or should have.) They may still be married but do not wish to divorce their previous partner. They may not believe in lifetime, monogamous...
NAS Training Centre to host Chamber Business after Hours
NAS Training Centre to host Chamber Business after Hours
The NAS Training Centre, based in the Cleaboy Business Park, will host a Business after Hours, in association with Waterford Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday, May 1st. The state of the art training facility has gained a reputation as one of the region’s leading conference and training venues and May’s open event will...
Oskars nominated in eight categories
Oskars nominated in eight categories
Oskars Bar & Restaurant on the Dunmore Road has been nominated in eight categories in the 2014 Irish Restaurant Awards: Best Restaurant, Best Chef, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Casual Dining, Best Gastro Pub, Best Customer Service, Best Wine Experience, and Best Kids Size Meals. Commenting on the nominations,...
